Day 10: Styling a Bookcase

Styling a bookcase is one of my favorite ways to “play” as an adult. I love gathering up all the books, organizing them by color, and making things all pretty. It’s soooo satisfying!

Before Styling the Bookcase

We have this sweet little built-in bookcase halfway up our stairs. It’s unexpected and charming but we hadn’t done much with it since the week we moved in.

After Styling the Bookcase

After passing it every day for two years, I finally spent an afternoon making it pretty 🙂

I cleaned out the books and gathered up others around the house. Then I organized them by color and alternated the colorful stacks both horizontally and vertically.

I just love seeing the stacks all together. It makes my heart happy <3

Next, I sprinkled in some fun little objects like this brass bell I found at our local antique store.

Finally I added an art print that I’ve always loved. New York has always been one of my favorite cities, but now that my daughter lives there, it’s even more special 🙂

Changes Made

• Found “prettier” books throughout my house
• Took off the book jackets
• Organized books by color and alternated vertical and horizontal placement
• Added a few decorative objects for interest

Lessons Learned

• Organizing bookshelves is super FUN!!! It’s a time to play around and experiment.
• Grouping books by color is pleasing to the eye.
• In just a few hours you can turn a bookcase from drab to FAB!

Resources

• Free resource: Styling Cheat Sheets – for a step-by-step on styling a bookcase and more
• Didn’t buy a thing – used books I already had
• Here are a few of my favorite pretty books: Puffin in bloom, Puffin Children’s Set, Jane Austen

Recap and What’s Next?

If you’re just catching up, here are the previous posts in the “before and after parade!”

• Friday, Day 1: The Family Room
• Saturday, Day 2: My Miniature Collection
• Sunday, Day 3: Stair Makeover and Piano Room
• Monday, Day 4: Nail Painting Station
• Tuesday, Day 5: Teacup Shelves
• Wednesday, Day 6: Dining Room Reveal
• Thursday, Day 7: Overflow Guest Room
• Friday, Day 8: Painted Countertops + Kitchen Dancing
• Saturday, Day 9: The Power of Spray Paint

Tomorrow I’ll be taking you down into my studio basement and sharing a GIANT pegboard for fabric storage! It’s been a lifesaver.

xo, Tessie