The Art of a Bookcase

We have officially lived in this house since Liam was about 2 and a half months old. He is now 2 months shy of turning two. We still have SO much to do before this house is fully decorated. I don’t even have lots of my pictures hung! **SIGH** One of my projects since I’ve been out on maternity leave with Topher, child number 2, is the wall of bookcases in our front room. Technically this room is meant to be a formal living room, but we are not really formal living room kind of people. Instead we’ve decided to turn this room into our study (hence the bookcases!). Plus the desk we plan to get will soon be getting LOTS of use (but more on this in a future blog post).

My first step in decorating the bookcase was to do a little research and to get tips. So this post is to show off my newly decorated bookshelves and to share the tips that resonated with me most. First, here’s a picture of the finished product (you can click on the picture to see them larger):



Now for the tips….

(1)First, gather up odds and ends around the house that you might be able to use on the bookcase. I gathered up some vases, flowerpots, baskets, a kitchen platter, photo albums, frames, candles, etc.

(2)Think about whether you want to have a theme or color scheme. Though, truthfully I don’t think that this is a necessity. My theme, loosely, is nature. I’ve incorporated lots of flowers and leaves. And I suppose there is quite a bit of red accented throughout.

(3)Don’t forget to decorate the top of the bookcase. Originally I thought about adding additional height to the bookcase, but ends up I’m glad I didn’t so I could decorate the top. Now I have to brag about the metal frame with the flowers. I did purchase multiple pieces to complete the look and only spent around $100 total. The flowery frame piece I got for only $7 after a sale and coupons at Kohl’s. Actually everything I got was on sale.



(4)Don’t be afraid of empty spaces. You don’t want to decorate every space on every shelf. Your eyes need a place to rest as they look around the shelf.

(5)Your shelves don’t have to line up all the way across, though they should have some symmetry. You should have some shelves that are the same all the way across, as well as some differences. I have 5 cases side by side. Bookcase 1 and 5 are set up the same, as well as 2 and 4. The one in the middle is slightly different.

(6)Consider using storage, such as baskets/file boxes, etc for things you want to have hidden, keeping your bookshelves looking clean and pretty. I ended up purchasing these as well.



(7)Don’t feel like you have to put all of your books together on shelves lined all the way across. Break them up by turning them on the side and putting items on top of them. Or fill up half a shelf and add a bookend of some kind. But remember to keep things balanced. If you do use a shelf for lots of books, do the same on the bookshelf opposite of it. I tried to group my books by particular topics. In the shelves pictured here, I have books related to death and dying/connecting with and supporting others (I AM a hospice social worker!) grouped together and photography books grouped on the shelf underneath. I have to note here that after decorating the bookshelves, Will’s comment was that the vase I chose to place with my hospice-type books remind him of an urn, lol. I told him that he is welcome to place my ashes here and add a cork after my death. Though I’m not sure he thought that was funny!



Other groupings not individually pictured are a section of relationship type books, a grouping of Bibles, and books on learning Spanish/travel. I’ve also kept our textbooks together on separate shelves (Will’s engineering/computer books and my social work books). Then I grouped fiction/leisurely reading together. And yes, that is my Harry Potter collection grouped proudly in the middle!!



I do still have some finishing touches to do. I still have an empty shelf on the left. I’m thinking of adding votive candles to that shelf and the one opposite of it (removing the flower pot I have there to the right now). I also need to put some pictures in my frames, lol. I’m still deciding which pictures I want to put in there. Then of course we’ll need a rug, a large desk, and some seating. Who knows when we’ll have stuff done around here, but I’m happy to get things done one project at a time!