Arched bookcases in oak and ikea
The ask was twin arched bookshelves to go on either side of a bed, like the following reference photo. Howevere these were to sit on top of some existing nightstands.
We started with a couple ikea bookshelves. I have mixed feeling about this. While I think it can be an excellent timesaver to start with factory-made furniture and customize as you like, I personally dislike chipboard and laminate, and I try to avoid them if given the option. Each material has it’s own vibration, some more pleasant than others. I picked up a bundle of oak molding, wide enough to give me a few options for creating the “shell.”
There’s a million tutorials out there on how to cut an arch with a pivot on your router table, and that’s what you should be doing instead of trying to do it free-and it with a jigsaw, which will never ever come out looking right. The final finish hadn’t been decided and I wasn’t handling the finishing, so I assembled it such that the shell could be removed to make this step easier.
It turned out finish was being done later, so I used glue and blind nails to attach them to the bookshelves. Blind nails are handy for light applications, and it’s nice to not have to patch holes. But for strength they can’t beat screws IMHO.
Mounted in place for leveling but not yet finished:
