Cody Paulson has always had a passion for design. A professional graphic designer for the past 15 years, Paulson left his cushy Minneapolis studio job four years ago to return to his hometown of Duluth, Minnesota. There, he teamed up with a friend and founded his own studio: Graphic Science.
When Paulson and his wife returned to Duluth, they purchased a home and have been yearning to turn their living room into a library ever since. Duluth enjoys collecting coffee table books and his wife is an avid reader, so the couple wanted their collection to be the focal point of their home.
Paulson has always admired the Vitsoe 606 system as Dieter Rams is one of my favorite industrial designers. But, his home is over 100 years old and could not support an entirely wall mounted system. So, he began searching for a new shelving system to help turn his dream into a reality.
Paulson set out to find a similar modular unit that had legs to help bear the load of the looks. Unfortunately, in most of the systems he encountered the legs were bulky and an eye sore. Eventually, he stumbled upon Modern Shelving and was drawn to the aesthetic of the open shelving units and the fact that he could opt for wood finished shelves.
Paulson had his plans drawn out ahead of time and after searching through Modern Shelving’s options, he found the 3-bay 24” PAL system was the perfect match. When his unit arrived, one of the shelving legs was damaged, but Modern Shelving quickly rectified the issue and Paulson got to work assembling and installing his shelves. Due to the fact that his home was 100 years old, Paulson encountered a couple of hiccups along the way but overall, the install process went fairly smoothly.
Paulson did most of the work himself, but in some instances a second set of hands was necessary. The floors in the couple’s home are uneven, so in some cases they needed to bend or twist the legs to accommodate the quirks of their home. 
The shelves were purchased to house the couple's extensive book collection, but they added in candles, vases, plants and our Nesso lamp. Where some may prefer minimalism, Paulson prefers having his shelves filled to the max.
“It brings so much warmth and energy to our space,” says Paulson. “The height was perfect and the black metal and wood shelves tie in perfectly with both our antiques and modern decor. Not to mention the functionality—it could easily accommodate our entire book collection, demonstrating how tailored shelving can solve specific storage challenges, much like specialized closet shelving units do for wardrobes.”
To learn more about Paulson's work click HERE.
