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“Color Styling” the Bookshelf

by on February 8, 2013

This little bookshelf sits in my living room.

A lover of books, I like having the classics nearby even if I only manage a once-yearly trek through the beauty of Jane Austen.

But this bookshelf wasn’t doing it for me.

It’s a low, dark shadowy spot in an otherwise colorful and lifting room.

NOW, please prepare yourself for the easiest, quickest and cheapest bookshelf transformation of all time.

Do you remember how we used to cover our textbooks in grade school? Well I found some paper and some fabric in the colors of my living room (navy, yellow and gray) and just wrapped the books, holding them secure on the inside flaps with painter’s tape which won’t ruin the books if I ever remove it.

I left the Austen and Grimm’s books uncovered. One, because they’re navy blue and match the color scheme.  Two, because this is a house of children (fairy tales) and the aforementioned lover of Jane Austen.

The yellow and white stripes are single sheets of specialty paper from A.C.Moore and the blue/white quartrefoil was remnant fabric for $4 a yard at JoAnn’s that I’d bought for another project.

These little gourds echo the white/yellow striping.

Well, it was SO cheap and SO easy that I couldn’t just stop there. I wrapped a few more books in the entryway…

It adds a nice punch of color and pattern for, oh, pocket change…

 

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Living Room Makeover – Warm and Dated turns Cool and Zen

by on October 6, 2012

This is one of my favorite before-and-afters ever.

Take a look at Becki’s warm but dated living room when we started.

She had never loved it, and for the longest time had wanted something more reflective of her zen and minimalist taste. Many months of planning and hard work later, (and trips to Pier 1, Lowe’s, and Chik-fil-A!) here is the reveal.

I still can’t believe it.

Before:

After:

The yellow and red window dressings were replaced with these lovely rich and textured brown tones.

Before:

After:

(Had to get a live shot of the desk in use.)

Bookcases before:

Bookcases after:

(Next up will be spray painting the brass accents on the fireplace to a black.)

We found baskets that carried the accent colors of dark brown and sage into the shelves.

Drapes before:

Drapes after. (Click here for the how-to on making these DIY painted drapes.)

We were able to keep papa’s favorite chair which brought a nice industrial and minimalist element to the space.

I somehow forgot to take pictures of the sofa wall before we started work, but just imagine a completely blank yellow-y wall above a tired tan sofa.

And now, the wall is this:

We brought in textures, color and contrast with the sofa fabric, pillows, blankets and rug.

The walls are painted Sherwin-Williams Amazing Gray  in flat and the floors, stairs and banisters were stripped and stained to a walnut finish.

The picture frames were all spray-painted the same shade of espresso.

Okay, one last look at the dramatic change from this:

To this:

Be still. My heart.

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Updating a Bookcase

by on February 5, 2012

This is a 10-year-old World Market bookcase that my hubs has had since his bachelor days.

The bookcase has held up well all these years, but since we are downsizing our book collection (thanks and no thanks to Kindle…I’m so conflicted!) it freed up some space for styling and accessorizing.

We also decided to consolidate the DVD collection by getting rid of the sleeves and putting all the disks into a notebook with 3-ring disk holder inserts. It condensed an entire shelf (below) into one 2-inch binder.

(You can see that I’d wallpapered the back as a design attempt that actually flopped. Onto Plan B.)

To keep this project on the cheap (free actually), I used the leftover paint from our Family Room Makeover.

I decided not to paint the outer wood or the interior shelves since the larger design challenge was to keep some dark wood in this portion of the upstairs area to balance other dark wood design elements upstairs. As much as I wanted to paint the wood white, it just wouldn’t have fit with the rest of our decor.

Three coats later, here she is!

Here are some close-ups of the details. This is a framed piece of scrapbooking paper next to my ages-old Mozart bust.

The peach flower was cut out of a gardening magazine and placed in an old frame I wasn’t using.

And here’s another page cut out of a gardening magazine. I just love these peachy coral blooms. And if you know me at all, you know I love birds. (Thanks Becki for this darling little ceramic one in her nest!)

There’s even enough leftover room to add more baskets or storage boxes if we need to.

I’d love to see your creative bookcase makeovers, especially if they are wood bookcases that you left partly wood. I haven’t found any DIY projects specifically like that online.

 

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