How To Stage Shelves (and a VIDEO!!)

Thank you SO much for all of your awesome comments on my post  about how to build your own shelving! You guys rock my world! As fun as it is to build them, what’s the point if you don’t know how to decorate them?! Its pretty much pointless. Tons of the questions/comments were about how I staged them so I wont keep you waiting any longer!!

Now, you should know I am going to say the word shelves a lot. And instead of making it a drinking game with alcohol I though it would be great if every time you hear the word shelves you eat a handful of Bran. (Because its SO good for you!!)

Shelves. (just thought I would get the party started.)

My Mother in Law is AMAZING at creating vignettes and so every time I have a chance to learn at the master’s feet I am ALL over it. Sometime soon I am going to be giving you a tour of her house that Court has been working on remodeling since the beginning of the summer. It is MIND BLOWING. So heads up on that.

We are going to have a middle school flashback. Just like in school we are going to watch the video and then discuss.

Tip #1 Start with Books! Books are not only space fillers, they are visual fillers too. They are cute and fun but they will probably never be the star of the show, unless all you had was books,  Then they would totally be the star. I LOVE decorating with interesting books from the thrift store,  they are pretty much on every flat surface of my home. You can stand them up, lay them flat, have the spines facing in or out, rip the covers off for a old school feel, bind them together with twine, perch them at a perfect angle. There SO many options friends. Books are a staple.

You can find funky readers digest books for as cheap as $.25 (hit up estate sales for great prices, old people LOVE Readers Digest Condensed books) the going rate at our thrift store is $2.00 for hardbacks. Is it the same where you live?

Tip #2 Add large visually weighty things next. This is where large things like the globe or the art or the xylophone come in. I am OBSESSED with that colorful piece of art. I found it at the DI (Utah’s version of Goodwill) for $2 and I think I will keep it forever. The xylophone is the item that gets the most attention, I found that for $4 and I LOVE the colors in it.

Tip #3 Its time to add all of the small details. These are the things that bring so much character to the space. You know, the things that make you step in and look closer. I love using vases, animals, plants etc..

I have found that when I am doing something as huge as an entire wall of shelves, that instead of running all over my house looking for things to use it helps save time and energy to gather my entire hoard on one surface and shop it. When I do this I never regret it.

Did you know that everything except the pink and red love silhouette, the wood and brass antelope, and the succulent inside the fish bowl came from the thrift store? I know! See in situations like this it pays to be a hoarder!!

I hope this helped you guys visualize a little bit more the process that goes into decorating shelves!! If you have any questions just leave them in the comments and I will answer them there!

Love Your Guts, Mandi