Find Part 1 (building the bookcase) here.
The hardware for the bookcase doors (or Murphy doors as they’re also referred to) are relatively simple. The bottom hardware is a ball bearing and the top hardware includes a metal pin. There are no hinges. It seemed as though it would be a relatively simple install. But it wasn’t. In order for the hardware to function properly, everything had to be exact – with little to no wiggle room. We were dealing with pretty square bookcases in a somewhat square opening. Not to mention the entire wall leaned in. We worked and readjusted and tried again. It was late, we were frustrated and finally – the bookcases fit into the hardware. And they opened – which was my biggest fear the whole time.
I mentioned earlier that we decided to install the face frame after the bookcases were installed. Here’s why it was a stroke of genius…
We figured it would be near impossible for us to get the bookcases completely level with each other within this space. But in order to look good – they needed to be spot on. We knew we wouldn’t be able to adjust the bookcases once they were installed, but we would be able to adjust the placement of the face frame. There was a significant face frame overlap on all the edges so we were able to adjust the frame so they were completely level with each other. Mission accomplished.
See how nice and level these are?! They would not look like that had we installed them before installing the bookcase. It would have been all sorts of messy.
Once the face frame was attached, we had to cover the side gaps with trim moulding. The moulding is attached to the wall – not to the bookcases. This allows them to swing open freely and still gives it a finished look. We also added a trim piece to the left side bookcase to cover the middle gap. The gaps are necessary in the design in order for them to open properly. This means the left side will always have to be opened first.
With all the trim in place and the adjustable shelves in – the space looked completely different.
Before:
After:
I’m beyond happy with how it turned out. It’s exactly what I wanted. Now if I would just dedicate some time to styling the shelves, we would be in business. But styling isn’t my strong point. They might look like this for a while and even then it’s an improvement from the crooked bi-fold doors!
