Half height bookcases around a Craftsman fireplace

This is one of our favorite projects, because a small change made a big difference in this room. It started out with a very nice fireplace, but there was no place for books... which was a big deal since the homeowner was a noted author!

Take a look at the "Before" photo and you'll see what we mean:

Those empty spaces are just crying out for a nice piece of furniture.

We installed two small sets of shelves with tops to match the mantel. The rest was painted to match the trim, and we cut out holes for access to the outlets.