bookcases....how the heck to decorate them

i hear people stress about decorating bookcases alot.  it can be daunting.....6 shelves, 10 feet tall....how the heck do i fill the space?  bookcases are a great place to showcase family treasures, travel souveniers, and all the many books that you collect over the years.  i have scoured the internet to find some great examples of things you can do.  i wish i had bookcases in my house b/c of all the unique ways you can decorate them.  so, kick back and take a look at how a huge, plain jane bookcase can become one of your favorite areas of your house!

{house beautiful}

books - they don't HAVE to stand straight up and they don't all have to go the same way.  lay some on their sides and stack them tall

i love how the picture frame is attached to the front of the bookcase.  who says a frame has to hang on a wall?

notice how the back of the bookcase is painted yellow?  this is a great place to add pops of color without it being overwhelming.  and so easy to change.

{hgtv}

{hooked on houses}

this is one of my favorites...organizing your books and magazines according to their spine colors.  i love this.  unfortunately i don't have quite enough to do this, but i'm well on my way, thanks to book club!  if you check out the "hooked on houses" link, be sure and read about the book store that arranged ALL of their books by color.  super cool!  not sure how easy it would be to find the book you need, but at least you would have something beautiful to look at while searching! 

{better homes & gardens}

turn a bookcase or cabinet into a bar area/wine cabinet.  i hope to have some pics of one of my client's projects soon.  we did something similar with a large china cabinet in her dining room {no pressure sarah!}.  you can purchase racks that you screw into the bottom of a shelf for glasses to hang.  pick up wine racks for bottles and use beautiful decanters to turn a simple bookcase or cabinet into a useable bar area.

{apartment therapy}

{country living}

another favorite of mine...use wall paper on the back of a bookcase to add fabulous pattern and color.  think about some of the wallcoverings from this past ruby jewel post.  what a statement!  and let's talk about that second photo....the "bookcase" is made out of cabinet drawers.  so very creative.

in almost all of these photos you will see that they have combined books with knick knacks and photos to create a space that is interesting to look at.  hopefully this gives you some inspiration for some of those blank bookcases and cabinets in your home.

if you have done something unique to a bookcase, email me a pic!  i would love to see it.  rubyjewelstudio@gmail.com

happy weekend!!!

home remix

so, mymichael and i have lived in our house for a whole 3 years this month.  crazy to think that we have been back in t-town for that long.  3 years is the longest i have lived anywhere in the past 10 years!  now, this is nice b/c it means i don't have to pack and move and all that jazz, but the packing and moving and such always allows me to change my "home" space.  redecorate, paint, change things up a bit.  now that the 3 years are here, i am definitely ready for a home remix/redo/redecorate/repaint/etc!  to be honest, mymichael isn't too excited b/c when we bought the house 3 years ago it had just been professionally painted on the inside and i proceeded to paint every single room before moving in.  so, the thought of having to do that all over again is a little daunting to him!  but, here's the deal, i want a change, something different, and the least expensive thing you can do that can make a MAJOR impact on the feel of a space is paint.  so paint we shall...after the new year and after i determine what colors and such.  back in may i picked up some fabric to use in our office.  it has since sat in the corner b/c i had a feeling i was going to want to repaint everything and wanted to wait until i knew what the rest of the house was going to be.  lately i have been drawn to the light interiors w/ the greys and blues and lots of white.  my house has wood stained trim and since we won't be there forever, i don't want to go to the hastle and expense of painting everything white....although i would love that.  my walls are greens and blues right now (which i like....just want a change) so going with a lighter grey/blue color will really change the look.

here are some things that i am loving right now.....

wallcoverings. 
these are all suzy hoodless designs from osborne & little.  i saw the first one, green and purple, in my friend francie's new york apartment and completely fell in love.  she had it on one wall and it was gorgeous!  b/c i'm going for a lighter look i wouldn't use the first colorway, although i love it.  below are some other designs from the same designer.

now, i wouldn't be doing every wall, if anything, just one.  haven't made up my mind.

white ornate frames

bold patterns

combination of patterns - geometric w/ organic

the possibilities are endless!  feel free to share input, links, photos, etc.  i always have a hard time deciding what to do for myself.  i can help someone else all day long w/ no problem....but me?  i'd hate to have a client like me! 

flaky & rusty

this past weekend a couple of my friends from dallas came to visit.  saturday we headed to jenks to see if we could find any "treasures" or future diy {do it yourself} projects.  our first stop was rivercity trading and my oh my!  we spend a good 2 hours going through the store.  for those that aren't familiar, the building is an old grocery store that has been divided up into booths that individuals can rent to sell antiques/crafts/old stuff/you name it.  it is a very interesting combination of items...one booth will have an old milking stool and the next will have embroidered baby items...definitely keeps you guessing!  during our 2 hour trip we acquired a multitude of things.  here are a couple "before" pictures of items i found.

i have full intentions of fixing these items up...they will not sit in my garage untouched!  both of my friends went home with windows as well as some other items.  i'm curious to see how theirs turn out {hint, hint tiff.....blog!}

so, check back to see what i turn the old flaky window and rusted bird cage into!

this melts my heart

this beautiful, colorful ottoman melts my heart....well,only second to mymichael and third to any future children =).

in 2008 mymichael and i vacationed in portland, maine, and while we were thre i came across Company C.  since then i have received their promotional emails...which i constantly drool over.  today i received one eaturing this ottoman.  is it not awesome?  i love the legs, and the fabric, and how it is paired with other patterns in the photo above.  if only i had a place for it to go.....

somebody, that i know, PLEASE purchase this so that i can drool over it at your house!