January 14, 2009

white or birch?

Given the shape and spatial constraints of the house, our goal has been to redesign rooms in that they are equipped with ample storage and also so that they are able to serve double duty, i.e. guest room/study, dining room/library, etc.

Our original plan in the dining room was to have cherry shelves built into the north wall, floor to ceiling, so that there would be continuity/flow into the kitchen (the kitchen cabinets are cherry). Well... unfortunately, cherry shelves are not in the budget, for now. However, the Ikea
BILLY bookcase falls well within budget. PLUS, as luck would have it, 4 of the 31" BILLY bookcases fit perfectly, wall to wall, so that, almost, the bookcases could look built-in (minus the soffit detail). Question is.... do we go with white or birch?

I collaged a quick mock-up, in Photoshop, for both options:

Since the walls and ceiling will be painted white (Sherwin-Williams Dover White), I think I am leaning more towards the white option. I'm just afraid between the cherry kitchen cabinets and the white oak floor, adding another wood to the mix will just evoke visual chaos.

Call out for suggestions...

7 comments:

terry said...

I like the white - it blends in with the wall and once the books are in you hardly notice the wood. It is looking so good! Terry

Anonymous said...

What color is the rest of your dining room furniture? Hey, what about the red or the silver color? They could be cool accent pieces. -Karen

ingrida said...

... um, dining room furniture???

Well, right now we'll be using this table I inherited from my parents (my dad made it - white oak 42" round table) and we have 4 red Eames DCW chairs that we'll use as the dining room chairs.
Link:
(http://hivemodern.com/products/?view=sub_product&sid=1435&cid=339&cid2=343)

I think eventually, we want to make (or purchase) some kind of large rectangular wood table...

Anyway, I think we wamt to try and keep the bookcases neutral since we have a lot of artwork and sculptural pieces/accent peices already packed away, ready to come out of hiding. Plus the chairs are red...

I think once the kitchen is finished up next week (countertop and appliances installed), we'll get a clearer picture of which option to go with...

Keep suggestions coming though - it helps to hear other opinions!

Wendy said...

I agree with not putting another wood into the mix so I vote for white, especially if you want the wall to have a continuous flow.

ingrida said...

We are going with white...!

ingrida said...

UPDATE:
After several long discussions, we opted for the Beech Veneer option.

Actually, Bryan said no way, no how are we buying white. It's just wrong for the dining room. I don't completely agree... I think white would have worked, but I understand his point, just as long as the wood option looks similar to the cherry kitchen cabinets. Luckily, the beech veneer is very close...

Mary said...

Hello, How do I get in touch with you? There is no email or contact info listed .. please advise .. thanks .. Mary. Please contact me maryregency at gmail dot com