I've decided to take a break from renovations for the day. Sabrina's going to go in and do some stuff instead.

I'm just going to sit around and read. Gardening is tempting, but I really need to kick back. I'm certain we can get the store ready in time, especially once we have a deadline. Meanwhile, it'll be nice to get as much done as possible without a deadline. I have vivid memories of the stress of opening and closing stores, spending 12 hours a day to avoid being closed down.

I'm trying to maximize the space without cluttering it too much. One of the things that drives me crazy is that there ought to be space for 6 shelves in each bookcase instead of 5. If the middle brace was just one inch higher up, it would work. Bad designing.

I'm going ahead and putting in six shelves, (actually 5 not counting the base, 7 counting the base and the top.) The average hardcover book is 11 and 1/2 inches tall, so I can utilize 6 out of seven vertically. The shelf just below the brace-shelf is an inch too short, so I'll have to figure out workarounds. I can't waste that extra space, you know?

Whenever possible, I'm swapping out the bookcases we took from Linda's place that were stored in the basement for the ones I've been using. There are two sizes-- 24" and 28". I prefer the 28" ones. The ones from downstairs are sturdier and cleaner as well. We bought a raft of these cases from Stables when we opened the Bookmark. They were very cheap--cheaper than building our own and 25 times cheaper (literally) than buying solid wood bookcases. We waited for half-price sales.

Thing is--I think I'd make the same choice today even if I had the money to buy the solid wood shelves you see in most bookstores. These white laminate bookcases have held up very well, they are easy to clean, they are adjustable, they are modular and can be moved by a simple person. They also tend to brighten up the space considerably. I just like the look and feel of them.

How often do you find something cheap and also functional? And I may lack proper taste, but I think they look good. Besides, who really overtly notices bookshelves once the books are in them?

I think I've got about one more day of rearranging things, then we can start to put product back on the shelves.

I'm kind of enjoying this.