Bespoke Inspira Digital Bookcase
Working from home one day I took a hard look at my home office and decided it needed a refresh. Working for Panolam Surface Systems exposes me to fun, beautiful laminate patterns every day. I decided I would create a Bespoke Bookcase using my favorite Inspira™ Laminate patterns. The hardest part was deciding which pattern to choose. That is when it hit me…why settle for just one pattern? I love to change out the décor in my home with the seasons. In addition, call me crazy, but I am one of those people who love to put together KD (knock down) furniture such as IKEA. I have assembled a lot of KD furniture in my lifetime, especially bookcases. Most KD bookcases come with a thin backer material for the back of the bookcase. I ordered my favorite Inspira laminate sheets and purchased two Ikea Finnby Bookcases 24x71H for $49.99 each. Using the backer that came with the bookcases as my template I cut the laminate to the exact size of the bookcase backer.
Now the moment of truth. I have worked in the laminate industry for 10 years but have never cut a piece of laminate. I watched a few YouTube videos before I got started. I first tried a circular saw but found it too hard to control. Next, I tried the jigsaw thinking it would be lighter and easier to control. The laminate was too floppy to keep the jigsaw straight and I had a very ragged line and ended up cracking the laminate. That was when I decided to try the old-fashioned score and snap method. Most YouTube videos said this was the most difficult method. I found it to be the easiest and cleanest. I made sure I had multiple blades for my utility knife. I laid down a piece of painter’s tape on my cut line and scored the laminate 20 times for each cut. This was probably overkill, however I was running out of laminate and needed this to work. After the laminate was scored, I put another piece of tape parallel to my cut line. I then turned the laminate over and tapped along the backside of the cut line. It snapped a perfect piece each time.
I then nailed the Inspira laminate sheets to the back of my bookcases. The laminate makes for a sturdier backer that is easy to clean and looks fantastic. In addition, when I am ready to change my look, I just pull out the nails and replace the backer with a different laminate pattern. Check out my bookcases with Inspira Digital Patterns “Leaf and Vine” and “Istanbul”.