What I've been up to lately...

Friday, February 24, 2012

Bookshelf Beautification: The "After" Party


Well, today's the day...the last Friday in February (Yes, really!)
Time for the big "After" reveal!



My bookshelves began this journey in this chaotic state of disarray:
And here they are now:
I think the biggest change is the background color.  I debated between purple and blue
and finally settled on "Honolulu Blue."  I love the drama of purple, but it felt too dark in this space.  Our family room has large windows but still manages to seem dark, except in the late afternoon when the sun shines directly in.  This renders anyone in the room temporarily blind and makes it necessary to close the shades, thus making the room dark again.  This particular shade of blue has a lot of light and brightness to it - think blue sky on a clear summer day.  It is happy and cheerful...exactly how I want my family room to feel.
This color also coordinates nicely with our favorite rug that we've dragged around through four moves and have not, up until this point, painted a room to coordinate with it.
I've organized the books (mostly by color rather than topic...my apologies to the Dewey Decimal System!)
And added some family pictures
and some old(er) pictures
Some fun trinkets...
And a bit of sentimental stuff...
Zack hand made this ceramic mug in school and adorned it with the letters "MOM" *sigh*
My parents gave us this sweet duck family back when we were a family of only four.
The bottom shelves are entirely kid friendly (A & Z can reach them!).  But, I think they still look really cool. For how long?  I don't know.   Perhaps they're pulling them apart as I type this.
And then there's this lady...
I love her.  My husband is on the fence...he thinks she's a wee bit creepy. 
I did get a chance to change the fabric on the cornice (which now clashes horribly with the cornice on the other side of the room - but that one will soon be switched out for panels made out of this same gorgeous fabric.)  I've never covered a cornice before, and was surprised by how simple it was, and how nicely it turned out.  Kind of like wrapping a present, but with a staple gun,  fun!
Overall, I am very pleased with how the shelves look now.  I can't wait to finish the rest of this room (and the rest of this house...)!

A huge thanks to Lisa at  Shine Your Light  for pushing me into action on this project.
Be sure to visit the After Party to see all of February's before and after projects.  And think about joining the party in March...sometimes all you need is a deadline to get your project moving!


Shine Your Light








16 comments:

  1. Lovely, good choice on the background color of blue. How clever to remember the children with the lower shelf. Perfectly lovely.

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  2. I think this looks great! The blue is so bright and cheery!

    coming to you from the blog hop!

    Tamika
    www.notimefortea.com

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  3. Looks great! I love the details on the bookshelves, especially how cute the bottom shelves were for the kids. That fabric is wonderful on the cornice too!

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  4. Carolyn, what a difference just by painting the back of the shelves! That blue is so cheerful and I love the pop of color. Also he fabric and nailhead trim on the cornice board looks fantastic! I love this before and after - thanks for linking it up! Can't wait to see what you accomplish next! Happy weekend.

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  5. Stopping by and following via the Linky Followers Blog Hop at Its So Very Cheri!!! Have a great day!! :)

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  6. Love it! Blue is bright and cheerful. I love how you put deco and details on the shelf esp the kids friendly shelf :D

    Witha @ http://withapinkie.blogspot.com

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  7. Wow, those can't be ignored! What an eye-catching color! That Wilmington fabric on your cornice is one of my favorites. Really nice job!

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  8. Like the blue! Purple would have been too dark and now shown up all those great other colors....visiting from the hop.

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  9. Love the blue- it really adds dimension to the space! And I adore the fabric over your window! Thanks for linking up to Manic Monday!
    Melissa

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  10. Love your blog & love the blue shelves! I'm your newest follower on Linky tools. Just got an account too! Would love you to come follow me back! :)

    itsjustcalledspicy.blogspot.com

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  11. I love it - love all of your interesting trinkets!!!

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  12. Very nice! I laughed at you organizing your books by color. I thought my daughter was the only one who did that. :-) She said, 'Mom, I know the color of all the spines, so it just makes sense!' So it does. And looks prettier too!

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  13. Great job-I think the blue was the right choice.

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  14. Love the way you've arranged this! I have similar bookshelves in my bonus room but it's mostly chocked with books I can't bear to part with. I might have to do some culling. :-) I'm your newest follower. I'd love for you to come visit me at http://feedingfourfood.blogspot.com and follow back.

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  15. Awesome!!! I love the material on the window and how you organized the shelves! You did a great job!

    Thanks for linking it up @ Creatively Living!

    --Katie

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  16. I love all your little knick knacks! You've displayed everything beautifully.
    Thanks for sharing at Terrific Tuesdays.
    Rachel
    adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com

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