The other day the lighting was right and I had my camera out, so I thought I’d take a few shots of the bookshelves in my dining room. They’re inexpensive (for real, like $12 each), and I’ve flipped the shelves over because they were buckling from the weight of the books on them, but they’ve held up pretty well for the last two years and work for our needs.
Our style veers towards a hodge-podge of store-bought, handmade, and thrift store. I definitely have a habit of acquiring neutrals and earth tones, so it’s not difficult to get everything to match. The two paintings were done by me at various times.
I used to have the books organized by color, but we actually use them a lot and it made more sense to have them vaguely grouped by category (this should also explain why they look a mess – I decided not to tidy them up so you can see what they’re really like). The top shelf here is mostly novels, my two most read authors being John Grisham and Tom Robbins, who is my absolute favorite. A few of the books I haven’t read yet – whenever I see one that looks interesting for under a dollar at a thrift store or tag sale, I always pick it up. The middle shelf is a mishmash of spiritual, self-help and design books. The bottom shelf which you can barely see are all art books.
The top shelf on this side are spiritual/yoga books. My higher-being books of choice are always of the occult variety, Konrad is more traditional and prefers those featuring God. The middle shelf are DIY books, a stretch deck, and various guitar accessories. On the bottom which you can’t see at all are the books that don’t fit in, travel, and brain game books.
Konrad’s Dad gave him this amazing camel box which we discredit greatly by storing business receipts in. It really deserves it’s own place in the sun.
On the left bookshelf I’ve limited the pieces to all black and cream colors. The ship is actually a bookend which didn’t have a match at the thrift store, and the flower is a candle holder I picked up during one of many Michaels art store date nights (our favorite!).
You may recognize this painting from the original Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse. I painted it in highschool for an art assignment and it has traveled from house to house with me ever since.
My Grandma gifted me a bunch of old skeleton keys, this one from a hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania is one of my favorites.
Also on the black and cream shelf are an eyeball paperweight, set of vintage mini record coasters, and this little guy we bought from a home goods store.
The second painting of a headdress I did for our home in Chicago when we needed something to hang over the bed in lieu of a headboard. The frame is terribly old and needs a good cleaning, but in the meantime I’m happy to accommodate it.
It was the last day of summer for Markie on Sunday. She came over for a first-day-of-school-eve bang trim which we finished pretty quickly, and then we had a whole afternoon to make use of. Usually when she and I hang we lay around looking up 
Stumbled across the 
How perfect is my amazing baby boy Nathan? Are you seeing those eyes?? Swoon. #catsalldayeveryday
This past week, my Mom asked my if I’d do yoga with her on Thursdays again. I used to do the class with her several years ago, until I took a full-time job and that fell by the wayside. 
