STAGING A BOOKCASE IN MY LIVING ROOM

When it comes to decorating, one of my favorite things to do is stage bookcases. I love setting up displays and arranging items. I thought it would be fun to show you how I came up with my newest display in our living room. Some people don't feel like they are good at it so I thought sharing my process with you may be helpful. If not, you can just enjoy my pictures hopefully. I started out with boxes up items! Everything from picture frames, vases, collectibles and sentimental things.


I started with unpacking items to get a feel of everything I had. It really helps when you can see it all together. Since my bookcase is white, I wanted to make sure I had pops of colors in my display so that things would stand out better. Since I decided to display my Vinylmations in BILLY bookcases on either side of my large bookcase, I wanted to make sure my display was somewhat simple. The Vinylmations are very colorful.


For this bookcase display I decided to do a layout that I felt was "mirrored". I don't think designers use this term for arranging items, but I just did. (Maybe I should trademark it. HA!) I like to keep things pleasing to the eye and balanced. That's basically what I mean by mirrored. I tend to always decorate using symmetry. Here is an example...

I numbered each shelf of the bookcase. Number 2 and Number 3 are "mirrored" to look alike.
Number 1 and Number 4 are alike.

In the first example you can see that I used books to give the items some height in the bookcase.
I used similar hot pink frames and sat a Precious Moment figurine next to it.
It helps to make both displays match each other.


You can see how I did it above with the white vases and the silver picture frames as well.
I like that the displays are similar but not exactly the same.
I think it's very pleasing to the eye. Below is a sample of how Shelf 1 and 4 match...



I realize it may be harder for other people to have such a matchy look because they don't have as much stuff as I do.
(I swear I am not a hoarder.)
I am hoping this is helpful and inspiring.
My bookcase has a total of 8 shelves. Here is what my finally display looks like...



I am very happy with how my display turned out. It makes me happy! :)
Here are some more pictures, because I love pictures...

The California crate was left behind by the previous home owner! YAY!


The Precious Moment figurine above belonged to my aunt who passed away earlier this year.
She had a huge collection of them and I always remember as a child that the "one in the bathtub" was my favorite.
It makes me smile every time I see it.

I like to collect buttons and pins...


One of my favorite photos of my friends and I from over 10 years ago!
(Geez, I'm old!)
You can also see the photo on the right of my dad and I when I was around 4 years old!


So what do you think?
Doing displays are so fun to me. Putting things together and layering them.
My best advise would be to just try different things. It took me hours to get this display to look a way that I loved.
Use books, frames, art, collectables and vases.
Mix it up and have FUN!

Next step for my living room is painting some artwork!
You can see other bookcase displays I have done in the past by clicking HERE.
Tour my home HERE.

Thrifty Finds: Vintage $8 Bookcase

There is a really cool antique store where I live that I love visiting every few weeks. Before we went on vacation I had spotted this bookcase that was priced at only $8! I thought about it all the time and a few weeks passed. I decided I had to have it. Luckily it hadn't sold when I went back and now it's in my bedroom....



Of course Chloe had to check it out right away! I didn't need this bookcase but I wanted to save it.
I think it is so cute. It's handmade and did come with sliding doors if I want to use them in the future.



It could use some love. I may paint it someday or do something else fun to it!
My Keep Calm & Carry On print looks way too high now!



The items in the bookcase where sitting on my dresser before. I like my dresser cleared off better.
So I guess I did need the bookcase??? HA!



I love finding inexpensive furniture!
If we buy a house I'm going to go crazy with second hand furniture and vintage pieces.
It will be amazing. :)

What would you do with this piece? Paint it or leave it?
Any other ideas???

Linking up today over at

My Expedit Bookcase

I have wanted an expedit bookcase from IKEA for years! I kept holding off because I dread moving it every time we move. I was sick of my dining room having a big blank wall, so I just bought one!!! YAY!
I was even more excited to find out it now comes in high gloss white. I am glad I waited, because I really love the high gloss stuff that IKEA sells.
Watch my slide show to see my expedit come to life...

The bottom shelves will be full of photo albums and some pretty storage boxes. That's a project for another day! I am so excited to have something in my dining room finally! Our place is really starting to feel like a HOME.

My mom had kept all my plants for me when we moved out to Wyoming. We didn't have a safe way to take them with us and no extra space in our cars. I brought home a few with me after visiting, since I drove. My large Peace Lilly is so tall. It would not fit on top of any of my other bookcases without being smashed up against the ceiling. The expedit was a perfect place to house my plants.
I am so happy to have my greenhouse now! I wanted it as soon as I saw it on the IKEA website. We were going to buy seeds and try to grow herbs, but we just go to the store and stare at the selection. We bought jalapeno plants instead. Not sure what we will put in the middle pot yet. Hopefully I don't kill them.

I got some great cookbooks while in Ohio. One store I miss very much is Half Price Books. I paid less then $30 for all the cookbooks. If you ever get a chance to go to Half Price Books,...GO! The other great thing about the expedit bookcase is that I was able to pretty much fill it with all my last items that were homeless and stored in the closet. Somehow it all worked together I think! I still have a lot of Vinylmation Figurines that aren't displayed though. I hope to get a curio for the rest of my collection.
My dining area is a perfect place for my vintage pyrex, vintage glassware, teapots, Vinylmations and Alice in Wonderland stuff! I originally wanted a vintage buffet that I could paint bright yellow, but I am sick of looking. I have always wanted an expedit and feel it was a perfect fit. I really would love to get a bold printed rug for under the table and chairs! That I will keep looking for. Also my walls would be painted turquoise if I was aloud to paint! (So sick of rentals!)

See my precious post of my kitchen and dining area {HERE}

See my "wrapping paper" makeover in my bookcase that houses my Alice in Wonderland collection {HERE}

Wrapping Paper Bookcase Backdrop

After searching for months, I finally found some wrapping paper to put in the back of my large bookcase in my dining room. I wanted something turquoise. I had found some cool fabric at JoAnn's, but didn't feel like buying yards of it! A trip to the dollar store last week paid off.

I found some crazy blue floral paper. I purchased two rolls for $2. It barely fit! The rolls were only 15ft long and I really could of used 16ft, so there are a few places where the white backing of the bookcase shows. For $2 though, who cares! I can always change it later. It's crazy bright...

It really makes everything POP instead of looking so plain and borrowing!
I got some great Alice stuff for Christmas! My parents bought me the Alice Cookie Jar I really wanted...I had to rearrange my original displays in the bookcase to get everything to fit. The cookie jar is rather large! I think it looks so much better now! I also got the Alice Precious Moment that I have wanted for a very long time...
I love combining my Alice stuff with vintage Pyrex and other kitchen items!Above I have a teapot and Vinylmation sitting on a photo album I found at TJ MAXX for $7! I love the pattern on it so much! Below is just a photo of my favorite Alice Vinylmation, the White Rabbit...
I used my box of paint swatches to raise the Alice Book higher in this display...
When I first put the wrapping paper in the back of the bookcase I thought it might be way to bright and bold. I have lived with it now for over a week and it's grown on me, so I guess it stays!

Now I just have to still get artwork, a buffet and a new rug! It's all a slow process. lol
You can view my original Dining Room Post {HERE}

My Living Room - December 2011

Last week I shared my Kitchen & Dining Area with you. Today we will tour the Living Room. When we first moved in I was so super excited when I saw how LARGE the space was!I knew I would finally have room for all of our furniture. There is nothing I hate more then a cluttered and cramped room! I also decided that I wanted my computer to be in our living room. I enjoy spending most of my time in the living area, so it just made more sense to put my work area in the same room. Here is the view from the Kitchen...

Now you can see where I blog!!!

I decided I needed some Vinylmations in the empty corner. I purchased the shelves at Target on clearance for $7! I may spray paint them to add some more color. I am in love with my Billy Bookcases...
This is where I store office supplies and "not so pretty" stuff. It's a great little corner for me to blog and pay the bills! Cody anchored them to the wall and together so that they can't fall and crush me. What a great husband he is!I found the perfect place for my Michelin Man. The silver and white vase is new. I just purchased it for $8 at Big Lots. I love it! They had a few other cool designs also. Here is the rest of the room currently...There are still many many finishing touches to be done. That is what keeps it fun though! I never mentioned that I had painted my ottoman white! I can't believe how much better it looks now. I used Bullseye Primer and about 3 coats of Semi-Gloss white paint from Walmart. The funky fabric on it has grown on me, but I found fabric to recover it. Hopefully that will happen sometime in the next few months. It's going to be beautiful,....that's all I am saying. Okay, onto the couch wall...My vintage sofa has a special place in my heart. It will always be "our first couch in Wyoming" and it was FREE. I would love to go and buy a new gray mircofiber couch that I dream of having. I just don't feel like spending the money on it right now when our vintage sofa is working perfectly fine. I feel like the color works with all the other colors in the room. My main battle at this point is picking out art for over the couch. I may paint something, because I seem to never find anything I LOVE. Across from the sofa is looking good I think...I think our TV Stand looks nice by itself. I don't want to clutter up the area. Cody wants a bigger TV of course, but that's not happening right now. lol Tucked away in the corner is our vintage pedestal dining table...This is a sad lonely corner. I need to clean up the cords, find a lamp shade, add 2 chairs and artwork! Target has a great selection of drum shades, I just haven't gone yet. The other corner holds my orange Billy Bookcase...
I really need a skirt for my Christmas tree!!It's nice to have everything in place and unpacked. Now I can go thrifting and look for treasures to finish the room. It's comfortable and functional for now. This room is a huge room to paint. I would probably go with a light gray. I just don't want to worry about having to paint EVERYTHING BACK when we move out. I just try to put pops of color in the room to dress it up. I feel like I have a good foundation and now I just have to add all the finishing touches.

EXPEDIT BOOKCASE

The Expedit bookcase from IKEA is one of my favorite bookcases EVER! It works in all rooms and can be used in so many different ways! Funny thing is,...I DON'T HAVE ONE!!! Instead I just enjoy looking at images of the bookcase in others homes...
The Story Of Home
The Sassy Kathy & Olive & A

Arizona Inetgiant
Decor Pad
Chaplank
Why don't I have an Expedit? I didn't want to move it across the country! I am waiting till we buy our next house!!!
See my other Expedit posts {HERE}
Look at Expedit Bookcases on IKEA's website {HERE}