Styling

Bookcase Style: Take 1

Nothing like styling an 8 foot tall bookcase to make you realize how few books you actually have!  Seriously, I grabbed books from my office cubies and hubby's office built-in and maybe had enough to fill a shelf.  Good thing that tag sale season is about to start- I need to go on a (cheap) book buying binge! As you might be able to see if you pay close attention, I painted the back of the shelves a very light gray to add a bit of contrast.

Styled Living Room Built-in

 

I'm fairly confident that this styling will be evolving greatly over the next few months as I acquire more books and the room grows around it, so consider this Style Take 1.  I'm also still hunting for the perfect baskets and/or bins to live on the bottom shelf.  I wish I had gotten these before they sold out.

Styled Living Room Built-in side

I'm practically bouncing out of my socks in anticipation for my newly reupholstered chair to come home this Wednesday after my last upholstery class.  At that point I'll be banishing Clifford the big red chair upstairs to hubby's office (YAY).  The reupholstered chair won't be 100% complete and I'll still have some homework to finish but GUYS, IT'S GOING TO MAKE THIS ROOM!  I'm not excited at all.  nope.  not me.

Styled Living Room Built-in Full

The other major change in the room will be a sofa.  I'm very very very impatiently trying to wait until we sell Frankie to order it, but Mitchell Gold is making it difficult and having a stellar sale.  I have, however, narrowed my fabric selections down to 2- velvet or microsuede??  I think the velvet would be top if I knew how it would work with the kitties.  Any crazy cat ladies with velvet sofas out there??

Back to the shelves!  In addition to an embarrassingly small collection of books, a little bit of everything made it on there from wedding pictures to IKEA art and quite a few thrift finds.

Styled shelves 1

Styled shelves 2

 

Styled shelves 3

Styled shelves 4

Now I have to revisit styling throughout the rest of my house since the majority of my small items have now found a home here.  Darn, more styling to do.

Styled Corner Built-in Bookcase

So what do you think?

 

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Style Sparks

Who has bookcase styling on the brain?  This girl!  Sadly I'm still working on the painting of my new bookcase, so I'll have to wait a few more days.  Until the paint is dry and ready for styling, there's no harm in drooling over other well-styled surfaces from around the web. *sidenote* If you LOVE these as much as I do and want to pin them, please please click through to the source and pin from there.  Thanks!!

I can't talk about well-styled shelves without using an example from Emily Henderson.  That girl is seriously on another level.  The variety of blue tones mixed with simple neutrals keeps this eclectic collection from feeling busy.

e henderson styled shelves

Better Homes and Gardens is never short on styling inspiration.  It's one of the few home magazines that I actually do read- their featured spaces are always so well done, but still look livable.  I love this collection of white ceramics and colorful antique books.

bhg styled china cabinet

Hello color!  Maybe a bit bright for my space, but the color blocking on these shelves really speaks to me.

bhg yellow style

Where this image came from is a mystery- I have pinned it twice from 2 different tumblr accounts, so I'd love to give credit where it's due!  Firstly, I love anything in this color.  Add fun antique pieces and I'm weak in the knees.

tumblr antique stuled shelves

In reality, my shelves will probably end up looking closer to this well-styled bookcase from Coco+Kelley.  It's eclectic, colorful, and really speaks about who lives there.

coco styled shelves

Which shelf style speaks to you most?

Animal Color Pop

Have you heard of Scoutmob?  I'm kind of obsessed (and no this isn't a sponsored post, I'm just a shopaholic).  I've bought a few things from it and they have STELLAR customer service, but my favorite thing to do on the site is window shop.  They have awesome local hand made goods, vintage inspired jewelry, decor, and quirky prints. The latest thing to catch my eye is Morgan Kendall Art and I thought they were so cute I just had to share!

mkart-animal-prints

Quick, someone have a kid so I can design these into a nursery!

Any of these prints alone would look amazing framed up in a room or as part of a gallery wall, but I love the idea of a grouping 3 or more in a nursery.  Just picture these above a crib or vintage dresser-turned-changing table!  Are you picturing it?  Whimsical and colorful without being something your baby will outgrow.  With the variety of colors and animals, you can easily gear the grouping toward boy or girl (or not if you're patient enough to wait).

I think mister elephant is my favorite- although the swan is in a close second.

mkart elephant print

Now I'm just looking for a room that I can design these into- do I have any volunteers?

What gems have you come across in your online window shopping lately?

images via scoutmob