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It’s no secret that books are my Number One favorite decorating accessory. I’m not as shallow as it may seem – I actually READ most of the books I use to decorate my home.
I love them because they reflect who I am – and that’s what home decorating is all about to me. So I love bookcases and shelving that make it easy to display my lovely tomes. Like CB2′s Array bookshelves. [Read more...]
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It’s no secret I adore books. Not just reading them, but using them as decor in my home and the homes of my clients. They are such a great way to express your interests and your creativity. Isn’t it ironic that coffee table books can be stacked to make a side table? |
Boring bookcases? Want to add some interest? Hang a piece of your favorite art on the exterior frame of the bookcase. Here are some examples:
Great things happen to me at yard sales. Seemingly small but great things. There have been countless times I’ve had a thought like “I wish I had a toaster oven,” then two weeks later I stop by a yard sale on the way home from somewhere else and find a perfect toaster oven.
| Here’s my most recent example. A few weeks ago, this was the vignette on the table in the entry to my house. I love grouping vintage books by color, and pink is a hard color to come by. I love the children’s book on top, The Pink Motel. But it’s obviously a bit worn, torn, and dirty. I usually don’t display books in this condition – I like to have clean, functional pieces in my collections. But I really love the pink cover, the title, and the illustrations on the cover. |  |
| I love Anthropologie. I guess it’s the vintage-hip-bohemian vibe that draws me in. Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I buy anything there except for the occasional little decor trinket. The clothes are way too expensive for me, but I get so much decor and fashion inspiration by just perusing that store. We’ll just focus on the decor inspiration for today, particularly in regards to Christmas styling. |  |
| Let’s think outside the bookcase. I’ve found some really interesting ideas for bookcases. There are many ways to display books and create makeshift bookcases. |  |
You can stack things to make a bookcase, you know. Crates, boxes, even benches and tables. Check out this crafty bookcase from Better Homes and Gardens.
| Express your inner artist – create tablescapes. Just grab some things you love or better yet, grab one thing you love and find a few other things to compliment or contrast it. Clear off a tabletop, mantel, side table, buffet, whatever. If you’re like me, sometimes creativity needs boundaries or at least a few guidelines to get me going. |  |
OK, I admit it. I’m kinda obsessed with Annie Brahler. I’ve been following her for the last couple of years. I’ve saved every picture from every magazine layout she’s ever had of her home – she’s been featured in two issues of Country Living, two issues of Home Companion (now defunct), and in Romantic Homes. I’m sure there have been more. Photos from this post are from those publications.
She lives in the most amazing home I have ever seen. Annie lives in Jacksonville, Illinois. Doesn’t sound like a terribly exciting place, but check out this unbelievable Beau Arts home!!! She lives here with her 3 perfect children, 2 perfect dogs, and presumably, her perfect husband. She certainly has a perfect lawn care guy.
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I’m always encouraging clients to make their rooms more functional, more beautiful, and more “them.” This is a great example of taking an underused room and making it highly useful and true to the homeowner’s interests. These homeowners are true bibliophiles (that means they’re readers  ). But all their books and bookcases were stuffed into a guest bedroom. It made perfect sense to bring the books into the place they actually lived – or should I say, now actually live. This room had little function for them before, except to hold hand-me-down furniture that didn’t reflect their own tastes. |
Ok, I LOVE books. I love to read. Books are like friends to me, and I have a hard time getting rid of books that I have read. So a long time ago, I decided to start decorating with them. Why not? They tell people who you are, what you like. I stack them under lamps and decorative items to give them a lift or add color. I group them by color to coordinate with certain rooms throughout my home. I stack them on tables to express who I am and what my interests are.
I have collected vintage children’s books for many years before I ever had children. The cover colors and artwork are amazing. But even new books look better if you take off those glossy covers! Hardback covers are typically blues, greens, browns, blacks, and reds. – so they are easy to group to make a color statement. Vintage books have the most beautifully illustrated covers and fonts – and many original vintage bookcovers are amazing as well – they are the only ones I don’t strip off! Any vignette is improved with the addition of a stack of books.
Here are some thoughts about decorating bookcases:
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Photo Credits: The Decorologist (formerly StoneBrook Staging).
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