How to Make the Shelves Look Good

I'm no expert: but I do have a lot of shelves! So, I thought I would share with you the best advice and examples I found in my research for this dilemma.

The folks at Young House Love share the same attitude as I: errrrgh!

It's hard.

I want functional. No colour coding! No books turned backwards! Fortunately, they are practical people and they don't suggest it. (They do mention perhaps covering your books with plain paper, but only parenthetically, so I don't hold it against them). Here's the link to their post: Styling a Bookcase. (I have paraphrased their excellent advice below.)

Back in the old days, when I first assembled my Expedit, I set things up just so:


I was so thrilled with it.

But, it has grown--and overgrown.


Here are a few inspiration photos I followed while following the advice from YHL.

source: Flickr. left, Chez-Larsson, right, almostbunnies.

This one, however, from Karen, a Canadian blogger is my favourite, hands down. It looks functional. It looks like what it is: a bookcase. And it is attractive.

source: The Art of Doing Stuff. Technically it isn't the Expedit, but 5 narrow Billy's. Close enough!

So, how to go from mine to hers?

1) I did take everything out. I wouldn't have except I wanted to wipe the dust and dirt out of each cubby, and I wanted to move it down the wall a few inches.

How frustrating was this? I just wanted to tuck...it...in...there.

So, to put everything back:

2) YHL says to put the big stuff back in first. Group like-coloured things together and put them back in a staggered pattern--but not an obvious zig-zag. This is my attempt at this step:

Hmmm. I haven't quite got the hang of the "staggering" thing, do I? But see the hanging paper files peeking out at the right? W hew. All tucked in!

I decided to treat my scrapbook albums as "one thing." That is, I'd group all the red, all the green, all the blue: regardless of finish. (I have been slowly converting my albums over from modge podge of brands and styles to American Craft cloth albums.) It was an enormous improvement..


But then, then, I thought to call my scrapbook store and see if they had any more in stock. They did! And not only that but everything in the store was 30% off! Oh happy day.

I wanted to go to Ikea and get two more large green Kasset boxes, too.

3) YHL then recommends I put back the medium sized items, like plants, vases and baskets. Oh--and books, of course.

4) Lastly, the little things. I don't have "little" things, not really.

And so, after much fussing about, I finished.


There we go. I've staggered the green things, the red things and the black things. Following the example of bookshelves from The Art of Doing Things, I also grouped things horizontally (or with horizontal lines) more or less around the center. The wooden magazine holders are in an attractive "L" shape. At least, I hope it is attractive. And you know what else? All the books are arranged by subject--though, I admit, they're by height within those groupings, and not, ahem, in alphabetical order.

But then there was the top to do--and not only the top of the Expedit. There was the top of the China cabinet and another book case to contend with too. I looked to a few sources. Here's a post by Maria Killiam at Colour Me Happy. Candlesticks, books and a flower. A good place to start.



This is the top of my Billy bookcase. I framed a piece of my daughter's art with scrap paper.

For the tops of my Expedit and China cabinet, I let the following pictures inspire me:

left to right, Miss Mustard Seed, Danielle Thompson and Maria Killiam.

Here is the China cabinet:


Yes, that's the wall paper that was used as shelf paper in my cleaning closet. Isn't that gorgeous?



The top of the Expedit is a work in progress, still, I'm sad to say. I bought these canvases just a couple of days ago. I was thinking of the top of Danielle Thompson's expedit, of course.


I don't like the colour of the urn but I'm not sure what exactly to do with it. The big sugar bowl is from an old tea set my half-sister's grandmother gave to her (and which she gave to my daughter).

So, here are the dramatic side by side befores and afters.

Bookcase:



The top of the China Cabinet:


And last, but by no means least, the Expedit.


What do you think?

Linking to the 120th Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.


Check out the other entries! They are a wonderful source of inspiration and motivation. And thanks for visiting.

Week 6: Bathroom week: The Hybrid Plan

Campaign by Restoration Hardware. How can a faucet set--a faucet set! make my heart go pitter pat? I'd shine these beauties everyday. No problem.

I entirely agree with scb. This will be a continuation of Office week for me, too. I still want to vacuum my window screens, wash the windows, and the floor. The shelves above the desk need a clearing and a wash, too.

That may take me until Wednesday, we'll see how it goes.

However, I thought I'd do this post and get it out of the way, even though my bathroom is in such bad shape that it needs a complete overhaul.

It has too much moisture (resulting in peeling paint, water on the floor around the toilet constantly, and even mold growing on the baseboards near the wall heating vent.) The last problem is caused by a leaky tap, but the other--I'm not sure if we have the wrong toilet--or the wrong sized exhaust fan. (Changing to a bigger one will require cutting a larger hole in the side of the house and that's obviously the first solution to try--though the scariest!)

So, it has functional problems. It also has an aesthetic one: our tub surround is beige fiberglass. Beige! It was gouged in several places by paint remover when I scraped the ceiling and repainted it several years ago. I had thought that nasty bath tub surround would be long gone by now, but of course, it is still with us. I want tile in there: the husband will live with the same sort of fibreglass/plastic insert thing--he just wants white instead of the dingy stuff we have now. Here's a picture of "the fibreglass/plastic" sort of thing I mean:

source. Ours is pitted, scratched, and even more beigy.

I would rather have something like the white tile with the black stripe around the top as in this image:

source: Katie Ridder (I think) via girl meets glamour I'm not fond of the tiled in tub and the checkerboard stripe along it, however.

Here is an affordable version, with 4x4 tile, though I have yet to price it for the area we want:

source: unknown. (I would only have it around the tub, though. Can't afford to do the whole room.) This just says classy and "classic" to me.

Moving on....

Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan gives us the proscription for this week on p. 187 of Apartment Therapy, the Eight Step Home Cure.
Bones:
Clean bathrooms and related closets.

Breath:
Declutter cabinets and closets.
Arrange your bathroom efficiently.

Heart:
Upgrade razor and shaving supplies.
Purchase bath salts and nice soap.
Place a candle in your bathroom.
Consider scents for your home.

Head:
Plan for the week ahead on Sunday.
Wake early and take a bath before work.
Optional: consider a media fast for the next week.
Optional: straighten your desk at work.

Now, the Spring Cleaning List:

Downstairs bathroom:
Wash shower curtain and liner
Wash window curtain
Vacuum and wash fan grille
Wash walls. Sand off loose paint.
Wash baseboards (clean mold)
Look into new taps

Memoir by Kohler. (These are very similar to the taps I replaced a long time ago, though I don't know if they were original. We have a half moon sink on two chrome legs. I'll have to check to see if I can find out what was originally installed with it.)

Wash or replace tub/shower surround
Replace grout around tub
Wash and dust shelves and medicine cabinet
Clean fixtures thoroughly
Clean shower head

Upstairs, clean:
Wash walls
Wash floor
Look into replacing the floor
Wash shelves and inside medicine cabinet

Declutter:
Medicine cabinet (up and down)
Cleaning supplies and cupboards (up and down)
Cosmetics (up)
Sort through old towels, clean and donate to animal shelter (up and down)

And so there we have it.
Rev your engines---we're over the hump and into the home stretch now!

When I woke up this morning:

I was greeted with this:



I may be a while!



Hope you all had a productive week!

Paper Progress

It has been piling up.

(Can you tell I've got my fancy camera back from the shop? Hooray!)

My back is quite bad today: I'm not much good at standing, even. So, the dreaded task was about the only thing I could do today. To make it bearable, I set the timer.

After the first 15 minutes I had this:


At this point, I decided to deal with the files in this file holder:


This is where most of the papers get filed. It sits under my desk and it is easy to pull out and put on a chair, just like this. It holds school newsletters, the investment reports we get every month, the bills, medical bills and receipts, bank statements. In other words, it holds the mail.

I had let the "in" pile grow, in part, because because I needed to separate out all the stuff in this from 2010. So I took a few minutes and did that: and put what we needed for taxes into a separate file. (We have a friend who is an accountant do our taxes for us for free, but since we always expect a refund, we wait until the tax deadline is past before we give him our papers. In Canada, the deadline, which is April 30th, only applies to those who owe the government money.)

Once I'd made some progress on that front, I felt able to tackle the stack for another 15 minutes.

That left me with this:


Where else does it go?

Anything requiring action goes here:



Kids' art and memorabilia gets put into a page protector and put in one of these binders:



Things I need to store long-term but need handy goes in a file box in my desk:


I keep the warranties in file folders here as well. I think I'll change that. It makes the box very heavy.

I have a few reference binders I use as well, for example, gardening designs go into my Gardening reference binder. I developed the system after taking Aby Garvey's Paper Clutter class at Simplify 101, and if you feel in need of figuring out how to get a handle on your paper, I cannot recommend it enough.

And so, another 15 minutes took us to the bottom.



Whew.

Now I'm all ready for the mail tomorrow.

The Reason I Like to Spring Clean

the home office/dining/craft room in need of love and care

True, it gives me the opportunity to hyper-focus on my house and do all sorts of wonderful projects: but at heart, it it really the opportunity to empty out the rooms, clean and refresh them--and then reappoint them with love and care.

I just figured that out, actually, courtesy of The Nester. She's written a wonderful post today about "How to Quieten the House" and it is good advice. I plan to follow her steps this week while dealing with both the living room and home office/dining/craft room.

I just wanted to pass it along to you while I work on my menus for the month in prep for the Big Shop this evening.
(grumble, grumble.)

The Shopping Spree

I quite surprised myself yesterday. I went to Home Sense (a store specializing in less-than-full-price totchkes and trendy things for the home) to see if I could find a suitable tablecloth or sheet to use as fabric for lengthening my living room curtains (again!) and went nuts. I don't know how else to describe it.

There were a few contributing factors, though.

One. after I steam cleaned the couch last week, twice, I got out the cushions I had purchased at Pier One several weeks ago, when the Hybrid Cure began.


But, of course, they don't work. I need to put back the off-white slipcover and put up my Ikea tab top off-white curtains. The problem with the curtains is that I foolishly cut them one year--and I cut them much too short. Since then, I have been looking for a fabric to use to lengthen them.

Two, in order to pull off the vibrant peacock teal in these cushions, I also need new artwork and new accessories.

So...shopping I a-went.

The first thing which caught my eye was this pitcher.


A pitcher? Why a pitcher? Well, because, Miss Mustard Seed has one (or two) on the top of one of her cabinets (photo in this post of mine) and I love it. So, three, uppermost in my mind this trip was the need for large items to fill the tops of my China Cabinet,


Bookcase,


and Expedit.


I found these tablecloths to serve as my fabric for the curtains.


Funny how light changes things. Last night I thought the lighter teal one would work (I actually like it more than the other) but this morning it was obvious that the darker one will have to do--if it works.

After I found these things, I caught Consumption--the 21st Century kind--a sort of shopping fever.

Look at this plant pot: isn't it beautiful?


This bucket is such a cheerful green:


I found this and I thought, why not? I'd seen someone use something like this over her front door to simulate the arched openings in her hallways. I have arched openings in my hallways, hmmmm.


But it doesn't fit. It is about 1/2" too tall. Probably a good thing as it would likely make the whole door area too fussy. It'll be returned.

I was thinking of the foyer, though, when I found this charming plate on sale. Doesn't it look perfect here?


And last, but not least, I found this beautiful plate. It made my heart go pitter pat.

It will have pride of place in my soon-to-be-made over living room. Who knows when I'll get it all pulled together, but, do stay tuned. It'll be a treat, I promise.

Week 5: Home Office Week; The Hybrid Plan

source: Charming Family House Tour at AT

Everyone has been quiet since the beginning of the week. I had been starting to feel a bit worn down by everything--but I went on a big shopping trip today, (more on that later) and I'm raring to go again.

I will post the "Official" plan--and then tell you what I really want to accomplish this week which may or may not be similar to the Official Plan.

source: Emily A. Clark This is her home office (and Expedit).

From The Book:
In Apartment Therapy, The Eight Step Cure, by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, Week Five deals with the Home Office, however humble it may be. The following is from p. 156.

Bones:
Take care of repairs this week.
Clean office area and related closets.
Vacuum, dust, and mop throughout.

Breath:
Declutter files
Tackle cord octopus.
Try a one-day fast.

Heart:
Buy fresh flowers.
Choose at least one soft or hard thing to add or subtract.

Head:
Cook three meals at home this week.
Eat at home Sunday through Thursday.
Go to bed early and read before sleep.
Optional: Look into wireless technology.

source: Miss Mustard Seed

Spring Cleaning List:

Dust and wash walls
Dust and wash shelves
Clean baseboards
Clean floor with Murphy’s Oil
Wash/Touch up/paint desk supports
Vacuum screens
Wash windows
Wipe down telephone
Clean moniter
Clean computer keyboard

source: Colour Me Happy. (This is the top of a bookcase of Maria's. Why am I showing you vignettes of the tops of shelves and things? Hmmmm.

Declutter:

Paperwork (toss last years bills, etc.)
Book shelves
Redundant files on computer
Clean out e-mail
China cabinet

Wouldn't it be lovely to get all that done?

source: Made By Girl What is a picture of a bathroom doing in a post about home office week? Simple: I love the curtain. (see below)

In addition to the decluttering I've planned above (and the paperwork may take an entire day) my tasks are:

• Wash desk
• Wash windows
• Vacuum screens
• Sew curtains for dining room and living room
• Sew covers for living room chairs
• Style the top of the Expedit, the China cabinet and the bookcase
• Wash floors in living room and dining room. (Can you tell I kind of fell behind in cleaning the living room?)

What is in store for you this week?