Once cleared of its contents, the space revealed itself to be ready and willing for a renovation. Most of what you see here would be ripped our, refinished, or painted over.

I had fun using the physical space to imagine the shape of things to come.

There were a few obstacles in the remodel path, such as this flight of stairs that led to an unusable basement. Inconveniently located smack in the middle of the shop...these had to go.

Early drawings of the plan that considered using the basement for storage.

It only occurred to me later that we could simple cover up the stairs — here I was thinking we'd need to build some kind of hatch over it. (My architect hated this idea, and he was right.)

Preliminary thoughts on the storefront display, where the READ MORE BOOKS neon sign ended up.

A passing thought — should I paint the inside of the archway yellow?! The back of the shop was originally going to be more kids books, and I considered a more thorough treatment of the space.

Another idea: build shelves around the stairs! This one challenges the old claim that there are no bad ideas in brainstorming.

First architectural drawings of the cashwrap had a "cascade" look to the shelves, a checkout "nook" and shelves behind the register. We'd change this almost entirely in the next round of designs.

What's now the back of the shop was previously an antique-restoration workshop. Drop ceiling, wood-paneled walls, linoleum floor — we ripped it all out.

One of the many "perspective shots" I took from the front door to remember what the space looked like pre-books. That's my amazing contractor, Benjamin, standing in the old doorway.

The renovation project begins! This is July 2021 and the store would look mostly like this, with its guts all poured out, for a couple months.

Under decades of linoleum, we found the original hardwood floors, in desperate need of a refinishing.

The whole back of the shop is ripped out and the new framing begins. At this point I start to wonder if I'll open at all in 2021.

Oh yeah — the creepy Door to Nowhere we found hidden behind some old wood paneling. It opens onto a brick wall — straight outta Neil Gaiman's 'Coraline'.

Ohh, look! MOLD. Centuries worth. It was very satisfying to rip this old plaster ceiling down.

One last look before the archway....

The archway would start to emerge after the demo around mid-August. I still couldn't visualize how it would come together, but I had faith in my team.

And they didn't disappoint! How quickly things started to come together from here. Every day a new milestone. It was a dream-coming-true.

The floors stripped, walls primed, ready for some aesthetic flourishes. I was very eager to paint over the old wallpaper and "greige" tones.

Fresh coat of paint #1, early September 2021. The floors were ready for the professionals to come and do their best.

And now the floors were refinished (still drying, you can tell by the gloss).

The first components of the new bookshelves arrive one sunny morning in mid-October.

Franklin Fixtures delivers 1,100 linear feet of shelving in two hours and we get to work installing them.

Here's Alan putting up the pegboard display that would serve as the backdrop for my cashwrap area.

Within a few days, it's likeness to a real bookstore starts to emerge. Books were scheduled to arrive the next day, which made for very precarious project planning.

Finally, the first 70 cartons arrive (each containing about two dozen books) filling up the back room. I recruit an army of friends and family to start the shelving process. Within a few days, another 50 cartons show up, and then about 5 cartons every other day thereafter until my initial order was mostly received.

The first books hit the shelves. Based on a spreadsheet I made that divided the number of books I ordered (separated by category), I loosely model where books should go. Of course it would turn out I was WAY off, and I had to re-merchandise some sections three times before opening, but it was a good start.

Friends from far and wide came in for half-day shifts to shelve books. Their payment was coffee, wine, and "a book discount, as soon as I learn how to do that in my new software."

Every little bit helped — even my five-year old pitched in. He was mostly comic relief, but he has a knack for straightening books on their shelves. (I wonder where he gets it from?)

After months of project planning, uncertainty, hard work, down payments, and coordination, this old space could actually be mistaken for a real-life bookstore.

Last looks at the front of the store before I ripped the paper down. Doing so, I would be surprised to find that a few locals were gathering outside in anticipation of the opening.

First look at the length of the store with the paper off the windows. It's October 22, 2021, and I'd be open in about 15 minutes. Just enough time to get a coffee and say a little Zen prayer!

October 22, 2021, 11:00am ET, Transom Bookshop is open for business.

How We Made It