My first book nook, Tolkien inspired

It's been some time since my last entry, but I have been working on something special.  My wedding anniversary was last month, and I wanted to make something really special for my husband.  I already gave him a gift that he wanted very much, but I wanted to give him also something from the heart.  He is a lover of Tolkien's work, so I thought, what better way to give him something that he can (somehow) use?  A book nook!

My idea was for him to put it among his Tolkien books, but in the end he decided to place it in his work room, among his comics books, so he can look at it - it even has lights!

I found a lovely shop that were selling empty book nooks, very affordable, and pretty, and that was my first stop - by the way, I strongly recommend them.  The only bad thing was that the package took a long time to arrive, and it was not going to be ready for the anniversary - oh well, these things happen.  So to increase the effect of surprise I waited until he was out of the house for a few days, giving some lessons in another part of the country - I had to work fast!  On the bright side, the kit was amazingly cut, and there were instructions included to make things even easier.  So the work started.  First, I built the exterior part, and attached the included string of LED lights:

While the glue was setting, I printed the image that was going to be on the window; the kit included several landscapes, but we preferred that the image was coming from Tolkien's imagination as he was writing.  So hubby chose a drawing of Gandalf fighting the Balrog, and I made it in transparency paper, like the ones the kit included.  

Then I arranged the lights so they would illuminate well the image:

Gluing the interior walls to each other came next - but I did not glue them to the base.  I thought it would be easier to put the decorative wallpaper without them being already attached:

You can see how the outside light is changing as the day goes by... So I stopped here for the day.

Next day work: decorating!! My favorite part.  I printed a lovely wallpaper made by Evona, of Artsy Miniatures, and cut it to measure for the walls:

Cutting the hole for the window.  No worries, as the window frame will cover any mistakes

I absolutely love the integrated shelf!

As you can see, there was a tiny bit at the top of the walls that was not covered, so I improvised a cornice, and finally glued down the inside walls:

Looking good!

Next step, staining the window frame.  That was the last thing of the day that I did, so it would be dry for next day's work session:

Not even enough light to take a pic, lol!

Next day were the final tweakings.  First, gluing on the window:

Then, arraging the final lights in the ceiling so the scene has a litte more light - I wanted to wallpaper the ceiling too, but I finally gave it up so the lights would be brighter:

Now it is almost done!  Only lacking the floor, for which I chose a lovely French parquet:

Gorgeous design and colors!

My job was finished.  I still had to glue the front frame and decorate the outside.  But I wanted hubby's opinion on that, and waited until he came back.  I suggested we put a Tolkien book cover on the sides, but he preferred simply to stain the wood, so that's what I did:

For the decorations, I kept it simple: a writing desk with a vintage typewriter, some empty pages and some already typed, a pair of glasses, and a pipe resting on an ashtray - Tolkien smoked tobacco pipes.  There is also a framed map of Middle Earth in the wall, and an umbrella hanging on the back of the chair - that damned English weather! 

I am very happy how well it turned out!  Hubby said he liked it a lot, and proceed to put it in a place of honor, very near his working table.  He kept it lit all day!