School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

Styling a Tetris Bookshelf sans Books

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

April 22, 2013 By Jackie

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.

Styling a Tetris Bookshelf

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.

Artichoke Table Lamp

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.

Mini Greenhouse

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.

Mini Greenhouse

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.

Styling a Tetris Bookshelf

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.

Jute Bamboo Basket

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.

tetrishelf

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.

livingroombookshelf1

Previous Post
DIY Modern Minimal Block Houses
Next Post
3 Tips to Personalize Your Home with Color {Video}

Comments

  1. Beth {Design Your Dwelling} says

    April 22, 2013 at 10:27 am

    It looks so great! All of your work is fantastic!

  2. Niquelle says

    April 22, 2013 at 10:32 am

    I love this little nook! It looks great and that chair is fabulous. So is that green greenhouse… and the lion, and tray, and well, all of it! Enjoy your time reading and relaxing there (no matter how infrequent it is!)

    Cheers,
    Niquelle
    1paperplane.blogspot.com

  3. Lisa says

    April 22, 2013 at 2:59 pm

    I am loving that green greenhouse. So cute! Your reading area is looking very inviting. I hope you have time to make use of it.

  4. Gwen says

    April 22, 2013 at 5:44 pm

    Very nicely done! I love my books but know I have been weeding out some
    Nice balance and I like how there’s a touch of vibrant colors but not many so those items pop.
    Wow. I can’t believe how much work you’ve done since you quit working away from home. You are not a slacker!!!! It looks nice!!!

  5. [email protected] says

    April 22, 2013 at 6:28 pm

    Loving the lamp and plant ensemble. Together with the cozy chair they make your family room look very stylish

  6. Charity says

    April 23, 2013 at 12:08 pm

    It looks great! Where did you buy your bookshelf?

    • Jackie says

      April 23, 2013 at 1:20 pm

      Charity,

      The bookshelf was from Room & Board several years ago.

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.