[the last 5 is a series of posts about tackling unfinished decorating projects and adding those personal touches to a room. Find out how it all started here.]
Hi there! I’m back with another last 5 post, and this time I’m back in the living room. (Can you tell we have a lot to do in here?) One of our biggest organizing challenges has been the bookshelf. When we moved into this apartment, we invested some time in finding a good temporary solution for our book collection. One day I’d love to spend some money on built ins or custom bookshelves, but for now – this floor to ceiling unit works for us. What’s not working though is the way we’ve overstuffed the shelves. I am always jealous of those perfectly styled bookshelves in decorating magazines, so I thought I’d give our bookshelves a little make-over.
I’m going to share the before and after, but to be honest – I think I have more work to do. So please bear with me as this one is a work in progress. (Are you a bookshelf styling wizard? If you have any tips or further suggestions, let me know!)
The Cluttered Before
We got rid of a lot of books when we moved, but we still have a ton! We have both been carrying around a lot of our college text books like a badge of honor. I have finally given myself permission to donate a lot of these. I will always be a sucker for books, but I’m starting to embrace the e-reader. If I want to re-read Hamlet, am I really going to pick up my dusty old copy? Probably not.
The bookshelf also has to store our electronic equipment. Yes, we could get a unit with doors but that involves my husband and wiring and more shopping trips. For now, I’m leaving all of the shiny boxes right where they are.
The Make Over
1) EDIT! I pulled down as many books for donation as possible. (I probably need to go back and repeat this step again, but I filled up two large shopping bags full of books so I think I made some progress. If you need help working up the courage to do this step, just watch an episode of Hoarders and you’ll feel better about it. Promise.)
2) Dust. Ahem. Lots and lots of dust.
3) Round up accessories. My husband and I have been keeping an eye out for nice accessories every time we go out. We decided on what we wanted: shiny silvers and some glass for a little bit of reflection, bold hits of white, and some moss accents. We probably have more shopping to do (definitely need more white ceramic stuff), but we gathered up enough things to get started. I hope to really tie everything together with the pillows for the couch.
4) Re-organize books. While I didn’t go with a strict rainbow order, I did try to move some of the books that were sticking out like a sore thumb. There was a lot of getting on and off of the ladder while I played with the arrangement.
The After
I’m not sure if this is supposed to take as long as it took me! However, this is when I looked at the clock and decided I needed to call it quits for the day. You can see that the bookshelves are still fairly dense. However, I think it’s a good start. Here’s one last shot of everything rearranged.
Has anyone else had any luck getting that perfectly styled bookshelf? If you have any other suggestions or tips I’d love to hear them. I’ve heard somewhere that you want to leave about 30% of the bookshelf open — and I definitely have a ways to go before I get there.
