The final touches to any remodeling or redecorating project take the longest. My bookcases have been ready for quite some time. Ready for just the right thing.
But as we know, those right things come along when they are ready. No amount of shopping can make it happen, although "keeping an eye out" is what does make it happen. Something often shows unexpectedly. Holding off with this post until I find just the right items does not make sense so keep in mind some of the things you see might just be placeholders.
These letters, I must admit, came along prior to the completion of the shelving units and I knew I would be using them there.
My brother, Dan, pulled them out of a dumpster behind his house. What a lucky find! There were a few "F's" and a few "L's" along with an O and a C.
This is what I came up with as a way to use more than just one letter.
It took a little work to get them hung. Thanks to Dan's ingenuity they turned out great. One shelf down, seven more to go. (this picture was taken before I moved the O one inch to the left and one inch higher....just in case someone spots that in the final picture.)
But as we know, those right things come along when they are ready. No amount of shopping can make it happen, although "keeping an eye out" is what does make it happen. Something often shows unexpectedly. Holding off with this post until I find just the right items does not make sense so keep in mind some of the things you see might just be placeholders.
These letters, I must admit, came along prior to the completion of the shelving units and I knew I would be using them there.
My brother, Dan, pulled them out of a dumpster behind his house. What a lucky find! There were a few "F's" and a few "L's" along with an O and a C.
This is what I came up with as a way to use more than just one letter.
It took a little work to get them hung. Thanks to Dan's ingenuity they turned out great. One shelf down, seven more to go. (this picture was taken before I moved the O one inch to the left and one inch higher....just in case someone spots that in the final picture.)
I knew I wanted a lamp on this shelf so I planned ahead with an outlet peeking out behind the picture frame. I found this one at Home Goods.
I found the crane at a shop called Cool Stuff Real Cheap. The shop lives up to it's name.
The colors on the body were good with the tiles on my fireplace and the height of the piece was perfect for the top shelf. But, it needed something to balance it off.
Turns out I had a frame stashed in the basement. I had purchased it on sale years ago at Garden Ridge and it still had the cardboard corners on it. Then I needed something to put in the frame. Finally I had an opportunity to use a photograph I had taken in the early 90's in Louisville, KY. I had even enlarged it to 11x14 but had never gotten around to finding a frame for it. Makes me sound a little kooky since both pieces were somewhere in my house all along.
These two things took care of the top shelf on the left.
I picked up this frame at a warehouse sale at a very nice home furnishings store. It was marked $89 but because the easel was slightly loose, I bought it for $2.
I had this packed away...something I bought a couple years ago thinking I would use it somewhere-sometime.
I added some sand for now. If I think of something better I can switch it out later.
I found both of these at Home Goods on the same day but ended up returning the larger one. It was a little more of a statement than I needed in a room full of statements.
Of course, most shelves have books tucked here and there. I had some books, but these shelves are only nine inches deep so not everything I had was working.
I found these encyclopedias at the Goodwill Outlet for 39 cents a pound.
I used gift wrapping paper to cover them.
Here are a few more.
I also have had three sets of these Styrofoam books used for staging. I decided to freshen them up with a little paint and use them too.
PS: I am adding another photo post publication. As I mentioned, this is a project that will continue to be tweaked.
This was a rainy day project and today it is raining so I decided to work on the Styrofoam books on my shelves. I tore some pages from my shelter magazines, cut the patterns to fit the spines of the books, and glued them in place. (the glue is still drying so the wrinkles you see should disappear)
I almost forgot...I bought this at shop filled with repainted furniture, antiques, and junkables. The colors worked for me and I liked the numbers thing. The thought did cross my mind that I could make something similar myself. Then I looked at the $14 price tag and decided I was not crazy enough to spend three days working on something I could buy for $14 already finished in my colors.
So, that about covers it. Add a few family photos and you have...
my shelves for now. As other things appear on the horizon, they will be rearranged and perpetually tweaked...then again, they may look just like this a year from now.
Although it is not obvious in this photo, I do need to freshen up the floor. That requires a light screening, touching up the paint, and then a coat of poly.
I'd rather not think about that now. However, my house is part of a progressive wine tasting event in October and that is a mere three months away.
I am linking to: No Minimalist Here
Your shelves look wonderful and the LOL is sooo cute! Thanks for joining the Open House party.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Sherry