Books make a home

I think books are one of the greatest ways to decorate your home. They have so much character, and they are so inviting. "Come curl up in the sun and read one of us!" After seeing all kinds of color-blocked bookshelves all over the internet, I gave it a try. And it was ugly. I just don't have the right bookshelf (or books) to pull it off. So I jumbled them back up, and went for a more eclectic look. This is the blocked bookshelf above my wetbar (because we live in 1974). I stacked and rowed the books in all different ways (some color-themed), and added some items that I thought looked nice. 

This diamond-patterned vase is from Belize. We got it while we were on our cruise. I paired it with books with black covers. I'm so matchy. And shaky. Girl can't take a non-blurred picture to save her life!

I stacked some books vertically in this block, and set an old olive-glass wine bottle next to it.

Some of the shelves are just good old-fashioned books in a row like this.

On this shelf, I rowed the books, and stacked some of my cool vintage children's books on the end. For height I threw in a small picture of us.

This little box has mostly blue books, paired with a couple blue-glass bottles I got for my wedding. I like the height of the tall books on top of the stack.

This top row is kind of window-style. It has this little wood outline, and has a light in the ceiling right above it. The colors are in no order. 

 On my hutch that I remodeled, I stuck some tarnished silver candlesticks, a big vase, and some more blue bottles, along with some hardcover books that I covered with brown paper. I like the uniform look. I got those books for free from a thrift store, and took them thinking I might use them for a wreath someday. They had kind of ridiculous titles (we all know how Danielle Steele can be - Toxic Bachelors, etc.), so I covered them.

On my big buffet under the TV are some of my favorite books. They're really big, and don't fit on the bookshelf, so I stacked them. The giant Webster's Dictionary I also got for free from a thrift store, and the other 2 books are about extravagant homes (surround yourself with what you want, right?). Sorry about the extra blurry pictures.

Above my range in the kitchen I keep all my cookbooks. I should really find another spot for them, somewhere where they'll be seen. Those are my favorite books of all. 

And of course, you know that books are for more than just reading.