We've all got box rooms in our houses. Mine is certainly larger than others I've seen but still isn't an amazing size. You might get a single bed in there and a bedside table with a bit of a wardrobe but not much more, plus many of them have this irritating wasted space where the diagonal box is above the stairs:
So I set out on a project to convert our box room into a small comfortable library (read: snug). The plan was to build a solid oak bookcase and storage above the diagonal box section that could easily be converted into a free-standing bookcase should we ever want to dismantle the frame (there are plans to turn part of this room into a stairway to a loft room eventually!). This box room had already been earmarked as a bit of a "comms room" and have ran cat5e cable under the floorboards to various places. So naturally the bookcase/storage idea turned into bookcase/storage/server rack.......and then again into bookcase/storage/server rack/pull-out desk! But why stop there? Lets class things up a bit with a rolling ladder because who hasn't dreamed of having one
After a lick of paint (Crown Gravel Blue, Hare and Stone White), the main frame was built using load-bearing CLS timber with half lap joints for strength (glued and screwed) and was secured to the wall and ceiling where possible.
I've almost certainly over engineered it but I wanted to make sure there was enough support where needed. The solid oak panels I bought weighed a ton! All the countersunk screws and half lap joints that were going to be visible were filled with wood filler before being sanded down smooth ready for painting.
With the frame mostly complete I turned my attention to the bookcase. B&Q of all places actually sell decent looking solid oak in both square and waney edge in-store only for a reasonable price. A friendly tip to anyone looking at doing similar, measure the "square edge" multiple times because I found many pieces that were either shorter than advertised or that were parallelogram in shape!
I used some medium Danish Oil to stain and protect the oak which has given it a lovely red colour and a smooth polished finish. Also routed a nice finger grip under the desk top.
In-between Danish oil coats I painted the frame in Crown Stone White then fixed the desk with some ballbearing runners in place and tested the bookcase in place for size. A snug but good fit!
I bought some cheap 5mm ply and stained that with the Danish Oil too for the backboard of the bookcase. I wasn't sure if I'd get the same colour finish due to it being different wood but it's not a bad match!
I have to apologise but I didn't actually get any photos of the ladder as I was building it! Essentially it's just the same CLS timber as the frame with half lap joints holding the rungs in place. The bottom step was angled by a few degrees so on the flat the ladder naturally leaned onto the bookcase. I just simply added two castor wheels to the bottom that have a good maximum load capacity and attached two pulley wheels designed to run on 22mm pipe. These are attached to two metal plates that have been bent by a few degrees to match the bottom step. The pole and pole holders are just steel 316 marine handrail in 22mm. It's lovely and smooth when rolling.
Now the keen eyes amongst you may have noticed that since the addition of the rolling ladder, the pull-out desk doesn't have enough room to be pulled out all the way. Kudos! while the ladder can be unhooked from it's runner at the top, it's a bit cumbersome so after a bit of thought, I decided to build a kick stand. An interesting solution to a problem that should never have existed in the first place! With the kickstand down it pulls the ladder further away from the bookcase, allowing the desk to be pulled out all the way.
Now I still need access to the back/sides so I opted to fit some 5mm ply painted in Stone White into the frame with magnetic catches. This holds them perfectly in place but means I can pop them off when needed.
I'm quite proud of how this has turned out. I have no doubt the ladder will eventually wear a hole in the carpet. I've still got a few bits to finish off such as furniture but already this room feels so comfortable
So I set out on a project to convert our box room into a small comfortable library (read: snug). The plan was to build a solid oak bookcase and storage above the diagonal box section that could easily be converted into a free-standing bookcase should we ever want to dismantle the frame (there are plans to turn part of this room into a stairway to a loft room eventually!). This box room had already been earmarked as a bit of a "comms room" and have ran cat5e cable under the floorboards to various places. So naturally the bookcase/storage idea turned into bookcase/storage/server rack.......and then again into bookcase/storage/server rack/pull-out desk! But why stop there? Lets class things up a bit with a rolling ladder because who hasn't dreamed of having one
After a lick of paint (Crown Gravel Blue, Hare and Stone White), the main frame was built using load-bearing CLS timber with half lap joints for strength (glued and screwed) and was secured to the wall and ceiling where possible.
I've almost certainly over engineered it but I wanted to make sure there was enough support where needed. The solid oak panels I bought weighed a ton! All the countersunk screws and half lap joints that were going to be visible were filled with wood filler before being sanded down smooth ready for painting.
With the frame mostly complete I turned my attention to the bookcase. B&Q of all places actually sell decent looking solid oak in both square and waney edge in-store only for a reasonable price. A friendly tip to anyone looking at doing similar, measure the "square edge" multiple times because I found many pieces that were either shorter than advertised or that were parallelogram in shape!
I used some medium Danish Oil to stain and protect the oak which has given it a lovely red colour and a smooth polished finish. Also routed a nice finger grip under the desk top.
In-between Danish oil coats I painted the frame in Crown Stone White then fixed the desk with some ballbearing runners in place and tested the bookcase in place for size. A snug but good fit!
I bought some cheap 5mm ply and stained that with the Danish Oil too for the backboard of the bookcase. I wasn't sure if I'd get the same colour finish due to it being different wood but it's not a bad match!
I have to apologise but I didn't actually get any photos of the ladder as I was building it! Essentially it's just the same CLS timber as the frame with half lap joints holding the rungs in place. The bottom step was angled by a few degrees so on the flat the ladder naturally leaned onto the bookcase. I just simply added two castor wheels to the bottom that have a good maximum load capacity and attached two pulley wheels designed to run on 22mm pipe. These are attached to two metal plates that have been bent by a few degrees to match the bottom step. The pole and pole holders are just steel 316 marine handrail in 22mm. It's lovely and smooth when rolling.
Now the keen eyes amongst you may have noticed that since the addition of the rolling ladder, the pull-out desk doesn't have enough room to be pulled out all the way. Kudos! while the ladder can be unhooked from it's runner at the top, it's a bit cumbersome so after a bit of thought, I decided to build a kick stand. An interesting solution to a problem that should never have existed in the first place! With the kickstand down it pulls the ladder further away from the bookcase, allowing the desk to be pulled out all the way.
Now I still need access to the back/sides so I opted to fit some 5mm ply painted in Stone White into the frame with magnetic catches. This holds them perfectly in place but means I can pop them off when needed.
I'm quite proud of how this has turned out. I have no doubt the ladder will eventually wear a hole in the carpet. I've still got a few bits to finish off such as furniture but already this room feels so comfortable
.
