photography
and article
by Southern Living Magazine
In
Maureen and C.A. Miller's Lake Charles, Louisiana home, two walls of bookcases
literally make the foyer the family library.
When I designed the foyer, the concept was to create a multipurpose space,"
notes Maureen, and ASID Interior Designer, and President of Miller
Manor Homes. "Many houses today just aren't large enough to have
separate libraries. Bookcases add architectural interest to any room, but
because books are so important to me, this is an ideal welcome to our home.
"The genesis was our extensive collection of oversize art and design
books," she recalls. "The 15-inch-deep bookshelves determined
the thickness of the foyer wall and allowed us to have raised-panel cased
entrances to the living and dining rooms as well as deep cabinets without
wasting space."
Maureen
used 3/4-inch birch plywood to make shelves that would
hold the heavy books without buckling. For added support she faced the shelves
with ogee-edged, 1 x 2 molding strips.
To help prevent the shelves from sagging, Maureen made the adjustable shelves
no longer than 36 inches. "Although the shelves over the cased openings
are 52 inches long, they are built as cabinet bottoms with extra supports,"
the designer adds. "And I place lighter, smaller books on those spans."
Maureen designed 32-inch-tall cabinets below the shelves for concealed storage.
"We used touch latches instead of exposed knobs, and we added molding
strips so the cabinets appear to be custom paneling," she explains.
