Turning My Office Into A Library!

Painting I hung up is: At Breakfast by Laurits Andersen Ring

☞ My name is Ariel and I’m a Canadian writer, poet, and YouTuber. I organize my shelves by genre and then colour and my favourite book is Animal Farm. I've been making bookish content online for a decade and love spreading a love of reading through videos, panels, articles, and more!

☞ Thanks for watching! ☜

[MD-wiht]

Am I the only one that would LOVE another house tour that’s filmed like a POV walkthrough? Watching these projects is so much fun, but I sometimes wish we could see footage that gives more of a sense of how everything looks when you’re stepping into the room 😆

[carolineprince]

40 minutes? YOUVE JUST SAVED MY WEEKEND! i am getting snacks and a drink BRB 🏃‍♀️

[danielleboon]

As a professional painter, here’s some tips.

First, wood never always matches. Different parts of the same tree will take stain a bit differently, so don’t sweat it being perfect too much.

Second, it’s too late, but next time, you can use some off cuts/scrap to test stain and match it. Start with your custom mix, put some on your test piece. Take your special walnut, add some dark walnut, then apply it next to the sample, and see how it looks. Don’t work in the original can, so you can add more special walnut if it gets too dark. You won’t have a formula, but you can keep going back and forth until you get it just about perfect.

Third, polyurethane changes the colour more than just turning it a bit yellow. It also makes the colour darker and richer. But you can mimic this really easily. Take a bit of water on your finger and touch it to the wood, the wet spot will be almost exactly the colour it’ll be after adding polyurethane

And a final cheat, if the two sets of stain are off, you can tint polyurethane. This can act kind of like a white wash. If you brush a coat of polyurethane with a touch of brown paint added to it to all the shelves, you’ll even out the difference between new and old. It’s a pita, but might be better than stripping wood

[xingcat]

Stair treads! I wouldn't have ever thought of that for shelves, but it makes so much sense and looks so good!

[AbbeyMayy]

You should keep an eye out for a vintage library ladder chair. They’re stunning and multifunctional, and would totally go with your aesthetic. The library is looking magical!

[catiehenderson]

have you considered adding a stained glass window in your home? (if you havent already). They’re really elegant and pretty and I think it’d fit your style to get a unique one

[krystinareads]

I do a lot of crafts, primarily quilting, and I know so many other quilters also live by, "Finished is better than perfect." There is also another quote that is my personal favorite, "If you can't see the mistake from a moving car than it doesn't matter". The idea of perfection will take the fun out of the most enjoyable tasks, and it's something that I routinely have to remind myself. Congrats on completeing your shelves! They came out absolutely marvelous!

[ericrabinowitz]

An object lesson that: "Perfection is the enemy of Excellence." Congratulations for not letting it deter you from reaching your goal!

[texaspoontappa]

I don't have a house to renovate, but I sew clothing and every single project of mine includes running into a wall, giving up, and not touching the project for months. I haven't returned to everything yet, but I'm starting to and looking at things after being detached from the stress of things not working out really helps you get in the problem solving mindset. Making stuff isn't a linear process. There's no deadline where you have to hand something in and get graded. You can drop something and return to it later. It's very comforting seeing that process here. I hope I can go back to all my unfinished projects.

[eli_drottningu]

Am I'm watching this while I reorganize my office? Yes

[GreenGiant]

Have you considered taking a stained glass making class? It could be cool to document the learning process (like your wittling video) and also add stained glass pieces to your home!

[au_clair_de_la_lune]

"I'm LOSING IT!" 😂🤣 (18:22)

[simonapollo]

This was genuinely so motivating to see how you recovered from the setbacks and still got the bookshelves done, getting rid of the idea of perfection.

[jjamieallover]

i think my favorite part about ariel's videos is how much she makes herself laugh <3

[jess]

I do not need shelves, I need "real estate for more books" 😂 Love it!

[taisachirovsky]

Sometimes, the internet is a weird space. I just want to thank you for occupying your corner of it. Thanks for being honest about the process, and by doing that, giving all of us the space to take more time and put things off and get back to it when it feels right to get back to it. 🎉 I appreciate you, your videos, and the pod ✨ thank you for all of it!

[aimeeb]

Two suggestions. First a charity shop for your step stool. Sometimes you can find a nice foldable, wood one. Vintage is always pretty. Second, take so.e of your scrap wood, cut it to book size, drill holes in the bottom and put pegs in them to match the drilled holes in the shelves. This is a nicer look than the metal ones.

[laurawagner]

Now that you have discovered all that extra room in the upstairs bathroom have you considered moving the laundry to that room. 90% of laundry comes from the bedrooms and it would save you time and energy

[jovipenguin]

Ariel: My book situation is out of control!

Also Ariel: This video is sponsored by Book-of-the-Month Club!

😂

[zanesutherland]

It turned out so beautiful! A lovely backdrop and display for your books and to work in! My 84 yr old grandma has never had internet, so she has thousands of books in her old farmhouse. Books shelves on majority of the walls. I was reading chapter books in kindergarten, because she would always read to us as a babies and taught us young, so i was ahead of most kids in my class.