My office, which doubles as my creative space, is finally coming together! I’ll share an office tour once, I’ve gotten it all finished. My office, however, is suffering from the post-Christmas blues. It’s such a bummer when you take all of the holiday decorations down. This year, I wanted to try decorating for winter. I’m going for cozy and snowflakes, and lots of color as I look forward to spring. So I’ve set up my bookshelf styling for the winter season, and this cozy reading nook is perfect!
Why I Love Colorful Bookshelves
Our home has a ton of built in bookshelves. We got lucky! As a reader and an avid home decorator, I think bookshelves are kind of the jackpot. Even though we have all these great built-ins, my office upstairs is technically a bedroom and is completely devoid of any character and bookshelves.
My dad, literally decades ago, made a black bookshelf that’s about three feet long and three feet high for my childhood bedroom. I have lugged that thing (luckily it’s light) to two colleges, what feels like a million apartments, and two homes as an adult. It was living in the attic since we’d moved into this house, but I thought my office would be a perfect place for it.
While the black color was a great option for all of the short term rentals I lived in, I was ready for a color change. Plus, that thing was beat up and really needed a good coat of paint. I roughed it up a little with a sanding block and gave it two coats of paint in a Behr paint that I can’t remember the name of (but it had Meadow in it). This color turned out perfect. It’s grey and a little sage-y while still being an obvious green color.
I’ve been on a bit of a green kick! We renovated our massive powder bathroom downstairs with a dramatic green, and you can see more from that project on this blog.
Neutral bookshelves are great for many rooms and an easy choice, but don’t be afraid of a colorful bookshelf! The colorful things you want to decorate with will look more exciting and energizing when put on a colorful background. If you pick a color you know you already like, you’re going to love decorating that space! Colorful pieces can always go well with neutrals, but putting colorful decor on colorful furniture pieces is going to be completely memorable!
Styling Shelves for Winter
Poor winter, it’s the boring let-down after the holiday season. And where we are it’s often grey and dark, meaning that I usually just want to curl up and read until it’s Valentine’s Day or the daffodils start poking up out of the ground.
This year, I wanted to change that and try to welcome this season of rest and calm. And, I really wanted to welcome it with some color accompanied with some winter whites. The reading area in my office is where I decided to focus most of my attention.
I’ve got white walls and a cozy white recliner, so this green bookshelf does the lion’s share of the decorating work. And instead of leaving all of my books and knick-knacks on the bookshelves like usual, I decided to pull out the shelves. This made room for the giant snowflake I wanted to hang inside the bookshelf.
You can find this super easy DIY giant snowflake here on the blog. I made three giant ones for so little money and did it during my kiddo’s afternoon nap!
After I got my giant snowflake hung up – just with a little painter’s tape and fishing line – I added a couple of my books and decor back to the shelf. And since I love feeling like there’s some life around me in winter, I added a couple of my house plants and a gorgeous white poinsettia on top of the shelf.
I get excellent light all day long in my office, so it’s slowly turning into my greenhouse. I’d love a couple of flowering houseplants, but I need a little more confidence in my gardening abilities before I try that!
My Reading Nook & Winter Shelves
I’m ready to spend January burning through my TBR list. The rest of the year always gets so busy, but somehow January seems to slow time down a little and I’m able to read. I’ve got a couple of (fingers-crossed) winners lined up for the month, including Jacqueline Winspears’ The White Lady and Sarah J Maas’ latest in the Crescent City series. Now, to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my bookshelf styling!
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