I have been looking for a side table that is 18″ wide, 24″ tall, and 8″ deep. I was moving some wood in the storage room and saw three 8″ laminate shelves. Two were 24″ long and the third was 38″ long.

I asked my husband if we could build a box out of them and use it as a side table. Not only did he agree, he pulled a matching 24″ shelf out of the laundry room. They are all walnut stained.

I was so excited. We could make a bookcase for a side table to house the remote controls, etc. I drew a picture and wrote down the measurements I wanted and he took them to the lumberyard.

When it was finished, it didn’t look right. The center shelf had been mounted vertically, not horizontally. It measured 24″ wide and 18″ tall! It didn’t work at all; but David said he could fix it and he did.

I set it next to the love seat and went to soak my feet, sitting in the chair by the front window. The CD case I had next to the chair was too tall and I bumped it, spilling my glass of water.

I moved everything to the recliner and put a new glass of water on the new bookcase. The recliner rocked…or something…and I spilled that glass of water! My husband told me it was too narrow for the space.

I got out the table that was formerly there. The top was large enough for two glasses, the phone, answering machine and a flame-less candle.

I decided to replace the “too tall” CD case with the bookcase. I tried it next to it, but it didn’t leave three feet between it and the TV stand. We needed a three-foot walkway from the front door.

Then I tried it perpendicularly and there was the required three feet…but the lumberyard did not put a piece on the back of it and you could see the unfinished edges. I fixed that with Old English.

Staining the unfinished edges with “Old English.”

I was glad they failed to install a back when the weather here cooled off. The air is still able to circulate through the bookcase from the window behind it…and it is the perfect height for that chair.

My new bookcase made from four bookshelves.