Cinderblock Book Shelf

When we made our big move to the Bay Area, we purged a lot of our old, damaged thrift store furniture. But doing that meant that 1) We have to buy/make all new stuff, 2) We have nowhere to put the things that we have, and 3) See #1!

So, Tyler helped me figure out a temporary solution for our books and knickknacks, until we find it in our budget to make the shelving/ desk unit we really want! We have a bunch of cinder blocks in the back yard left over by the last tenant, and I know what you’re thinking… ugh cinderblock furniture?! But it has really grown on me. I like the combination of the cement and wood in the house. It looks modern, rustic, and simple.

All he did was trim the end of cedar board to fit through the hole in the cinderblock and cut a notch out so it looked like this…

But each cinderblock is a little different. So, to make them snug, Tyler varied the notch measurements on each block. Then we simply fed the boards through the blocks and carefully stacked them. (That was definitely a two person job)

Because it’s just temporary and we don’t have any kids, we didn’t secure them all together. But if you have kids it might be a good idea to bracket them together and to the wall with some cement screws.