When one thing leads to another...

So there I was, minding my own business and munching on a handful of cookies [Editor's Note: the munching part may or may not be true, I can't remember exactly. But if history is any indication, then, yes, I was munching on cookies. And prolly some fisfuls of granola, too.], when my son poked his head down the stairs. "Mom, have you seen 'Return of the King'? I can't find it anywhere."

 

It was supposedly somewhere in the living room bookshelves, separated from its other JRR Tolkein counterparts because of different-colored spines. After hunting around a few shelves, I began to realize how ridiculous it was that I had "organized" many of our family's books in such a way (by color) that my children couldn't even access the ones they wanted. How can I raise my little army of readers if our books aren't intuitively organized?

 

(Coincidentally, this talented lady felt the same way as me. Gold star for us all, for coming to the same conclusions.)

 

Here's how my living room bookshelves looked previously. So heavy:

 

 

Notice how there are no bright colors? And way too many non-book objects?

 

 

So. I spent a pleasant afternoon a while back reorganizing our bookshelves by (most importantly) book type/topic, such as informative, religious, classic literature, entertainment/light reads, and non-fiction...and after dividing them all up, I put sections back onto the shelves by size and color. Except for the enormous vintage World Encyclopedia set (5th row down on each bookshelf), because you just can't do much with those stylistically except for hide them. And that was no option.

 

 

 I unearthed some books that had been vanquished to the depths of the basement because their spines were too colorful for the previous bookshelf arrangements. I tried to keep the "horizon" of books (the height-line) fairly even across each shelf, sometimes using non-book objects to make this happen. I incorporated fewer trinkets because I wanted it to be, first and foremost, a functional bookshelf and, secondarily, decorative. And I kept book sets (e.g., Lord of the Rings) together.

 

Although there are more books now, I love the change because the shelves actually seem lighter and the living room less stuffy overall. And, after all, who wants to munch handfuls of cookies in a stuffy living room? Not me. I mean, sure, I'd do it. But I wouldn't be happy about it.

 

Fast-forward about a day later, when I realized the newly colorfied shelves needed more colorful surroundings. This realization coincided with a(nother) Banana Incident by my 10-month-old. Translation: My adorbs baby secretly hucks bits of banana off of her high chair tray onto the floor for me to unwittingly mash into the rug with my bare feet an hour or two later. An experience which, btw, is every bit as awesome as it sounds.

 

Anyway, I realized that, although we love the rug under our dining room table, it wasn't going to last a year at this rate. Plus, it's big...bigger than the one in the living room...and more, colorful, too. Hmmmm....

 

Living room rug before:

 

So. I moved the old dining room rug into the living room (after some major baby food cleanupage) and moved the old living room rug into Violet's nursery.

 

 

Eventually, I'd like to swap out the current living room curtains for a lighter, small-print geometric and either replace the living room loveseat with two chairs (ideally) or simply sew a slipcover for the loveseat itself. The ultimate decision will depend on what I can find first - slipcover fabric or two compatible chairs. You never know.

 

 

 Anyway. One of my favorite things to do is rearrange what I've already got, because I can do it in a short amount of time, and it costs nothing for a completely fresh new look and feel.

 

What do you think...noticeable difference or no?

 

 

 By the by...since you're here and all, may I please pick your brains? Do you have any good ideas for decorating an unused fireplace? I've tried a few different things and haven't been thrilled with any of them. Okay. That's all.

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