Spring Bookcase with DIY Chalkboard Botanical

I always seem to be a little late transitioning over to the next season, but I'm finally starting to get some spring decor up around here. I started with the bookcase in our foyer, knowing I wanted to bring back out the totally faux terrariums I made last year.


Next, I wanted to keep riding the chalkboard train, but I didn't want to do more text like I did for Christmas. I love botanical drawings, so I thought it would be fun to attempt an easy one of my own. I went with a fern because I like them, but also because compared to pretty much every flower out there, they are easy to draw (just lots of little repetitive hatch marks)!


I literally copied this entire thing (text included) from a fern botanical print I have hanging in my family room. Took it down off the wall, brought it into the kitchen and used it as reference to draw the chalkboard one, then went and hung it back up. The whole thing took about a half hour. I really love how something so organic and colorful translates to bold, graphic and high contrast when its only white on black.


After that I just did what I always do to fill in the rest, ran around the house finding stuff I already had in the appropriate colors now that I had a sort of palette going. Some glass and ceramics in greens and muted blues on the middle shelf that Maura still can't reach.


The bottom shelf stays the same throughout the year...rectangular woven basket/box that we keep a bunch of papers in and Paul's old baby shoes. I just swap out the books the shoes are resting on for ones that match the current color scheme, so in went green and faded blue-grey.


The second shelf from the bottom is always the hardest now because Maura usually ends up playing/messing with whatever I put there. I brought back out my vintage (a nice term for stuff I used when I was growing up, I'm 35!!) Hardy Boys books, but I thought the bright turquoise of their covers was a little too much color. Then I **gasp** did something I said I would never do (being a reader and book lover), I turned them around so only the ends of the pages are showing! And I love how it looks!!! Its like just enough and ended up creating this great texture.


This ended up being one of my favorite looks ever that I've had going on with this bookcase!


Do you guys already have all your spring decor up? I probably won't be back with another post this week, so hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!!