Bookcase Inspirations
The built-in bookcase is up! It was a marathon measuring, sawing, building, caulking, sanding, painting week… but they are up & we are pretty darn pleased with the results. I have been playing with some styling on a few of the middle shelves while we were adding the final trim pieces to the top & bottom the past few days. I have little to no patience when it comes to filling empty spaces. What I am now trying to decide on is whether I want a packed library look, a color coded or curated collection feel in our dining room. Here are a few of my favorite bookcases that display each of the categories.
L I B R A R Y L O O K :
Shelves that are mostly filled with books with an accessory, frame or bookend added occasionally, if at all.
Lonny Mag |
Emily A. Clark |
Apartment Therapy |
C O L O R C O D E D :
All items are displayed & organized via color.
Design Sponge |
i suwanee |
C U R A T E D C O L L E C T I O N :
A well styled collection of all accessories, books, frames, etc.
The Lennox |
Emily Henderson |
Now that I am even more confused, if you need me I will be playing with our shelves… Not only do we have the shelves to style, I may or may not have bought a vintage fireplace surround that I am styling as well π I shared a sneak peek this weekend on Facebook & Twitter.
Which look do you love?
I started with a "Curated" look on my built-ins…but now 8+ years later they have turned into a "Library" look since I have continuously added more books after reading them. They still look good, just a bit more full and evolving. π Enjoy styling!
I tend to lean towards the curated look. I like a nice mix. Although we have a good number of books, I only like to display the "prettier" ones, sticking all of the others in hidden storage. What a teaser! Ready to see what you're doing!
this is a big tease…glad i live next door!
The examples shown for Emily A Clark and The Lennox are both gorgeous! I guess it depends on whether you consider knick knacks or books to be clutter..whatever you don't require right now ends up back in storage.
I love the curated look, however, I'd take Emily's library look that is edited just a bit is really appealing as well! Have fun playing… π
Thanks for the wonderful inspirations -I am leaning more towards the library look and curated one. We are also trying to build our own shelves, in the office actually, and I totally get it when you say that it's a "marathon"! glad your almost at the finish line though, we're barely out of the starting line! I'm sure whatever you choose it will be fabulous! π
I'm a big fan of the curated look! I know whatever you decide will look awesome. The good thing is you can always keep changing them around π
Hey there!! Love that you were able to complete this project so quickly. I cannot wait to be able to complete a similar project. (still waiting on my hutch to be repaired then I can get my china off of the bookcases and into the hutch) I'm way to Alpha anal to go with color coded. I like to have my books arranged alphabetical by author…at least that is my plan… I can't wait to see what you decide to do. Loving all your projects on your blog!
I love a color coded library. I only wish I had enough books. I often wonder if the owners of these rooms bought stacks of books for decorative purposes or if they've read them all for real. I aspire to being the type to have read every book in the house. So it's probably a good thing I don't have quite so many.
I once saw a picture of books turned around so you just saw paper. I loved the neutrality. I tend to like a combo of color grouping with Emily Henderson's mini vignettes featuring a book or two. Are you really reading the books or liking the styling? And there's the answer.
Wow, what a great post, what great pictures. To me, it's all about what you want to project to other people or feel when you are in that room. A library look says I read constantly.
A curated look says I have either been a lot of places or appreciate all types of collections and art. A color coded look says it's all about styling. It's all about what makes you feel comfortable when you look at it and what expresses your personality.