A Case of Cookbooks
Melanie Jane has been permanently rusticated by her corporate masters, and needed a well organized home office. For two years she has been working under a pair of bookshelves that were completed loaded with cookbooks, including one pile that was headed for the ceiling–and we have ceilings ten feet high.
The solution was to take a trip to my local lumber mill, Rustic Lodge Works, and check on their inventory. To my surprise, they had a large stock of local Ash lumber, and at a reasonable price. This kiln-dried lumber was just the ticket.
I designed this case to be cookbook sized, with the largest books on the bottom, and increasingly smaller books as the shelves rise. The top is designated for odd sized books and specialty books. It was built to fit into a limited space–not too wide, not too high.
Construction is typical bookcase–shelves in dadoes (grooves cut into the wood), hidden by some homemade trim. There’s no glue in the case proper, as it is held together by some fancy French made nails. They are functional and decorative at the same time, like the nails in Craftsman furniture.
The back is solid ash as well, though it is made of beaded tongue and groove. Altogether, this bookcase is full of heaviosity, and should be around for as long as someone likes to cook.
Southern Fusion Cooking 