The Decorologist styles bookcases on a budget
One of my clients recently moved into a new home with lots of bookcases throughout. I had helped her decorate her previous home, and she wanted to get her new living room pulled together before an upcoming baby shower she was hosting. My client had a very limited number of books, and little more than picture frames to style the bookcases. I knew she needed hardback books and on-trend accessories to add to her personal things in order to make those bookcases beautiful in short order.
In this online age, many people don't have a collection of good hardback books anymore. I scoured a couple of local estate sales for books and was able to buy them for $2 each. I kept my eye out for the right colors — sans book covers, that is. Unless books are first editions or signed copies, I typically remove book covers so that I can group them by color to create order and add visual impact.
The best place to get accessories for bookcase styling on a budget are stores like HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Ross. My mission was to find objects that looked expensive, but didn't kick the pocketbook too hard. I shopped HomeGoods for items that were the colors, metallics and shapes I wanted to create the right look for my client's living room bookcases. Because we were painting the backs of the bookcases a dark, sophisticated color, I knew that white ceramics and metallics would stand out beautifully.
The paint color I chose for the backs of the bookcases is Benjamin Moore Caribbean Teal. It's a muted version of her gorgeous tufted tuxedo sofa from Merridian Home Furnishings, so it was the perfect choice for this space. I also found a beautiful pair of orange and white pillows at Home Goods to work with the solid orange one that came with the sofa. The geometric pattern of the down-filled pillows echos some of the patterns in the ceramic accessories.
When styling bookcases, I typically start with hardback books, grouping them on shelves both vertically and stacking them horizontally to add interest. Then I begin adding in accessories, personal photographs and other collectibles to fill things in. The combination of my client's personal items, estate sale books and HomeGoods accessories is what pulled this living room together — just in time for her party. I always say: there's no better motivation for finishing up a house project than an upcoming party!
ABOUT
Kristie Barnett is The Decorologist. She is an expert in residential color, staging and decoration and writes about all of those things and more on her blog at www.thedecorologist.com.