Can a Bookcase Be Inspired?

I love books but have never liked the way bookcases looked…especially the one that lives next to the TV in my living room. The easiest solution would have been to get rid of it all together but I love my books too much not to display them.

So instead, inspired by color organized bookshelves that I was seeing everywhere and an amazing DIY project by Danny Seo, I set out earlier this year to transform the piece into something I could be proud of.

I love the end result and send many thanks to Linda over at Heartfire at Home for giving me the opportunity to finally post about the makeover!

A punch of color in my new favorite corner of the living room!

Rainbow effect detail

Close up shot of the red-to-yellow shelf

The top of the bookcase displays one of my favorite DIY projects!

I’m in Love…With a Book

Let me preface this by saying that I understand books are inanimate objects. But if I could love an inanimate object like a person, I could truthfully say that I have fallen in love with this book.

The book in question is “Etcetera” by stylist Sibella Court and I have Danny Seo to thank for the recommendation. I have become a recent fan of his “eco-friendly and crafty ideas” and am now addicted to his daily blog of inspiration.

His recent post on the book included a peek inside the cover of “Etcetera” and I was instantly hooked. Desperate to have it, I searched Amazon and Barnes & Noble without luck. Turns out that Anthropologie is exclusively carrying the book and I was fortunate enough to track down a copy at one of my local stores.

And the book did not disappoint! It is absolutely incredible and brimming with amazing insight of decorating with ordinary objects and filled with page after page of inspiration. Sibella layers her vignettes in the most extraordinary way; with always something new to discover each time you study one.

Genius! I mean who else would think to display old paintbrushes and loose pages from books?

I want a hobby drawer like this! But if I did, I wouldn’t want to ever close it. Even the most ordinary of objects is made beautiful with age and an eye for arranging.

Even the actual book is hiding something unexpected. The cover I discovered underneath the book jacket was so extraordinary that I’m never putting the jacket back on!

And it got my creative juices flowing like no other. I now have so many new ideas for decorating my home, which has caused me to become slightly less productive at work because I’ve been poring through eBay (don’t tell my boss!). With any luck, I’ll soon have a collection of my own “curiosities” and I can’t wait! Half the fun is in the hunt though…so watch out fellow eBay buyers - I am a woman on a mission!