Tips for Styling Bookshelves

I was thrilled when we built our library to have a place for our books, but lets be honest I did not have THAT many books to fill this whole wall of built-ins. I love that my hubby and I designed the look of the bookshelves. He built it and we both painted it, but when it came to styling, he turned to me and said "have fun." Love that guy!

I got loads of deals when shopping for books at thrift stores, yard sales and library book sales. I got some knick knacks at yard sales.  A BIG tip is to look for things at thrift stores and yard sales- you will find tons of things that would look good on a bookshelf to add interest. 

I styled the bookshelf and was happy. However, over time there were some things that were not quite right and started to bother me, like I tried to lump too many books together. There were some things that needed to go in the baskets and I needed to figure out the spacing of things. Recently, I took most of the books and things out of the bookshelf and started again to style. Sometimes we just need to start afresh. 

Here are some BEFORE shots:

See how I don't have enough books to stack tall? I think the plates are pretty but not large enough. There are some awkward spots.

NOW:

With five bookshelves in a row I tried my best to add symmetry into the mix and break up the books. Here are a few tips/ideas that helped me.

Add some art: I put in a few black and white photos of our family and this beautiful old painting that my husband's great great grandmother painted. Some modern art would look good in here too. I like the idea of hanging art in between the shelves, but I haven't convinced my husband yet, hence the leaning of art.

Add baskets and bins: Baskets can break up the books or you can put books in the baskets. I love that you can throw what you want in those baskets and they might be messy on the inside but on the outside it looks organized.

Stack books in different directions: It's easier on your eye to have two stacks of books on one shelf and then the next to have them standing. Variety is key!

Use bookends/knick-knacks: This is where you could have a lot of fun with some accessories. I got these two dog bookends at a yard sale for $2. It doesn't need to be expensive to look good. I also shopped my house to bring in some more white pieces of urns, busts, pots, milk glass all of these items helped break things up more and add interest. 

I'm really liking how our shelves look now. Styling can be the fun part but it may take a couple of times to get it right. What suggestions do you have for styling a bookshelf?

Shopping Quickly Through IKEA

I recently went to IKEA and thought I would share my tips on shopping quickly through the store. I have a love/dislike for IKEA because of how cool it is but also how it can be a bit overwhelming when you go- and time consuming. Here is how I have shopped IKEA lately and it's helped me:

1. Go on their website or look through their catalog first to determine what you need for your space.
2. Budget and bring your list of items you want to get.
3. Go in through the market place/ warehouse area first! This will help you go straight to the sale/As-Is section. Ikea doesn't really want you to do this because they want you to meander through for a long time in their show rooms and go through the whole market place and then go to the sale section at the end. However, I found going the opposite way they want you to go, is faster.

After you've gone through the warehouse you end up in the plant section- which is a great place to be since we all could use a bit of green in our homes.

via

I was really looking for a fiddle-fig tree (like this one), but alas they were plum out. Boo hoo- next time.

Then, you'll get to the storage and frames and lighting section (this is where I was the longest) I saw these sconces and thought I might do an IKEA hack like Lisa did here.

                                                                   Shine Your Light

I did go upstairs to quickly look around and noticed they have some nice plate racks. I think putting two side by side or up and down would look great. Like this:
 
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Of course, plate racks are perfect for books too in children's rooms.

                                                apartment therapy
However, I did get a few of their $3 spice racks that I will use for one of my daughter's rooms like this one.

I really love the tableware section too and and enjoyed all the bright colors in their new designs inspired by Japanese prints.

Well, there you have it- another trip to IKEA done quickly. Do you have any IKEA shopping tips?