Hi! So, we’ve moved. And our new house still feels like a the moving van blew up inside of it, but we are slowly making progress. The “house tours” of the old house are on hiatus because my desktop (where the pics are) is still not set up. The main cable router was set up in an awkward place and I am still trying to figure out where to put the computer. So, the laptop and the iPhone camera have been getting a workout! (Hence the iPhone pics in this post because my “big camera” uploads to the desktop — pesky logistics!)
I took the length of the baby’s nap on Saturday (about an hour and change) to luxuriate in styling the built-in bookshelves in our family room. There are a lot of tutorials out there on how to style bookshelves, and I followed the general guidelines of one of my favorite design bloggers, Emily A. Clark, as posted about here. Generally: 1. Start with the books, 2. Arrange vertical/tall pieces, 3. Insert a collection (I skipped this step), 4. Add texture and small accessories, and 5. Rearrange, rearrange, rearrange!
Here is the before:
I emptied all of the shelves and added clusters of books:
Then, I added the vertical/taller pieces, then some textured items and smaller accessories. Finally, I spent the rest of the weekend tweaking and rearranging, and here is where I ended up:
Here is a close-up of the left side:
{Do you spy my beloved stack of old Domino mags? Elle the Elf is guarding them!}
And, here is a closer look at the right side:
I think it really helped that all of my accessories and books were newly unpacked and hadn’t been put anywhere yet. I was working with truly a blank slate and nothing had been “earmarked” for a specific spot in the house yet.
Also, I had to restrain myself from filling all of the empty space. I started “over-accessorizing” and it began feeling cluttered and claustrophobic to me. I have seen spaces with chock-full bookshelves and it seems to work, but in my own house, I wanted enough breathing room to be able to see and appreciate each piece. I wanted the arrangement to feel unforced, relaxed and clean.
These bookshelves will always be a work in progress, and that is the fun! This weekend, I may take down the pinecone wreath and replace it with some art, and add two Christmas wreaths, like this, but probably fresh and green:
{P.S. I really love this space, but isn’t that random floor lamp on the right side really distracting? I wish I could photoshop it out.}
Any tips or guidelines for styling a bookshelf for me? I’m all ears. I love to hear strategies used by other people to style spaces, especially bookshelves!
Merry merry, y’all!
