Please vote on plan of your choice....

[crokett]

I like A better. It will also be more functional.

There is nothing wrong with painted poplar/ply. My kitchen bench in the Finished Projects is just that.

[ejs1097]

I like B. 12" wide shelves are still very functional and will look more neat and tidy. Even with lots of books that tend to look bad and too library like with longer shelves. Plus the multiple widths and tighter doors at the bottom give it more character. I think A looks too cookie cutter and less 'custom'

[LarryG]

I've no problem with the proportions of either upper section; all else being equal I prefer the top half of "B" if only because it's not another example of the Same Old Thing we've all seen a bazillion times (i.e., "A"). But the detailing of "B" is a bit schizophrenic. The upper section leans toward an Arts & Craft, quasi-Frankie flavor that doesn't quite agree with the more traditional-looking surround and base. As Kevin mentioned, it would be good to know the context into which this would go and have to aesthetically coexist.

As others have noted, "A" would be improved if the base were divided into four equal panels and the verticals above it adjusted accordingly. Or, there's nothing wrong with three equal bays, unless you need the middle one to be wider for some reason.

EDIT: One other thought, if the room's baseboards are approximately as high as those plinths, you need to raise the bottom rail of the panels so that the base height will "read" across the face of this unit.

[siliconbauhaus]

I liked B as well....must be a architects thing

[chopnhack]

First, thank you to all who have taken time to reply.

Pappy: The wall unit will be used for storing of books and maybe some items being displayed, but mostly as a library unit.

Pappy, LinuxRandal, gary: The revision now shows the lower panels being evenly divided.

Kevincan, LarryG: The room will be a guest suite with 4" crown, 6 panel doors and 5 1/4" base all painted FJ pine. Instead of using rosettes and fluted pillasters I can just case the unit with same casing as room for more unity (I was going the other route when it wasn't going to be a built in that blended into the room).

Jeff S and Sugarman: Plans for something in between to follow tom.!

Thanks again for all the design input.
- John

[gary]

I like the look better with the panels equal. I'd increase the door sizes and they look a little small proportionally in your sketch. I assume they are door and not dummy panels.

If you go with "A", you'll need to reinforce the shelves to keep them from sagging. Have you checked out the Sagulator Article (sag calculator) yet? You'll likely need a face strip along the front? I don't know if the back is open, you'll need another strip along the back as well if you want the middle shelves to support books. If it's not open, you can staple through the back to the shelf (if you don't want it moveable).

[chopnhack]

Actually Gary, they are just panels as the bottom area is just a faux front, there is a knee wall behind it with one outlet - not sure exactly where the outlet will fall, but I know that it will not be direct center on any of the panels.
I should have a third sketch coming soon.

[chopnhack]

I may have hit a snag, I measured the area today and only have 9"of depth. What should I do with the space now?

[LarryG]

Well, three options come to mind, offhand:

1. Build a unit to fit the available 9" depth. Standard-size hardback novels will fit on a ~7" deep shelf, so you can make this work if that's the size books you need to accommodate. Obviously the coffee table books would have to go elsewhere.

2. Build a semi-recessed unit, using the available 9" depth plus a projection of whatever is required to get the total depth you want.

3. Close up the opening with gypsum board and sacrifice the space. The blank wall you create could, however, provide a place to sit a freestanding unit to hold the items you wanted to put into this built-in.

[chopnhack]

Yes, this will require some more pondering. Thank you all for your input. I will kick it around for awhile and post again a new set of drawings in the near future.

[footprintsinconc]

I have voted for option A. simpler looking, not too busy and imho would me better use of space.

[Wood_workur]

I like B, but the proportions are off. It would look just as bad if you fixed it (using phi to change the ratios) A is better, looks really nice, and the proportions are really good from what I can tell

[Rslaugh]

I like B, but the proportions are off. It would look just as bad if you fixed it (using phi to change the ratios) A is better, looks really nice, and the proportions are really good from what I can tell

I agree - voted for A but think you should change to an odd number of doors on the bottom probably 5.

[lkazista]

Take the top of A, and put it on the bottom of B.

A =Shelves
B = Panels

2 panels for each "stack" of shelves.


Lee

[vanguard]

I like plan A.