Finding a bookcase was harder than I thought it would be. We ruled out Ikea because we wanted something that would last and had a bit more character than mass produced particle board. So we did a google search for 'bookcases seattle'. Oddly enough not much came up. We live in the south end of the city which seems to be a wasteland for almost anything but food. (Columbia City neighborhood has a ton of great food, just FYI) One place did pop up though- Ballard Bookcase. Yup. Just as the name suggests it is a company that makes bookcases and is located in the Ballard neighborhood.
Ok, fair enough, we decided to check it out. So on a rainy day -no, I mean, absolutely pouring down buckets of water from the heavens, we headed up to Ballard Bookcase. The shop was tucked away in the more industrial district but the showroom was pleasant, with friendly people and a good selection of bookcases to look at. They make a lot of gorgeous custom bookcases and there were a number of binders filled with photos of amazing things they had built. But all we really needed was a run-of-the-mill bookcase.
We looked around at all the wonderful things they had and though Wow! Those are perfect but we can't afford that much! So we thanked the nice people and got back into the car. At which point we began to debate where to look next as waves of water washed over the car. We couldn't think of anywhere else to go. And it was getting close to lunch time. And the prices really weren't that bad since the bookcases were very well made. And we planned to keep this one until we died. So we went back inside.
In the back was a tall bookcase with plenty of shelves and decorative moulding. It was beautiful solid wood and cost $470. I'm not sure what I was expecting to pay for a bookcase. Most of my previous furniture purchases have been from Ikea or Craigslist. After taxes the cost would be over $500. I think I paid less than that for all my other furniture combined! BUT, this bookcase was a quality piece. It had been hand crafted right here in Seattle and we planned to keep it for a very long time. When I thought about it in that light the price didn't seem so bad. If $10 dollars got me 8 years from a crappy Ikea bookcase then this quality real wood bookcase would last at least 40. That's only $12.50 a year! A bargain!
So we snapped up the bookcase. We decided to come back in a few days when the weather was better and actually take it home. I was very excited when the guy put a little red "sold" sign on it. It was ours! No death by bookcase for our animals. But then there was a new dilemma. The wood was unfinished. We could stain it, paint it or wax it. Ultimately we decided to wax it using a special kind of wood wax with a hint of color.
It took time but wasn't too difficult to do. The first day we did it the wax dried quickly and it was slow going. The next day we did it was warm and the wax went on like butter and the job was much after. The guy at Ballard Bookcase gave Matt in-depth instructions on how to apply the wax.
In the above photo the top is stained while the bottom is not. It isn't a dramatic change which is why we picked this option. You get to see the grain of the wood but the color is warm and elegant. Doing the waxing was a bit of a dirty job though. I think I still have some dark spots where I got wax on my skin- and no, I don't mean my freckles.
Here is the 'in progress' shot. You take out all the shelves and do them separately. The shelves are adjustable height which is nice for all our odd shaped books. Art and osteology are topics that demand irregular shaped books.
And here is the beauty in its new home! All waxed and happy. We also managed to cull a few books from our collection so now there is room to buy more. Hurrah! The waxed wood goes nicely with our floors but is neutral enough to go with most decor when we move or change things up. So in the end I highly recommend Ballard Bookcase. I'm looking forward to a life time with this new addition to our home.
