A PEEK AT MY BOOKSHELVES IN DAPPLED SUNSHINE

I quickly snapped some snippets of my bookshelves as the sunshine swept across them.  They’re filled with vintage books with marbleized covers and wavy pages.  Architectural fragments are bookends. A bowl holds glass beads and an old oil painting introduces something different.  Large wooden candlesticks repeat on the shelves.  An old French clock face is an interesting back drop for art on an easel.

How do you style your bookshelves?

HOW I ADDED OLD WORLD STYLE TO A VINTAGE CUPBOARD

My grey cupboard has always been a part of my kitchen.  When we renovated the kitchen I thought about selling it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  There really wasn't a good spot for it in another room.  For now it's in our family room until I come up with another solution.  Here's what it looked like in the kitchen before we renovated.

I wanted to change it up a bit.  My inspiration was this bookshelf designed by Tara Shaw.  I like the look of wonderful books packed in to a space and going in all directions.   If you don't follow Tara, you should.  She's one of my favorite designers.  Here's the link to her Instagram account: 

@tarashawdesign.

TARA SHAW DESIGN

You can see that I did pack in the books and have them going every which way like the inspiration.  Once I got started though, my old world bookshelves took a different route.  I wanted to mix objects and art in with the books and show the pages as well as the spines and covers.  

 

Do you find the wavy rippled edges of old books just as interesting as the spines?  I do.  Many of the books were multiples so I was able to show them from every angle ----the marbleized covers, the spines, and of course the irregular pages.  Don't miss the sphere I used as a bookend.  It's a heavy ball covered in nails.  I purchased it from a friend who found it in Paris.  I have three and they're  definitely favorites.

WAVY EDGE PAGES AND FRENCH NAIL SPHERE

Even better are the books with marbleized pages.  I just had to display the pages instead of the spines.  I tucked a wooden bowl in to the corner.  It's filled with strands of glass beads that pick up the colors in the books.

BOOKS WITH MARBLEIZED PAGES

I also frequently add architectural pieces when I'm styling bookshelves. 

 These plaster corbels are perfect bookends.  

PLASTER CORBEL BOOKENDS

I couldn't forget to add some art.  I've had this vintage oil for many years.  I think I shared this before, but I found it at an auction hidden in the bottom of a box lot.  

VINTAGE OIL IN THE STYLING MIX

There's more art in another corner.  I placed these mini french scenes on to bamboo easels and mixed them in with some books with paper labels.

MINI FRENCH ART ON BAMBOO EASELS

What can be better than bird art on a nest easel?

BIRD ART ON NEST EASEL

These natural wood turned candleholders blended perfectly with all the other warm browns on the shelves.

CANDLEHOLDERS IN WARM TONES

To add a little color, I repeated the glass bead garland.

CANDLEHOLDER WITH GLASS BEAD GARLAND

The large architectural fragment on the leather book repeats the corbel bookends.

ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT ON A SHABBY LEATHER BOOK

How do you style your bookshelves?  Just books? A mix?  Do you have a theme?

ENJOYED THIS POST? 
 Sign up to receive a notification every time I publish by clicking here.

HOW I DO PERFECTLY IMPERFECT DECOR

Do you do weathered and timeworn in your home?  I do.  It's one of my signature styles.

Take a tour of my perfectly imperfect decor that I use inside and out in my home.

When I bought this chair, it was nothing more than a chippy frame. 

 I left the chair frame as found and had it upholstered in a leopard print.

WEATHERED FRENCH CHAIR WITH LEOPARD FABRIC

The chair pairs perfectly with my equally time worn French desk and leather books.

FRENCH DESK

Between both of them is a flaking column.

ARCHITECTURAL COLUMN

This crumbling mirror adds an elegant decadence to my powder room.

ELEGANT AND DECADENT MIRROR

Chipped vintage gold finials contrast perfectly with the flawless pearls.

TIMEWORN GOLD FINIALS

I also have an oil painting on the landing of my foyer.  I embrace its curling canvas corner.

OIL PAINTING WITH CURLED CANVAS

Have you ever purchased a deconstructed chair.?  I've not only purchased a chair,  but I also couldn't pass up an equally worn chaise.

MY DECONSTRUCTED CHAIR

DECONSTRUCTED CHAISE IN MY LIVING ROOM

This peeling religious statue is very special to me.  It was a gift from my Mom.

PEELING RELIGIOUS STATUE

If you follow along you know I have a thing for well-used bread boards.  The more battered the better.  A repair is always sought after.  This grouping is in my pantry.

MY BREAD BOARD COLLECTION IN MY PANTRY

I do perfectly imperfect outside too.
These fabulously flawed orange shutters flank the french doors on my patio.

CHIPPY ORANGE SHUTTERS ON MY PATIO

I rescued several sections of a vintage iron fence and added them to my garden as they were found.  If you look in the background of the photo, you'll see my equally worn chinoiserie planter.  They're one of a pair.

WEATHERED FENCE AND CHINOISERIE PLANTER

In another garden bed I have a rusty cupola and garden chair.

RUSTY GARDEN CHAIR AND CUPOLA

Do you add perfectly imperfect to your home?

My Deconstructed Chaise

Are you a fan of perfectly imperfect?  I am.  I think it describes my fascination with deconstructed furniture.  What am I talking about???  Well, basically furniture with its underthings exposed.  I already had a deconstructed chair in my upstairs hallway.

My Deconstructed Chair

Of course when I came upon a chaise with the same construction exposure, I purchased it and plopped it in my living room.

My Deconstructed Chaise

A Closer Look At Her Undergarments

Foot of Chaise

I also had a footstool base.  Instead of reupholstering it,  I added a vintage ledger and used it as a side table.  My copper demijohn traveled from another room to be part of this vignette.

Footstool, Ledger, and Demijohn

On the table you'll find an oversized candlestick, a wooden compote filled with floats and animal horns, and some shabby leather books supported by faux marbleized book ends.

I have a framed map of Italy layered over one of my favorite finds, a large garden gate, that fills the wall space.

Framed Map of Italy Layered Over A Garden Gate

I placed a oval metal tray at the foot of the chaise and filled it with another book and a Fornasetti paper weight.  Next to the book are some chippy gold finials.

Large Tray At The Foot Of The Chaise

I draped a leopard throw over the chaise.

Leopard Throw

I'm always a sucker for sunburst mirrors.  This one was missing its mirror, so I just layered it over the throw and a framed architectural print.  I tossed a gold bullion tassel over it too.

Sunburst "Mirror" and Architectural Print

You can actually lounge on the chaise without falling through.  (After you remove all the stuff.)  It's in my living room, the most unused room in the house.  We're always in the family room.  

ENJOYED THIS POST? 
 Sign up to receive a notification every time I publish by clicking here.

Holiday Mantel 2013

My mantel is my first holiday project this year.  Whenever I do change ups, I try to use what I already have.  Once you adopt this policy you'll find that so many of your decor works in different settings in different rooms. 

I have to confess that I did make one new purchase.  I seem to have formed a fascination for faux taxidermy.  I couldn't pass up this plaster ram.  I knew he would be perfect above the mantel wrapped in garland and a string of glass beads.

My Faux Ram's  Head Wrapped in Garland and Glass Beads

Here's how I pulled it all together.

  I've had this damask mantel scarf for a while.  It was a little small for this mantel but I made it work.

 It's red and gold and it directed the colors I pulled from the other rooms.

My Scalloped-Edge Mantel Scarf with Tassels.

You've seen this patent leather chair before.  I dressed it up with a pillow I borrowed from a dining room chair.  The pillow is made from an antique rug with some soft velvet in the center.

Vintage Patent Leather Chair and Persian Rug Pillow

The spheres rolled in from the foyer.  I tried to dress them up for the holiday, first with ribbon and then with some berries, but decided that they were perfect unadorned.

My Wonderful Wooden Spheres

I love this Mid Century Modern brass and nail head cube.  I had it for sale at The Design House, but it didn't sell.  I sometimes put a high price on items I really like.   If they sell, I'm happy parting with them, and if they don't, they're mine.  Yea.

MCM Brass Cube with Nail Head

I topped the cube with some books and stole the faux coral from the sun room mantel.

Zgallerie Faux Coral

These coral-inspired candle holders usually reside next to my clam shell
on my mirrored Chinoiserie table.  They were very happy with the change of scenery.

Coral Inspired Candle Holders

I always try to have an architectural fragment in my vignettes.  The plaster fragment is a bookend on one of my bookcases.  This one was very happy to be part of the holiday decor and anchor one end of the mantel.   I specifically shopped my house for something white in addition to the red and gold to tie in with the white ram.  White and plaster.  Perfect.

Scrolly Architectural Fragment

This matching fragment had to be satisfied to still be a bookend,
 but I did give it some different books to support and oriented it in a different direction.
The crown is an ornament that I use here and there throughout the house throughout the year.

Red Leather Books, Architectural Fragment, and Crown Ornament

You've seen my tangle of antlers in a jar before.  I just dropped some red ornaments into the jar
 and left them where they tumbled.

My Tangle of Antlers and Ornaments

Here's how it all came together.

My Holiday Mantel

My Family Room Mantel

What holiday decor job do you do first?

Kathy