Smashing a bookcase along a wall

I have a lot of books.  And now, thanks to homeschooling, my kids have a lot of books. Although Ava is as much of a bookworm as I am, so it was inevitable that we would end up drowning in books! It was time to really get serious about bookcases.  I had two, plus a homeschool area but it wasn't holding everything.

So I bought 4 of these IKEA bookcases after I measured our downstairs wall, and they would all just fit.



Well, actually I had two from a few years ago when there used to be a tv downstairs, so I bought 2 more to finish my wall of bookcases.

Yesterday, Ava and Owen and I assembled the other two.  We slid the third one into its place, and then we tried to slide the fourth one.  Only it didn't fit.  The base of the wall was off from the top by 1/2".

I was more then a little unhappy considering I had the other two bookcases in boxes just sitting there since June.  (I am the ultimate procrastinator!)   Plus, my vision for a wall of bookcases evaporated in a second.  It totally made me sick to my stomach since I had such high hopes.

After a lot of thinking, I ended up taking off one of the sides and drilling through the other bookcase to where the holes already lined up and sort of creating my own bookcase.  So instead of each bookcase technically having two sides, two of my bookcases share a side.  Make sense?

To be careful, I am going to be putting some lightweight decorative items on the side that is doubled up.  And here's where I am so far.

See the deer antler?  That's the side and bookcase that is hooked up to the farthest bookcase on the right.  Books weigh a lot, so I am going to be taking it easy on the third bookcase with lots of pretty things rather than lots of heavy books.

Good thing Pinterest is loaded with book styling images.