Bookcase Re-Org

This post should really be titled: Stuff I do when my husband goes out of town. I tend to break out the craft box, sew some pillows, and generally do small decorating projects (when I have 7 mins to spare) when my husband travels on biz. Hes a biz man traveler. Anyway, things get crazy and I do things like this:
I took out all the books, novels, art books, and yes, that says "Intermediate Accounting." That is a book of my husband's. We have a lot of books though between us so the organization of them is important.

These are more of MY books; DVF autobiography, a Twilight book, and a gorgeous book about chandeliers. I have a lot of large sized art and design books which should be displayed with their splines facing outward and stacked one on top of another.

Even if you have a lot of books, you can still make a cute bookcase display. It doesn't have to be a few books and tons of objects! You just have to keep it simple LOOKING. With lots of novels, line them all up by height.

Stack up your art and design books. They are beautiful, so show them off! I love antique books and have a few really small ones so I stacked them on my design books like objects themselves. Putting them on a diagonal helps.Here it is in all its book-full glory next to my full length mirror and my gorgeous framed DVF magazine.

When my husband came back (from China), he gave me a jade elephant statue for our bookcase display! Next time he goes away I'll probably paint the back of the bookcase a fun bright color. Or switch the living room with the bedroom--we'll see. Just kidding, that's crazy.

Alicia B.

Wastebasket Makeover

A few weeks ago on one of many successful trips to an antique store I found this lovely little gem of a wooden wastebasket for only $5! It had a sticker on the bottom that said "Made in Italy" so I knew I'd struck gold.

I love maps but this one wasn't really working for me. Something about it said, "cheese-fest."

The shape was too cute to pass up and look at the lovely curves on the top.

I have many wallpapers to choose from that were discarded from other showrooms. I chose the brown and white one from Carleton V.

After I stripped off that icky map paper with wallpaper remover, I cut templates for each side of the wastebasket.

They I took my trusty lacquer/modge podge and adhered each piece!

YAY!

This is his new little spot! Doesn't he look adorable/gorgeous!!?? (Not sure why it's a he, just go with it.) I love the contrast in my room of the dark brown against all my soft colors.

I love pretty paper more than anything (almost) and when I can actually put it to good use instead of just looking at it, I just feel good. In other news, I'm taking it easy today as it is my birthday. I've had issues with aging in the past but I'm trying to be more positive about it this year. One year older, but just another year more awesome! Right?

Plus there's always cake...and presents.

Alicia B.

A Great Makeover

Everyone loves a good makeover. Whether it's a tired rundown 40 year old mother of 3 on one of those TLC shows, or a tired rundown living room, people love to see a successful before and after. My latest favorite is one that I saw in House Beautiful by Jonathan Rosen. I've always loved his work, and I even did a blog post about him a few months ago HERE! Here is a one day makeover he did on this lucky woman's living room--oh I forgot to mention everyone loves instant gratification, too.

Here is the boring average mess that he started with.

He used mostly what his client already had by taking things he found in other rooms that would work better in other places, or rearranging the pieces in the room already.

The most fun part is to see his process; to see how he is thinking through his next change/improvement and then to see the result. Amazing!

He did do a wee bit of shopping. William Wayne is one of my favorite places too! Check out their website asap.

Voila! Look how much more fresh this room is now! Jonathan rearranged some furniture, brought in pieces from other rooms, and added some that he purchased and this room is completely transformed.

Nothing like a gorgeous bouquet of flowers to add life to a room. I just adore those sconces though over the fireplace--the scale is PERFECT.

Check out the whole article in House Beautiful and the 69 pics of Jonathan Rosen in action! After visiting his website many a-time and finding it "under construction" I tried one last time and OMG my wish came true--his website is finally up! Thanks!

Alicia B.