Winter Vignettes: Foyer Bookcase
Now that all the holiday decor is down, we gotta fill in the gaps. I have fun playing around with the three spots in our house that I usually change up seasonally. For the next few posts, I'll show you how they look now - post Christmas:)
I wanted to display the new additions to my mercury glass collection that I got for Christmas. The top of this bookcase is a great spot for big tall stuff (its a 2 story entryway), so these two beautiful hurricanes my mom got me from Ballard Designs (yay! my first ever things from Ballards! thanks, Mom!) fit perfectly here. I remembered I had this house portrait of the house I was born in (only lived there until I was about five and then we moved to PA) in the basement (my parents had it and for some reason didn't want it anymore so I took it) and liked the feel of it here with the mercury glass. And thus, a very neutral/metallic/black and white/cream bookcase is born:)
Next up was the other new mercury glass gift I got for Christmas, this sweet little candy jar from my brother's girlfriend (she's a keeper!). It found a home right here next to our clock and picture frames (which stay up all year round).
After my original epiphany, I just filled in the rest of the shelves with stuff (that I have to put somewhere anyways so it might as well do double duty here looking pretty) to make the whole thing feel balanced. Some white pitchers...
...a black book here under Paul's baby shoes in place of the green ones I had there for Christmas...
..and on the second from the bottom shelf (which is within Maura's reach and therefore needs to contain baby-proof items) - just some more large, neutral books (but I think the hardback covers/spines of books are beautiful). I brought down the vintage silver-plate pig I bought at Brimfield from Maura's room (let's face it, the top of her dresser/changing table is a mess and not really all that "styled" any more, and here she can enjoy and play with him) which helps tie in to the mercury glass. And added one of my dad's professional engineering stamps (that proves he's certified in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) cause I thought I needed some black here too:)
What are you guys putting up for post-holiday decor? I promise the next space (the ledge shelves in our family room) will be way more colorful!!
Ps. Here's how this bookcase looked last winter and for the winter of 2010 (both with mercury glass and books too, but still different).
I wanted to display the new additions to my mercury glass collection that I got for Christmas. The top of this bookcase is a great spot for big tall stuff (its a 2 story entryway), so these two beautiful hurricanes my mom got me from Ballard Designs (yay! my first ever things from Ballards! thanks, Mom!) fit perfectly here. I remembered I had this house portrait of the house I was born in (only lived there until I was about five and then we moved to PA) in the basement (my parents had it and for some reason didn't want it anymore so I took it) and liked the feel of it here with the mercury glass. And thus, a very neutral/metallic/black and white/cream bookcase is born:)
Next up was the other new mercury glass gift I got for Christmas, this sweet little candy jar from my brother's girlfriend (she's a keeper!). It found a home right here next to our clock and picture frames (which stay up all year round).
After my original epiphany, I just filled in the rest of the shelves with stuff (that I have to put somewhere anyways so it might as well do double duty here looking pretty) to make the whole thing feel balanced. Some white pitchers...
...a black book here under Paul's baby shoes in place of the green ones I had there for Christmas...
..and on the second from the bottom shelf (which is within Maura's reach and therefore needs to contain baby-proof items) - just some more large, neutral books (but I think the hardback covers/spines of books are beautiful). I brought down the vintage silver-plate pig I bought at Brimfield from Maura's room (let's face it, the top of her dresser/changing table is a mess and not really all that "styled" any more, and here she can enjoy and play with him) which helps tie in to the mercury glass. And added one of my dad's professional engineering stamps (that proves he's certified in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) cause I thought I needed some black here too:)
What are you guys putting up for post-holiday decor? I promise the next space (the ledge shelves in our family room) will be way more colorful!!
Ps. Here's how this bookcase looked last winter and for the winter of 2010 (both with mercury glass and books too, but still different).
This bookcase is so beautifully done, Maura. I feel like I play with all the areas that held Christmas decor, for weeks into the new year trying to fill in the gaps! Love the silver-plate pig. My brother and I both had one.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your other vignettes.
Have a great day.
Great styling. This post is a great reminder how important it is to move things around, swap things in and out...I look at the same old accessories day in and day out. I'm getting tired of them!
ReplyDeleteYour mercury glass is beautiful and I love the sentimental pictures of your first house. I noticed the Diana Gabaldon book. Are you an Outlander fan? I friend introduced me to the books last year and I loved them.
ReplyDeleteI happened to accidentally find this blog post looking for foyer bookcases in The Woodlands. Gotta admit your article gave me and my wife some nice ideas (shes an interior designer)
ReplyDeleteYou've got the knack Sarah! It looks awesome. I had the silver pig too - I'll have to find that at my Mom's. And your dad's engineering stamp is so cool. Isn't it fun how much we appreciate things that our parents have now that we're a little older? I know my Mom loves that I'm really into that stuff and want to know the story behind things. The illustration of your first house is really special too. And if you could see Sheila's room right now...ha! It's a mess. There is no styling whatsoever - only in the magazines! ha!
ReplyDeleteI like the white/silver look, especially for winter. It looks fresh and clean. I am always sad to put holiday decor away so this year I decided to do more decorating for winter (January) than I ever had in the past. It's not much but my mantel has some silvers and blues mixed in and it makes me happy.
ReplyDelete