Styling a Tetris Bookshelf sans Books

I have finally finished styling the empty bookshelf next to our new wing chair in the living room. Nothing looks sadder to me than an empty bookcase, but we didn’t want to fill it up with books. We do most of our reading digitally. You don’t need a lot of books to style shelves.  Instead, I added a few decorative items and a few functional baskets to fill out the shelves.

Let’s start with the cuteness on top of the bookshelf. I found the artichoke lamp at HomeGoods. It is the perfect scale for this space. I am not digging the white shade and cream base together, so I will probably give the shade a makeover.

The cute blue dotted tray is from Ikea. It is strategically placed to cover some chips and scratches on top of the bookcase. It is a great spot to display some small plants for the boys.

I found the green glass house at HomeGoods. We picked out four tiny succulents for inside. My son helped me transfer them to baby food jars which we decorated with washi tape. The larger succulent didn’t fit in the green house, so we plopped him in a matching pot. He has fuzzy leaves, which the boys love to touch.

The finishing touch on the tray is my lion…rarrr! I am a Leo, so this little guy was calling my name from the home decor section at Target.

To fill the little cubbies within the bookshelf I wanted to use simple baskets. Finding ones to fit was tricky. The shelves are hardly 6.5″ tall and less than 11″ deep. The small bamboo and jute baskets from Crate and Barrel fit perfectly. I am not a big fan of woven baskets, so I love these modern jute baskets with a bamboo rim.

The top basket now holds my stash of current retailer catalogs. As you might have guessed I do a lot of home shopping for myself and clients. Online shopping is a bit clunky unless you know exactly what you are looking for. I prefer thumbing through a pretty catalog.  Again, like with magazines, my only complaint is I can’t pin right from the catalog pages.

The teal orchid pot and small square vase are from Target. They are the perfect size for the smallest cubbies. They are purely decorative and help add a little teal on this side of the room. The small rope basket on the bottom is from Target, too. I almost didn’t find it, because they are not by the home decor, but they are in with the home storage next to all the woven baskets I don’t like. I normally avoid that aisle.

I left a few spaces for books. There are a couple new ones by some of my favorite HGTV personalities I picked up for myself (“I Break for Yard Sales” by Lara Spencer and “Home Design” by Sabrina Soto). Since the wing chair is my new relaxing and reading spot, I put them there for when I find some leisure time.  The vertical books are some recent favorites of the boys. Most of their books have migrated bedside where they do most of their reading, but we are letting them keep a few new ones and favorites here. My oldest is devouring the one about planets and stars. By devouring I mean looking at the pictures and asking us 20 questions about each one. Love how eager to learn that kid is.

Let me zoom out so you can see the space. This corner of the living room is a favorite spot now. The hubby and I take turns in the chair and both enjoy it equally. A lazy weekend morning sitting in the wing back with a cup of coffee while the boys play near by is my idea of perfection.