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Bespoke Modular Bookshelf Prototype

August 17, 2011

Remember my post on bookshelf ideas? I finally came up with a design that suited me. it’s a combination of several designs. I liked this the most of all the pegs on my post, but had to find a way to reinterpret the idea in wood. It’s not as easy as copying the design. Besides if we just had this made in wood, it would be so tedious to take apart when we move. It would be too heavy and bolted to the wall and floor. We finally came up with a stand-alone design (wherein I could have several smaller, easier to manipulate and transport pieces) that covered most of the wall to maximize space, but also something that I could afford, was stable and didn’t use up too much wood!  This is a working prototype…

There are still some things we have to fix. For now I have a temporary home for some of my books. I plan to order 2 of this size, and a third that is wider for a flatscreen TV and multi-media gadgets. So it will be a library and media wall in one! The best thing about this idea is I can rearrange them however I want or not have them all in the same wall, especially if we move to smaller flats in Europe in the future!

I have much more brainstorming to do with Danni…

  1. Because even if I don’t  have a TV yet (no budget for it yet) I’ve to design the final 2 bookshelves together with the TV shelf to ensure that I have no regrets. I have to check, what maximum sized TV we can afford in the future so that I don’t keep on changing furniture.
  2. I need to make sure the bigger piece fits inside European lifts so I don’t have this problem that Mrs. O had in La Lanka where they had to cut the piece of furniture in half. There will be no Danni to do this for me in other posts! =O
  3. Notice that the light switches and remotes? The shelf beneath isn’t the same as the others, so we have to adjust the height of the drawers to make room for a little piece of wood on top of that shelf.
  4. Lastly with the prototype we did not forsee that the wall was not flat. Essential to the stability of this design is that the upper shelves are resting flat on the wall, so that even with heavy books the shelves which is supported by a skinny pieces of wood on the sides, it is kept stable. Because the wall is not flat and there is a protruding baseboard, only the bottom part is leaning flat on the wall. Therefore we need to lessen the depth of the bottom drawers/shelf by about 2 cm deeper* to ensure that it’s the top shelves not the bottom (which is plenty stable) that is leaning flat on the wall. *Gotta check if 2 cm is the maximum possible baseboard thickness as well

What do you think of the design? Any other suggestions that might help with this Diplo Lifestyle? (The furniture that I had designed for our permanent pad in Manila is so very different from the ones I’m having done for our posts)

Stay tuned! Will keep you posted on the progress of this project!

9 Comments · Diplo Home, jakarta shopping

Comments

  1. Maybs says

    August 18, 2011 at 3:52 AM

    Still loving all your wooden furniture.. 🙂 Ganda ng wood grains! Love the drawers at the bottom also. 🙂 Congrats on your new addition! 😉

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      August 18, 2011 at 5:22 AM

      Thanks Maybs, prototype pa lang yan. =P Can’t wait to get the entire media wall/library done! It always means a lot to me when you post a comment on my furniture! Super massive compliment coming from interior designers such as yourself =) (NAKS!!) Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Tala says

    August 19, 2011 at 3:41 PM

    My gosh na-alala mo yun nagyari sa TV shelf namin? HAHAHA! And it’s not half… it’s 1/3! HAHAHAHA! Buti nalang the design allows it to be cut as such. And don’t forget to measure your elevators!!!

    I love the wood sweetheart 🙂 And the design of course! You have to create more furnitures for sale!!!

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      August 19, 2011 at 6:31 PM

      1/3?!? Mwahahaha! That’s really funny Ta! How can I forget?? I would still love to see pics of your furni hun! Post naman on your blog!

      I don’t measure the elevators any more, because Danni takes care of that. He brings modular items in pieces up the elevator then assembles them inside my unit. He’ll help me also when it’s time to move. I just don’t know how I’ll do it without him in another post! Talagang we have to be better with the power drill!

      thanks so much sweety! I wish I had extra money and extra space so I can order for selling! Maybe I can work with Danni and import to the Philippines! =P

      Reply
  3. Chuzai Living says

    August 20, 2011 at 12:26 AM

    What a great design!! You really have a talent to design furniture! Great idea to have something heavy on the bottom which makes the shelf more stable, I assume. The color looks beautiful, too!! Great job!!

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      April 26, 2012 at 11:08 AM

      Hi Kaho, thanks so much for the compliment! The color is the natural color of teak. =) I used to love the dark colored wood until I realized it’s a wasted of the lovely wood grain of teak and natural color is easier to maintain than the dark which can chip off.

      Reply
  4. Ocmominmanila says

    September 4, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    This looks like our book shelves now! I’ll email you a photo so you can have ideas but this one looks really good already!

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      September 4, 2011 at 8:41 AM

      Thanks OC mom! Yes email please! I’d love to see it. I’m designing the media wall in one batch so no more problems with the more technical TV table and it looks put together. I can’t wait to finalize the design of all 3 pieces! Eagerly awaiting your email!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. DIPLO HOME ♖ Media Wall Teaser | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    October 15, 2013 at 5:47 PM

    […] months refining the design, on August 2011 the prototype of my modular bookshelf finally arrived! Click here to see photos. I absolutely love it. And decided I wanted another one so it can be placed beside my future TV […]

    Reply

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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

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HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
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