Comments on: diy project: susannah’s atlas-inspired shelves

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:11:41 +0000

I’m a bit late to the party, but I just wanted to thank you and Susannah for these wonderful instructions–I’m about to attempt this in my new apartment.
This is a wonderful website!
-j

By: vfxchick

vfxchick — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:34:27 +0000

I LOVE these, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for! I too am a Billy victim – this is such an elegant solution. Brava!

By: Lindsay A. H.

Lindsay A. H. — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:17:23 +0000

These shelves are too cool. My husband and I have a lot of books (some of which are currently being stored in an Ikea book case!! Which looks like it may fall to the floor at any moment) and I have been shopping for bookshelves. The only affordable ones I am able to find are of the laminated/ veneered particle board type, which may look alright at first, but I don’t trust that they will hold up for a very long time. I had been thinking about doing wall mounted shelves, and I really like how these shelves have end caps to hold the books in place. I think that these would look even prettier and more “floaty” if the wood was painted the same color as the wall (i.e. white). The paint would also mask the lower-grade wood, if that is the goal. However, the rustic look is really neat too.

By: e.b.

e.b. — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:46:58 +0000

This just goes to show that you don’t need stuffy and expensive design to be happy. Contrary to popular belief, style has little to do with money and everything to do with intelligence, innovation, and creativity. In my opinion, the Atlas shelves lack (among other things) character. Susannah obviously did the best with what she had to work with and was willing to share her idea with others, (free of charge!) and for this she should be given high praises.

By: Nancy Cook

Nancy Cook — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:54:04 +0000

i have the same paint by #
the girl with cat
it’s on my blog under thrift store finds

By: Sophie S

Sophie S — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:37:04 +0000

On the joints, I got inspired looking at projects like this to go take a woodworking class at my local community college. I’m not a consumate hand dovetailer yet, but it’s not as hard as people with massive amounts of power tools claim, and practice makes perfect!

Give me 6 months and I hope to be posting my own bookshelves inspired by these – it’s a great project and I reckon we all have far more design books than shelf space to put them on.

Although until that point the books will have to stay in their boxes :(

By: Joan

Joan — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:38:27 +0000

You know what part of the issue is? On the bottom shelf that shows in the second photo, the first book kinda looks like it’s part of the shelf! This book cover design has what looks like wood grain and nails, plus a photo stuck on that wood, and that image fools the eye initially. I agree that a higher grade wood on the ends might make the stained end pieces look a little nicer when viewed from the end, but 90% of the visual impact comes when a person standing in the room looks head-on at a wall of floating books. The edges, what you see when you view the shelves straight on, look pretty much like the edges of any wood shelves. I guess there’s some kind of veneer a person can stick on the edges if you want (I’ve seen it on HGTV) but would it make much difference here? Another thing I like here is the integrity of these shelves that are holding quite a bit of weight. Unlike my cheapo shelves, these don’t sag. I think Susannah has created a nifty design, very innovative, affordable and beautiful.