Inspiration: Book Shelf Styling

When I'm styling a bookshelf, I try to keep the tchotckies under control. I like books a lot and think they should be the star of the shelves normally. We're going to have a wall of books in the office (no accessories at all probably) so for the bookshelf under the new sconces in the living room, I'm going to mix things up a little. Probably like half books, half accessories.

Here are some inspiration shots. Let's play a little game of I Spy.

I spy with my little eye books arranged by color, but not in an annoying perfect sort of way. Sort of just stacked and piled by tone. Also, I like all the family photos grouped on the shelf. It's a good idea to keep things that are meant to be examined at eye level.

Kelly Klein via Habitually Chic

I love the square shape of these shelves. It makes it easier to display larger pieces like the coral and that big turquoise pottery. I would want to check out the contents of these shelves a little closer if I were a visitor here.

It's a good idea to add some bigger pieces to break it up and add a little storage. Try hat boxes, shaker boxes, baskets, lacquered boxes, lidded candy dishes, etc. I also love the yellow on the back of the shelves here.

House Beautiful

This designer left out some of the shelves to make space for bigger artwork and taller accessories. What do you think of this look? I do like some of the bookends here a lot. Pieces like the brass rams are easy to find in thrift stores or on etsy.

M Designs via La Dolce Vita

These shelves are really pretty. Not many books, and the ones here are covered in kraft paper, which is pretty for a more styled look. I love that ostrich egg and that cage/terrarium thing on the bottom shelf. So cool. Also, pretty obsessed with this color of gray.

I looove the coziness of this photo. The slouchy couch. The laid back book arrangement. I also love the Staffordshire doggies, the ginger jar and the bullseye mirror. The little checkerboard is also awesome and a nice graphic touch. I've been wanting to incorporate some sort of game board in our house too. Checkerboard or maybe backgammon...

Look! A television!! I like this idea of incorporating a TV into your built-ins.

Lonny

Lots to love on these shelves. I think the designer did a good job of leaving just enough empty space on the shelves (though I would probably prefer more books in the mix here). I think it's easy to overload the shelves and the layers, so be careful there. I think you'd want a maximum of five types of accessories on a single shelf (books count for one type of accessory here).

Martensen via Desire to Inspire

These shelves are more crowded, but I think the trick is the colors are all pretty muted. I love that these items all feel very purposeful and collected - like the owner probably has a cool adventure story behind each object.

Jaime's (I Suwanee) Bookcase of the Day

Another one with some shelves removed for art. Love that ladder!

Martha Stewart Living

Fun and quirky for a teenager's room...

Betsy Burnham via Decor Demon

I love the burl wood frame here. And this is just the right mix of books to accessories for me.

Summer Heckman in Lonny

More square shelves! Galvanized metal here maybe? I like how these are casually stacked. The color groupings flow nicely for a great overall composition.

Nuevo Estilo

Colorful and pretty. Love the turquoise vase and the modern artwork up top especially. I also spy a pair of candlesticks, two different types of coral, a beautiful tortoise shell glass vase, a zinc letter and little framed pieces of art on easels.

Ashley Mcaleer in Domino

Off to style my shelves which I'll share soon. (P.S. You're going to love the paint job!)
xx

Good Read

 

My darlings, what are you reading this winter? I just finished this cool thriller entitled Perilous by Tamara Hart Heiner. I usually go for lighter reads but this chilling tale about a group of teens who were kidnapped and their journey of escape was so captivating that I couldn’t put it down because of all the amazing twists and turns. This suspenseful tale is for people who like to be kept on the edge and it's truly a page turner as you want to know more and more about the teens. So, now I am ready for a new book. Any recommendations? xoxo

P.S: Stay tuned for special GIVEAWAY Wednesday...

The Night Life of Trees

Here is another set of frame-worthy prints on black paper. These silk-screened images in the book, The Night Life of Trees from Tara Publishing, are absolutely stunning. And might I add, are a little more masculine than floral botanical prints...

From Amazon:

"In the belief of the Gond tribe, the lives of humans and trees are closely entwined. Trees contain the cosmos; when night falls, the spirits they nurture glimmer into life.

A visual ode to trees rendered by tribal artists from India, this handcrafted edition showcases three of the finest living Gond masters. This collection of their distinctive styles is enchanting—an excellent gift for those fascinated by trees, art or folk traditions."

Also, if you get a kick out of the silk screening or book binding process, check out this video on how the books are individually hand made (but do yourself a favor and skip the first two or three minutes).

discovered via Julia Rothman's amazing blog, Book by It's Cover, and GOOP

Photos (other than the multi-page shot above from Book by its Cover) courtesy of another amazing blog, Biliodyssey. And a special thanks to Tara Books.

What Say You

About these boxy bookshelves?

via This is Glamourous from Martha Stewart Living




via Domino, design by Tom Scheerer

Coralie Bickford-Smith Does It Again

Hot off the presses...

Ten more beautiful books to add to my little collection.

Special Delivery

I present to you the books, in all their glory...





Ordered on a Thursday night (with standard shipping), received on Monday. Not too shabby if you ask me.

And, of course, I love them.

{images by me, taken right after the books were received. So if you enlarged the photos and are wondering about the little particles on some of the books - it's just the shipping packaging stuff that I neglected to notice in my excited state. Sorry about that.}

GORGEOUS Penguin Classics

Are you a book junkie like me?

Remember last week when I posted about these great books from the Selby? Yeah, the French ones that I still really want even though I don't really understand French.

I knew the book covers reminded me of other books I had seen online, but couldn't remember where.

Then I saw this post on A Little Sussy, that reminded me of this post on Design*Sponge. Ah, yes. The gorgeous Penguin Classics with covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.
The limited edition books were published by Penguin UK and were originally offered only at the UK-based bookstore, Waterstone's. The Design*Sponge post has the link to the books where they were sold for about $32 each. Despite the price setback, I was disappointed to discover the books are not on the Waterstone's website anymore. Sold out maybe? I was so bummed.

BUT! After poking around on the internet and searching for the books' ISBNs, I discovered that Indigo Books out of Canada now sells the series. The great part? They are on sale for $14.99!!


The best part? The price is listed in Canadian dollars, so the books are a little more than $11 US each! So exciting, right? Some of the best titles, all wrapped up in the prettiest covers you've ever seen. Heavenly.