An Inexpensive Built-In Bookcase Entryway Update
If you’re looking to add a little extra aesthetic flair to your house but don’t want to break the bank, we’ve got a solution for you! For around $100, you can DIY a great-looking built-in bookcase to maximize the storage space in your home while looking stylish. In this project, we updated our basic entryway with a built-in bookcase that connects the family room and mudroom. This simple but elegant design is built with high-quality materials. We achieved the final look with a custom arch design! Keep reading and watch the video to see our DIY Built-In Bookcase & Entryway Update!
If you are in a hurry:
An Awkward Corner
This strange corner in our entryway has always been difficult to decorate. I was never happy with the decorations in this corner until now!
I’ve tried plants, wall arts, benches, and more in this corner and nothing ever looked or felt right.
We really needed a bookcase to organize our books and after careful measurements and design, I was able to come up with a plan to remodel this wall in our entryway.
Updating the FloorÂ
My goal was to create a built-in library that was part of the family room and not part of the entryway. We achieved this goal by updating the floor.
Since the previous owners installed wood vinyl floors on top of the white square tile, we simply removed the vinyl to square off the family room.
We had to clean the tile that was underneath using Goo Gone and a Grout Pen. We replaced the threshold straight instead of at a slant.
This is the best way to restore tile floors and grout WITHOUT painting!
Building the Bookcase
My hubby did all of the building for this DIY project. He built the wall first and then built a custom bookcase. You can use a store-bought bookcase to create a built-in, however, we needed one that was specific measurements to fit this corner.
He built the bookcase with the sides and back and then we slid the bookcase into the nook. We installed it on this wall instead of building shelves inside so you don’t see brackets underneath the shelves.
I designed the bookcase with (4) 12-inch shelves and (4) 8-inch shelves. The top shelf was left open in the back because our doorbell speaker is mounted on the wall and we wanted access to that.
We added an arch to the top because arches are trending and to give the bookcase some character. We can always remove the arch later if this trend changes 😉
Decorating the Bookcase
Decorating the bookcase was harder than I thought it would be. It took me 3 days to organize all of our books, arrange them on the shelves, and style the shelves.
The books are arranged by fiction or non-fiction and in sub-categories (religious books, self-help books, animal books, history, science, and kids books).
I separated my son’s books from my daughter’s books so they can easily find their favorites.
Any craft, DIY, and home decorating books are in the office or my craft room.
The bottom baskets in the bookcase hold photo albums since we do not have a dedicated spot in our home to organize our photo albums.
I added some Boho Dollar Tree DIY artwork to the top shelf to hide some of the books.
Updating the Entryway
I’ve been dying to update our entryway and get rid of the outdated chair rail and baseboards. We knew there would be damage on the wall when removing the chair rail and that’s why we put off the remodel. The previous owners also repaired the wall in some spots which left the walls already looking damaged.
My temporary fix to cover the damaged wall was using wallpaper. I found this gorgeous farmhouse wallpaper that fixed our entryway walls for 3 years! When the wallpaper started to rip, it was time to finally fix the walls.
We removed the chair rail, wallpaper, and baseboards. My hubby removed the damaged drywall and installed new drywall. He used a drywall compound to fix damaged areas and sanded. Then I textured the walls before painting.
I painted the walls the same color that I painted them 3 years earlier, Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist.
Paint colors in our Entryway and the wallpaper
We added new baseboards and used a board that was 1.5 inches taller than the old ones. Those baseboards were most likely original with the house because they had 2 different floorings installed without removing the baseboards!
Decorating the Entryway
We used the same decorations that we had in the entryway before starting this update because those items were the most functional for our family. We used shelf brackets and wood to create a shelf to store winter items (hats, gloves, scarves).
A shoe cubby from Ikea is a great solution for a small entryway and we added a piece of wood to the top to give it a unique look.
We used $5 accordion hooks above the Ikea shoe cubby and secured it so we can hang hats, bags, and more!
Our entryway has old recessed lights so I attached a DIY macrame lantern to the light using some fishing line.
On the wall opposite the Ikea shoe cubby, I hung 2 frames that my hubby made a few years ago. I painted them white at the time of this update but I plan to add a decal or photos to them.
We had a large mirror in our bedroom that I moved into the entryway. A large mirror makes small rooms feel bigger and that’s exactly what this does! It’s also nice to be able to look at yourself before walking out the door 😉
The mudroom looks and feels cleaner since we extended the wall for the bookcase.
BEFORE
AFTER
Wrap Up about our DIY Built-In Bookcase Entryway Update
I hope you enjoyed this entryway idea that features DIY built-in bookshelves. This corner in our entryway has always been a big challenge in our home and after a lot of research and hard work, we finally have the bookshelf that we always wanted! Our kids enjoy reaching for their favorite books and we’ve been reading more often, now that our books are organized and displayed in this high-end DIY bookcase.
Don’t forget:
Watch the video to see the DIY Built-In Bookcase & Entryway Update
Supplies and Decor Featured:
- Grout Paint Pen
- Shelf Brackets
- Accordion Rack
- Ikea Shoe Cabinet
- Mostly Wine Bag
- Wire Baskets
- Puck Lights Shelf LightingÂ
- Battery Operated Candles
- Fairy Lights
- Plant Stand
- Garland
- Decorative Corbels
- DIY Boho Picture Frames with Free Printable Boho Artwork
Save this tutorial to your favorite Pinterest Board
Cheap Home Hacks that’ll Increase Value
Renovating a home can come with a high price tag if you’re not budgeting and deciding which updates bring the best return on investment. After selling our updated first home in just 4 years, we bought an even bigger house that needed a lot of updating. We sold our second home after 4 years while doing the much-needed work to produce a profit by following the same strategies we did in our first home.
If you enjoy updating your home, want to increase your home value or just want your home to look better, you should check out thee 10 Cheap Home Hacks That’ll Make Your House Look So Much Better.
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