STYLISH BOOKSHELVES

Hi all! Happy hump day! Now that the holidays have come and gone, I have new accessories and knick knacks just laying around the house waiting for a home. So, one design essential that I have been particularly seeking out lately is bookshelf styling. Sometimes I can just get so overwhelmed trying to perfectly arrange all my decor on bookshelves. I always feel like they look choppy - so, in an effort to help them look more cohesive, I have been keeping my eye out for inspiration photos and new trinkets to display!


I know I have posted about using yellow national geo magazines to decorate and covering old books, but here are some ways to decorate with variety!


First of all, love this black bookshelf - makes such a statement. And paired with the bold colors of the books and brass trinkets, it is perfection. 

I would consider this bookshelf organized clutter! Against the white walls, all the collected mementos add punches of color to this room and makes the space feel personable. 

Neutral books arranged organically ... but what draws me to this picture is the two petite frames to spice it up.

If you have lots of books and enjoy collecting them, this style may be for you! I am still trying to collect books so I definitely don't have enough to fill a bookshelf yet.

I know this picture has been floating around pinterest a ton, but I can't take my eyes off this one. I love the punches of blue amongst the shades of white and cream and you know I love the gold accents. All the objects are so different and contrast each other nicely that you never get bored.

Gosh ... I do love, love, love this bookshelf! It appears so casually decorated with the stacks of magazines and propped pictures, but someone obviously knew what they were doing. Maybe it is the fun, vibrant colors that draw me to this one, but whatever it is - I wish this could be in my house!

 via lonny mag

Could you color coordinate your books? Again, I don't have enough to do this, but I like this concept. And the gold mirror is such a nice touch!

all sources via my pinterest board

So, those are some of my current favs that I have saved for reference when I begin to overhaul our three bookshelves. They just seem so bland right now, but I hope to jazz them up soon. I am also in search for some more doo-dads to fill the shelves as well. Here are some pieces I have my eye on!

clear quartz votive holder - this would be perfect to place on top of some stacked books or under a cloche.

black lacquer boxes -  I could see two (or three!) of these stacked neatly on a shelf ... maybe topped with the quartz votive holder?

gold gilded blocks - you could spell out your initials, last name, or a simple word and use these as a topper

ceramic zebra - I am so tempted to order this for myself!

ceramic peacock - I like how these ceramic animals can add such variety and shape to structured bookshelves.  

gold gilded mirror - this would be a great, ornate mirror to hang off a shelf like in some of the inspiration images

And of course, beautiful books are easy solutions for decorating!

What are your "go to" places for finding filler objects? I need some new places to scour! Currently I search Anthropologie, Etsy, Zgallerie, High Street Market for unique and vintage finds ... plus some other brand name shops. Please share!

DESIGN*SPONGE BOOK TOUR

A few months ago I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Grace Bonney - the creator and author of Design*Sponge. Grace Bonney is so inspirational and I can say that her blog was one of the first I followed. I have always been a huge fan! A few of us Birmingham gals got together for the book signing and it was such a treat! The signing with accompanied with margaritas before and after which made the night even more fun. Check out these pictures from our big night!

 Abode Love and I getting our books signed! We were like two school girls meeting a celebrity - we could hardly think of anything to say! 

 Me trying to make conversation ... she did love both of our southern double names!

And, my book signed and on display on Melrose's coffee table! Love!

To make things even more exciting, Laurel-Dawn and I were captured in Design*Sponge's collage of her tour of the South! Check out her post here - you have to scroll down a bit to her 'Birmingham' section! So it is only my back and it is a tiny picture but ... I think we are officially friends. What do you think?

BOOK REVIEW: farm anatomy

My wonderful Dad turned 55 last weekend and to celebrate I got him this beautifully illustrated book, Farm Anatomy by Julia Rothman. I knew he would enjoy it because of his love for cooking and raising chickens. I have seen reviews of this book floating around blog land, so if you have seen some inside pages all ready - my apologies, and if not, enjoy because this book is amazing!

Here is a brief description Julia wrote on her blog about the release of Farm Anatomy:

It’s 224 pages of paintings, mostly diagrams and charts, with some writing about all the parts of a farm. For example, there are illustrations that show the parts of a pig, kinds of tractors, varieties of barns, all the different squash, bugs that are good and bad for your garden, and a chart of all the tools you can find on a farm. There’s also recipes, a few craft projects and lots of how-tos (how to make cheese, split wood, cut up a chicken, make a rag rug, can tomatoes…).

I love the way she created this book. You can definitely tell it was a labor of love and so worth the time. Design*Sponge recently had a great review (and giveaway!) of the book where Julia explained her designed process:

While the artwork looks like each illustration is a complete painting, in actuality, it is made up of many pieces. A book goes through many rounds of editing, so it didn’t make sense to make final paintings until everything was reviewed. Instead, I made the layouts through a series of steps. This way, anything could be easily revised. I started the artwork in ink, doing just the lines of the drawings in large sketchbooks. All of the titles and a lot of the text were written out by hand, so that had to be drawn, as well.

I really love her style and enjoyed seeing how she used several techniques to layer to create her book. Check out these images of her hand lettering, illustrations, watercolor, and layouts she used while creating the book:

above images from Design*Sponge

After a year of editing, the book was complete and hit the market October 1st. I pre-ordered mine through Amazon so it arrived shortly after the release date. After looking through my Dad's copy, I really want my own! How many times do you find yourself in the grocery store standing at the meat counter with no clue on whose shoulder is whose and where that roast came from and what are you supposed to do with those tips!?!? I love to cook and try new recipes so I think this book could really help solve those questions. Here are some more pictures of the final interior of the book:

all images from book by its cover

Does this book interest you?