Media Cabinet Makeover {Bookshelf Styling}

Hi all!  Hope you had a great Monday!  Over the weekend, I spent some time rearranging the media cabinet in our living room.  I was getting bored with how the bookshelves were styled, thinking it had too few books and needed more color.  I’ve gotten asked before about where we purchased the cabinet, but it’s actually a built-in unit. You may remember how it’s looked for the last year.  I painted the back Jamestown Blue by Sherwin Williams when we first moved in.

The blue in the first picture isn’t a good representation, but rather a result of poor camera settings. But it’s not actually as dark as the photo below either:)  
Anyways, I think you get the idea about what the shelves looked like.  So after shopping our house for more books (brining some cookbooks out of the kitchen and into the living room- a previous faux pas for me) and buying ten used hardcover books at Half-Priced Books for just $1 each, I had much more visual interest.  I also ditched the paper covers and went solely with the books themselves.

One of the biggest differences is that I took out the shelves at the very top that were relatively empty, and filled them with books.  I also added a couple of decorative vases and boxes (already owned from Home Goods).  I like keeping the photos in the shelves because seeing them just makes me happy.  Here’s a closer peek.

In keeping our bookshelves practical, the Pottery Barn clock counts down to nap and bedtime, and the kleenex are essential for a baby’s constant runny nose.

My favorite row of books is below.  I love the colors and two of my favorite books (Interior Wisdom and Food to Flowers) are housed there.  The Christmas book is awesome too, and I was surprised to find such a pretty patterned book (the brown links) when I took the cover off of Nate Berkus Home Rules.

And all again at a glance.  

Better, huh?   

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

37 Comments

  1. Very pretty! It looks much cleaner yet more interesting I think. I also like your swap for the large family pictures on the sides. I think bookshelf styling is pretty tricky…you did a marvelous job!

  2. I'm surprised you didn't throw in a few Torts, Con Law, or Property books! They are groan inducing (now, after living through it), but have pretty binding.

  3. I like shelves filled with books too. I almost always take the paper backs off too. Love your styling – looks great.

  4. Adding those books at the top sure did make a difference. It's crazy to see those pictures of baby James…he's so big now!

  5. Love the color the books bring into the cabinet! And all of the baby pictures are darling!! 🙂

  6. Oh, James . . . so little in some of those. I love the new look. I think the added books make them look fantastic. And such cute little vases {I always ditch our covers as well}

  7. I like it! It looks warmer and homier to me…but maybe that's because I like books? This is going to sound crazy, but I'm not sure I knew Nate Berkus had a book! And I love Nate Berkus! Guess I'll need to check out amazon!

  8. It looks great Megan! love the white vases and of course all the cute pics of the kiddo.
    Hope you are doing well.

  9. Wow Megan! What a difference! I thought they were pretty great before, but now they are fabulous! I constantly re-style my bookshelves too!

  10. Really looks so much more inviting with the added books. I, too, removed book jackets from most of our books, & they look so much better. Most have such a rich color. Looks great!
    CAS

  11. It looks great! I'm ob-sessed with shelf styling! Especially now that I have decent looking bookshelves! I love the pics too…and who's a Porshe fan? 🙂

  12. Thanks so much for sharing this! I have struggled with ideas for arranging items in the shelving of our media cabinet – it's very similar to yours, only in black. Your pics have given me the courage to try to tackle it! Thanks again!

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