Bookcase Beauty

I love bookcases…or maybe it’s just books I love!  Since I was a little girl, a good read would always give me a thrill.  I can’t tell you how many pictures my photographer Daddy made of me with my nose stuck in a book.  To this day, the anticipation of cracking open a new book makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.  The smell, the feel of those first few pages…. ahhhh!  Can an E-book give you that.  I think not.    I may get on the Kindle bandwagon one day, but not today.  Besides, how are you going to decorate bookcases with a bunch of Kindles.

I love to decorate with books.  Stack ‘em, scatter ‘em, shelf ‘em, doesn’t matter to me as long as I have ‘em.  There is just something about the warmth, the texture and the possibilities of  a  great collection of books that speaks to me. 

 

Whether neatly catalogued and arranged……

…or just a jumble.  I love the look of books in a room.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite images of bookcases with you.  Maybe you will be inspired to decorate with, as well as read, a few great books.

 

I often suggest painting the back of bookcases to accent the items placed in front.  This one is done in my favorite shade of french grey.  The elegant simplicity is beautiful and I really like the touch of shells.

Again, that dreamy french grey with just a small collection of books and the light wood picture frames.  Simple, but real impact.

When searching for more photos of bookcases, I first went to one of my favorite blogs, COTE DE TEXAS, and needed to look no further.  As usual, there was an exhaustive selection to choose from.  If you would like to see more, please visit here   http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2008/08/living-with-books-lots-of-them.html                         and plan to spend a little time.  You may never leave!

Sooo elegant.  OK, this is the color I want to paint my great room when I redo it this summer.  (note to self) 

And this is the collected, cluttered look I want for my study.  Sorry, I digress.  This is supposed to be about bookcases, not my ideas for redecorating my own home.

Library ladder…yep, just what my study needs for the tall bookcases.  Oops,sorry, carried away again.

Be still my heart!

Welcome to my new office at Perfect Home (in my dreams!)

Once again, that collected,layered over time, look I love.

The perfect reading library.  Great light, a cozy chair and oodles of books.  Yum!!!

 

This asymmetrical arrangement of bookcases is very interesting.  The rich chocolate brown…so luxurious.  The pair of vessels at the top really catch your eye.  Remember, bookcases aren’t just for books.  Arrange your favorite objects, add framed pictures or plates and don’t be afraid to hang small artwork on the actual face of the bookcase.

 

Love these bookcases that wrap around the window.  My study has this feature.  (OK, back to me again)

Which do you prefer, an arrangement like the look above where it seems relaxed and less contrived?  Where the books and bibelots just fell into place….

Or a more composed display where every piece has it’s place?  What do you think?  Leave me a comment at the bottom of this post and weigh in.

(image via velvet and linen blog)

One last image.  Yes, I know it’s decorated for the holidays, but I think this rich warm wood and trim detail is so pretty and I love the stone fireplace.  Such a cozy room.

I hope you enjoyed our bookcase tour and hope you feel inspired to read a good book, not just decorate with them.

Reesa

Let’s Visit Somerset Bay

As I mentioned in the previous post,  my newest furniture line Modern History Home,  has a sister company of upscale cottage/country french furniture.  Let’s take a little visit to
Somerset Bay, shall we?

 

An exquisite example of their painted finishes with such attention to detail.

Just look at this bit of deliciousness!  (is that a word?)  This asian  inspired piece comes in both light and dark blue, as well.

I love the color of this piece and the turned legs are so great.

Not all the pieces have painted details.  Some are in their yummy solid finishes.  Wouldn’t this be beautiful in a bedroom as a bedside table?

Or this in a great room or study.

Although most of the pieces are pictured in painted finishes, all can be ordered in a rich wood finish if you prefer a  traditional look.  The painted finishes have a more casual cottage look, but by changing to a warm wood tone you can have a completely different look.

Look at this flirty console table.  Check out those curvy legs!  You kinda expect this table to just wink at you, don’t you?

Another great side table with lots of detail.

Can a table have personality?  This one sure does.

I love to use sofa tables in my design work.  So many people have sofas that you see the back as you walk into the room.   This would be perfect nestled behind a sofa to create an eye catching vignette as you enter, instead of the looming back of a sofa.

Another console table that would be great in a breakfast room or casual dining room. 

And finally, I ordered this sideboard for a client yesterday in a warm finish called butter pecan.  She will be placing it on a long wall in her dining room.  It’s actually much longer than it appears in the photo… I believe it is 64” long.  Can’t wait to see it!

If you like what you see, please visit Somerset Bay’s website here…http://www.somersetbayhome.com/

As with Modern History Home, I have a beautiful portfolio of the styles they offer at Perfect Home.  At some point I will have a few samples to show the exquisite quality of these two companies, but I promise you will not be disappointed.    Because this is a special order company I am able to sell at my “designer pricing”  which would be substantially lower that what you would pay in an upscale furniture store. 

I hope you will stop by Perfect Home soon to see both Somerset Bay and Modern History Home.  If you love beautiful furniture, you will get a thrill perusing thru these fabulous portfolios.  I know I do!

Reesa

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