Little Free Library
How we made a Little Free Library! Something I always wanted to do was add a touch of community to our home. Whether it was a mini food pantry or a frequent yard sale, I wanted to host some time of event to get to know my neighbors & be a light to those around me. The street we are on & the location we are in made it a no brainer for the addition we chose.
A Sweet Little Free Library Addition
Why a Little Free Library
My birthday present has turned into a couple month project in the Blue Abode. Something that I wanted to do at our old house was create some time of service that would benefit the community. My thought was either a food drive or a little library. Well, before we could jump on that over at the quaint Dyer Cottage, we up & sold our house & moved. Here we are in our sweet little Blue Abode & I just knew it was the perfect place for a library. Our location is right by the town post office & near a park. We are always seeing cute families walk passed our house. A little library would be perfect.
So Luke made it happen! We have yet to register it, but we will get there! The weather finally warmed up to start enjoying the outdoors, which means we have seen the neighborhood doors open wide & family begin their spring time exercise routines. This sweet little addition to our front yard brings a smile to my face every time I pull up. I see books that are no longer there & I see even more books that weren’t there before! The response from the community about our Little Free Library has been outstanding. It makes my heart flutter knowing that a passion of mine is being shared by many.
How We Made Our Own Little Free Library
Unfortunately, I do not have the most detailed step by step process as I let Luke do his thing. I didn’t think I should micromanage my own birthday present, am I right? But the basics are simple. We got a 4x4 post, cut it down to size, placed it in a large flower pot & filled it with a bag of cement. Once that hardened, we had the perfect, stable stand for our library. By doing it this way, we are able to plant flowers in it & make it all cute. Need to have that homey touch on our mini home! Our house does not have any landscaping yet, so this touch was so sweet. We can also move it around now rather than it being in one static location. That is, moving it with some grunts as it is pretty heavy. I highly recommend doing it in a base this way, however, if you do not have a nice flat place to put it or make it too top heavy, that can pose a hazard. Maybe it would be best to just dig a hole for the post. My advice, do whatever way won’t hurt the innocent sweet children visiting your library.
The frame is built out of plywood. We cut it & built it just as you see it. So simple & probably so unprofessional. We took the two sheets of plywood & cut it in an L shape that has an angled roof line. Luke cut holes for the doors to be installed & we were off to the races! I covered the inside walls with scrap wallpaper that we used on our stairway. The ceiling & floor we covered in kitchen counter top vinyl. The glass is a sheet of acrylic & all the siding, roof, & trim you see is a package of lathe! We found all of this at Menards, of course.
I can’t say how easy it was to put together, because I didn’t do it. But from what I could tell, it went up exactly has it looks like it would have.
A Sweet Touch this Little Free Library Brings
We put it out when the Indiana weather showed signs of spring. That means it withstood rain, wind, snow, frost, sun, ALL OF IT! The books have stayed completely dry & no damage has been done! I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!
The response from our town has been so sweet! So many people have donated/offered to donate books. People are even asking if we could build one for them! Here is the website if you are looking for more information, how you can get involved, & even a map of where there are libraries in your area. This has most definitely been my most favorite birthday present to date. If this is something you are interested in adding to your community or you would like to be apart of our journey with is, please let me know! This Little Free Library is only as strong as its community & by the looks of it, we have a good one.
