Suzanne Kasler collection

Iron Bookcase

by Hickory Chair

If you reside in Atlanta you are probably already familiar with Suzanne Kasler. She is an award winning designer who has created beautiful interiors for her clients in Atlanta since 1991. She has recently undertaken a new adventure—designing furniture for Hickory Chair. The modern/transitional style of the Prado Bookcase is a stunning example of her classical pieces with a twist.

There are several unique features to this bookcase. Let’s begin with the finish. It comes in a standard light walnut finish with iron rails. However, at Hickory Chair there are 30 finishes to choose, from a dark mahogany to a scrubbed ash. This allows you to truly customize the piece for your home.

The Prado bookcase is an incredibly flexible piece of furniture. It is available in two pieces, the lower “base” unit and the upper “deck” unit. These two pieces can be stacked on top of one another to create one tall bookcase or used separately for storage. The base unit comes with standard casters for ease of movement but casters can be added to the deck unit to allow it to stand alone. There are slight differences in the measurements of these two units which creates a visual interest when stacked. The base unit measures 36” high by 50.25” wide by 21.2” deep. The deck unit measures 58” high by 50.25” wide by 15.25” deep. As you can see, when stacked the entire bookcase measures an impressive 94 inches high. That is almost 8 feet of storage!

There are many ways to utilize this bookcase. It can act as an open pantry in a kitchen holding glass jars full of pasta, flour and even candy. Woven baskets on the shelves can soften the metal look and add some wonderful texture to your kitchen.

Who doesn’t need more room in the laundry room? The sturdy wooden shelves and metal rails will hold cleaning supplies and linens and even a vase full of daisies to brighten up an otherwise dull room.

Flanking a fireplace with these units will create a stunning look when filled with your books, photographs and collectibles. Stacked on top of each other, the bookcase becomes a wonderful hutch and buffet in the dining room. Since the lower base unit is about 6 inches wider than the top unit it allows plenty of space for serving.

The industrial look of the wood and steel with the metal crossbars in back make this a perfect choice for a child or teenager’s room. While the base unit is too high to act as a desk there is plenty of room to store books, toys, and electronics with room left over to display those precious trophies and memorabilia kids love to display in their room. The look can be softened with fabric lined baskets on the shelves to make it more appropriate for an infant or a little girl.

The style of the Prado bookcase fits very well in a home decorated in a modern/transitional style. If you prefer the clean lines and functionality of modern furniture but also enjoy the comfort and warmth of traditional pieces then this may be your style. This bookcase meets all those requirements—functional, clean and space saving with the warmth of wood added.