Built-in storage solution

After living in my house for five years, I've finally decided that it's time to make some changes to my family room. New wall color, new doors, new storage solutions, etc. Renovations are now underway and I love every little change.

The room has wonderful built-in bookcases. There are three separate sets of shelves, side-by-side, each set measuring about 34"w x 48"h. I love them because we have hundreds of movies and I can store them all on these shelves without adding another piece of furniture to house them all. We use the two sides spaces for movie storage and the middle to display pictures and knick-knacks. The problem, however, is that, although we have this great storage space, it always looks messy.

When we first moved into the house, I thought about putting doors on the outer shelves to enclose the movies. The doors would be huge, so it wasn't a very good option. Recently, after consulting my dad (who happens to be a very handy guy to have around), we decided to try and use a slide track system rather than doors with hinges. A track was installed across the top of the shelving units. A rolling wheel was installed inside the top of the custom-made door and fits into the track. There was a tendency for the wheel to "pop" out of the track, so we added a block of wood above it to keep the wheel in place inside the track. The doors slide back and forth along the track to expose or hide the shelves.

I absolutely LOVE the new look. Hiding those shelves has given the room a much cleaner, more organized look. One more creative solution. I can't wait until the rest of the room is done!

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