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Since we moved to this house a year and a half ago, my cookbooks have been kept in a rickety bookcase that didn't fit the larger books. But now we've splurged on a sturdy and beautiful bookcase, made by a friend, out of wood that was grown near this place. Isn't it a beauty? http://www.flickr.com/photos/wester/13221669244/

Yes, it is a beauty! I absolutely love the look of built-ins. And that was so clever to have the two bottom shelves extend further to the side. My own cookbooks are in two office-style bookcases in the eat-in area of my kitchen. Not the most beautiful solution, but they get the job done. Most people are so distracted by the amount of cookbooks I have to even notice the shelves they sit on, or so it seems from recent experience! 

My mom likes to tease me that all my decorating consists of books and bookshelves, and I really can't disagree with her! In addition to the cookbook shelves, we have two small bookcases in the den and two more in the bedroom that we use in place of nighstands, but my very favorites are the IKEA bookshelves in our living room that house most of our fiction collection. We were looking for a balance of affordability and quality and settled on 3 of these solid wood bookcases to fill one corner of the room. I think they ended up looking even better than we expected. I can't imagine the chaos our house would be without all these shelves!

It is indeed a beauty!  Nice grain on the wood, and quite chunky shelves - very nice!  BUT, it looks almost full already.  How will you fit in more books? :-)

beautiful natural wood.  We have two builtins too, but certainly not enough and use various other bookcases.

Beautiful and a clever use of the space otherwise wasted.  That top shelf is unusual and adds warmth.  Bravo to you and the builder.

I only read the books.  Well, sometimes I cook with them.

Thank you for the compliments!

As for place for more cookbooks: Well, for now all my cookbooks fit in and I think I can fit in a dozen or so more. After that, the less popular books will have to disappear, either to a different bookcase in my house or out of the house. There are some cookbooks here that are really not my style anymore.