READING ROOM BOOKSHELVES

Hey, all. I hope that your September is going well so far. I am excited to be back with another little post for you so soon (for me) after my latest one!
As I mentioned in my autumn living room post last week, this is my favourite season for so many reasons. One being that I tend to feel more inspired and motivated to freshen things up, and even to make new creations. This includes home decor projects… and also baked goods, if I’m honest - who doesn’t love making a hundred pumpkin or apple-based desserts in the fall, am I right? Anyways, last week I felt a very abrupt motivation to completely overhaul my reading room bookshelves! They have remained pretty well the same over the last year and a half since we have moved in, save for the odd seasonal update of foliage here or there. My other home decor people know that shelves can be a huge undertaking if you choose to redecorate them, so it’s not something I often feel like doing. However, when the urge struck, it was one of those things where I just felt so inspired and excited about what was in my mind for them, that I simply had to do something about it! So, I pulled everything down off the shelves, and started from scratch.

Because of the changing season for fall, I wanted my bookshelves to feel a little warmer than they had. They used to look like this (or here is them last year during fall) and while I liked the simplicity, to me they were feeling a little more stark and “showhomey” than I wanted in order for the room to feel cozy, and like I am actually at home while sitting in my chair and reading beside them. So, wanting to balance both simplicity, and warmth and a more homey feel, this is what I came up with.

When I style shelves, I tend to choose a couple of different colours, materials and textures to focus on - generally 3 or 4 different colours or tones is enough, I wouldn’t often do more than that - and try to create a cohesion that is pleasing to the eye within that framework. So for these shelves, you can see that I chose whites and creams, with the ceramics and books, warm wood tones, some brass, and then just a touch of foliage for some natural interest.

Once I had my colour scheme and most of my items chosen, I divided each shelving section in half visually (you would do more divisions if you had longer shelves, or less if shorter), and then tried to balance both the materials and tones, as well as the height and visual weight of the items. You can see that I have a warm wood-toned item on the lower right shelf, and then also on the upper left shelf. I used the same process with the rows of books, as well as the brass, and from there just continued arranging things until I felt I had a well balanced feel to the shelves. Sometimes this can take a bit of time and changing things until you get something that you think works, but the end result is worth it!

The nice thing about a project like this, is that the only new items here are the warm wood bowls that I found for cheap at HomeSense (but could probably easily be found thrifted as well). The rest of the items I simply shopped my house for, which is always fun, and very cost effective!

My books are mainly thrifted that I chose simply for their colours and sizes, which is quite funny because if you turned the spines around you would probably see some pretty obscure titles. Every time I go shopping for some more, I am entertained by the idea that the other people looking for books to, you know, actually read, probably think I’m a bit of a weirdo. Some of the books are hardcovers that we actually have read that I just took the cover off of (most of those are my husband’s business-related books, but I won’t tell him if you don’t!)

I really like having a small art piece in the shelves to make them a little more personal, and to add a tiny bit of colour. It also fits well with this overcast and misty autumn season we are having where I live. Art pieces are a really good way to update a space for a new season, by changing the colours and tones in a space, without having to change too much else. I will often look for free or cheap art prints, and switch out pieces in a few frames around my home each season. I happened to just find this one on google images, however I have linked a few similar art prints at the bottom of the post that I love.

Having my shelves all warmed up for the autumn season has been so refreshing over this last week. I don’t know about you, but when I feel inspired to make a change or undertake a project - no matter how big or small - and I then achieve an end result that makes me happy with my decision to follow through with that change, or move with that inspiration, it is such a fulfilling feeling. That is what I am trying to do much more of in both my life, and my home decorating these days. I want to find simplicity and minimalism in it - to feel an ease and peace in everyday life - and to simply rearrange or change things when a desire or inspiration strikes, rather than constantly attempt to fulfill an obligation I set on myself to keep up with current trends. This, in turn, brings me much more ease as far as life-balance is concerned, and also allows me to feel more joy in my heart, even on a daily basis.
I hope that as you move through the new, and coming, season, you too can find time to reflect on what brings you both inspiration and peace, as well as balance and joy in life.

Thanks for stopping by today, friends.

Shelf Decor

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Art Print Options

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