Playroom Bookshelves

We love books at our house -- the boys each enjoy reading and it has become a part of our daily life since Luke was little.  I have always enjoyed reading, and now I love that they love it too! So we have a TON of books -- and I am always adding to the collection.  

The 2 tall and skinny bookshelves that we had in the playroom just weren't really working for us... the books on the lower couple of shelves would get taken out and then randomly put back -- sometimes falling back behind the bookshelf, or just getting stacked and overall looked pretty messy.  Plus it made it hard to find a specific book when we wanted it.  And the books up on the top shelves were a little out of the boys' reach (for them to safely get), and therefore they were read much less frequently.  

So, I was wanting something different... lots of space, but also storage areas, but lower to the ground, and more accessible to the boys.  So I saw some shelving that I really liked at IKEA and decided to make a new little sitting area, bookshelves/storage area near our big back wall of windows.

Here are a few BEFORE pics:

Toy storage to the far right side of the playroom

2 tall and skinny  bookshelves on the left side of the playroom -- wall of windows in between

Here's Luke and Daniel "helping" with the shelving assembly (really just playing in the little cubbies!)

 And here are a few AFTER pics...

 We are still going to use at least 1 of the tall bookshelves for storing games and some of the tall books that won't fit in the cubbies -- not sure if I will leave them there or not

 The middle (lower) shelf for sitting and reading by the window -- I sewed a cushion cover for the padding -- it has greens, browns, and tans

 And a completed pic with the big throw-pillows

 Overall I am happy with how it came out -- it provides us with a TON of storage for books and other smaller toys (Legos) in the bins.  And the boys really seem to like having the place to sit and read by the window!  Success!