The Hidden Staircase

This Friday for S&T I wanted to share a little gift my husband made for me. The up stair's hallway in our other house had plenty of room for books and for ready to boot. Our new house has a bit of a different lay out and not nearly the same amount of room in the hall upstairs. I was wondering what we would do with all the kids' books. My husband told me he had a plan and set to work. I was not unhappy with the results:



(Before picture - not sure if you can make it out - but the railing was REALLY low!)

My husband took off the railing and made a small bookshelf underneath for some of the kids' books:

He then made a floor to ceiling bookshelf on the top of the staircase. Even more room for books.






I was so happy with his gift to me. I am so thankful that I have a husband who is willing to make our house a home. I certainly loved this gift - maybe even better than flowers - well, almost that much!



I was thinking about all the children's books I love to read. On the top of my list is the Little House on the Prairie Series.




Another favorite is the Elsie Dinsmore series - I love old classic books!




Then there is also the Anne of Green Gable series - no girl alive should be allowed to graduate from Jr high without having read those books.






However, my all time favorite series from when I was just a girl is the Joy Sparton series. How I love those books. I do think they are all out of print now - but those have remained my favorite childhood series of all time. (This is the actual copy I had as a girl. I remember staying up late and reading in bed. I would start laughing so hard - my Mom would come in and tell me that it was much too late to be up and I needed to get to bed. Of course, I would beg to read just ONE more chapter...)





What is your favorite childhood book?

Thanks so much for stopping by. I am so glad you did. For other Show and Tell's hop over to Kelli's.

Blessings,

~Martie

19 comments:

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

...oh, this makes me long for bookshelves...I've been discarding books because of lack of space...thanks for sharing

~~Deby said...

oh ....those shelves look great Martie...I have a husband like that too...he has been off work all week, re-doing our *new to us* home....the living room is almost done...it is gorgeous, and I would much rather have this than flowers, to be sure

SmilingSally said...

What a FANTASTIC GIFT that is! Your husband knows how to make a lady smile. Thanks for sharing. Happy Show and Tell Friday. Here’s mine:
http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/2009/04/show-and-tell-friday-my-questionable.html

Hootin Anni said...

What a clever, CLEVER idea!!! I so love books so to me, anything that keeps the books in the home is great for me!!!!!

My Show n Tell is some of my treasured roses and amaryllis this week. Come by and enjoy the sweet fragrance and beauty.

Happy Friday.

Diane Shiffer said...

wowsers! those shelves are amazing! what a creative and handy guy your sweet dh is... and you can tell him i said so;)

favorite books from childhood.hmm.. hafta think about that one. i always seemed to have my nose in a book♥

Sandra said...

What a great idea! That's a good way to use up otherwise wasted space. We also love the Elsie Dinsmore series. We have the whole collection.

Simply Heart And Home said...

Hi Martie! I love your bookcase (and the books!). Your husband is a handy fellow. He did such a wonderful job on the bookcase.

Blessings,

Gina

PS Elsie Dinsmore is one of my favorites as well. :)

Deborah said...

I love the book shelf! My favorite books were Anne of Green Gables and The Lion,the Witch and the Wardrobe(about 35 years before it became a movie!)

Adrianna Gimbel said...

That is AWESOME! I may steal that idea one day when we get a house! We need a lot more bookshelf space than we currently have.
Oh...and all-time favorite book series: Anne of Green Gables!

A Hint of Home said...

That was a great idea and good way to solve the book problem. It's probably safer with the bannister higher, too.

Julie said...

Your husband is the sweetest!!! His project turned out so good. He is definitely a keeper! I prefer the classics too....Have a wonderful Friday...Julie

donslissa said...

Wow! This is awesome! Your hubbie did a great job!

Susan said...

Oh this is absolutely fabulous!!! My favorite childhood books are Wizard of Oz and Nancy Drew books.
Susan

Jadehollow said...

He did an awesome job .. what a great use of space. Indeed better than flowers anyday.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a blessed weekend.
Debbie

Karen at Nittany Inspirations said...

That is a wonderful solution for book storage.

Being Mrs Miles said...

Visiting you via Kelli's Show and Tell blog train!

Now is that cool - or what! How imaginative and clever. GOOD husband!

Love all these classics too - they are dear to my heart as well. Its nice knowing our children and childrens children might love the same books despite all the new technology!

Thx for allowing us to share!

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

That is such a great way to block off the end of a staircase and to be able to add height on the railing. Great storage. I just love it. Hugs, Marty

Susan B said...

What an excellent idea! Your husband did a great job with the bookshelves, what a wonderful gift!

My favorite childhood books were all the "Little House" books, "Little Women" and Nancy Drew books. Thank you for sharing!

Victoria @ Auction Girl Vintage said...

Raising the railing ... what a cool idea!

My favorite childhood book, hmmm, that's a hard one. I taught kindergarten for many years, so have so many favorite read-alouds. Good Night Moon is a favorite, because my oldest son began "reading" it himself before he was two. I love The Secret Garden, but didn't read it till I was an adult. As a child, I was enchanted by Edward Eager's stories, the various Alice In Wonderland tales, and many others, including Mrs. Wiggs Of The Cabbage Patch. Now THAT was a book!

Victoria
30 Days of Junkin' in April