Do you need to hear something good today?
Do you want to believe in the kindness of people again?
Set up a lemonade stand.
Heck friends…it doesn’t even need to be a lemonade stand.
It can be a lemon flavored water stand.
It has been H-O-T…HOT in Maryland this week.
So, when my youngest daughter wanted to set up a lemonade stand yesterday in our front yard, I agreed it was a great idea.
However, after a quick scan of ingredients or lack there of…I suggested we go with FREE lemon flavored water.
With a tip jar.
Do you want to know what happened?
Our 3 girls sat outside from 10 am until nearly 8 pm last night, taking a short break indoors during the afternoon.
And?
During those hot and humid hours, several sweet neighbors popped over.
One towing her two littles in their tiny mini jeep.
Another walked over after a long day in the sun from his landscaping business. Some neighbors even circled back later for a second cup.
One kind gentleman pulled over in his pickup truck, a car full of friends unloaded a little later, another sweet stranger stopped in a sedan, a friend texted and asked how long we were going to be out because she wanted to swing by…
And then…
A VERY generous biker dropped a TEN DOLLAR BILL in their tip jar.
I thought their little eyes were going to pop out of their heads. They could barely contain their squeals before he rode away.
All of those thoughtful and generous acts of kindness added up to….
FIFTY-SIX dollars.
That’s right…what started as an empty “Tips Appreciated” jar at 10 am was FILLED with green dollar bills and quarters by 8 pm.
The best part?
It brought people out of their homes on a hot day for a friendly “hello, how are you?” conversation.
The taste of lemon flavored water…infused with the special ingredient of…
community.
While their thirst was being quenched with tiny cups of lemon flavored water…my heart was being refreshed with waves of hope for the gentle kindness that is still alive and well.
Even during the short break from the heat, where they left water filled cups out on their stand for passerby’s to help themselves, they returned to their post to find this sweet note along with several new dollars in their tip jar.
The kindness of others goes a long way…in little hearts and Momma hearts.
Now…
while those little girls were outside working, handing out refreshing sips of water?
I was inside working and refreshing the decor on our floating shelves that are in the hallway leading from the kitchen to my home office.
And while I was busy dusting and clearing off those shelves in preparation for a shelf decor refresh…
It dawned on me that maybe you would enjoy 3 easy tips on how to style shelves in your home.
What’s that?
Oh you DO want to know how to style your shelves and bookcases with all those trinkets and things you have collected over the years?
Yay!!!
Don’t worry friend…I got you.
If you ever find yourself stuck on what decor to use on your shelves or what the heck to put on top of your console table…this post is for you.
In this post I will break down for you the 3 basic categories you want to organize your home decor pieces into and how to arrange them to show off shelves you can be proud of.
I have 4 sets of shelves to show you.
Are you ready?
Let’s do this.
First, organize and lay out your home decor items for your shelves into three categories.
Category 1: Foundation Pieces
These are the pieces that you will place on your shelves first to help ground the shelf.
Items to use as foundation pieces for your shelves:
Trays
Large books
Cutting boards
Long, flat dough bowls
Cake stands
Category 2: Tall Pieces – decor elements that add height
These are the next items you will place on your shelves, after your foundation pieces.
Items to use to add height to your shelves:
Candle sticks
Vases
Glass canisters
Jars
Decorative book ends
Candles, real or flameless
Category 3: Artistic Pieces
These are the items you will add last.
This is my favorite category, because this is where you add meaning to your shelves. These are the items that will also add texture, color and whimsy to offer personality to the space.
Items to use to add artistic personality:
Small frames
Bead garland
Plants, real or faux
Glass bottles
Small decor such as clocks, metal or wooden objects
Twinkle lights
Pampas grass
Are you ready for some shelf inspiration using this 3 category building process?
Yay…me too!
You may remember that my husband built these DIY floating shelves and saved us a ton of money. After pricing out what it would cost to order custom sized shelves for this space, (that used to be a pantry)…we decided to build our own.
You can get all of the details on how we built these floating shelves from scratch using wood from Home Depot and these brackets from Amazon in this blog post.
This is what the space (pantry) used to look like years ago.
Yes, that was my first “home office” with the desk shoved right under the macaroni and cheese, my work files on the floor, right next to the dog food and my sweet jumping baby girl looking back at me while I most likely sipped another cup of coffee. 🙂
And after a little shelf decor refresh yesterday…this is what this space looks like today.
A Pantry conversion success if I do say so myself. 🙂
To decorate these floating shelves, I used the 3 category process.
After laying out the decor items and “shopping” the rest of my home, I placed my foundation pieces first.
I placed the table runner first on the console table, this also adds texture to the space.
The rectangular dough bowl and the cake stand on the console table also provided foundational pieces for the table.
On the first shelf, I placed a round cutting board sitting up, to offer height and a foundation to the right side, while a stack of large books placed horizontally grounds the left side as a foundation piece.
Another long, bleached white dough bowl grounds the upper shelf on the left side, while another pairings of books, standing up, grounds the right side of the floating shelf.
The grouping of flameless candles adds a statement piece to the console table while also adding height along with the glass vase.
A glass floating frame on the left side of the first shelf and the stacking of this faux plant from Target on top of a mini cake stand lends height to the right side of the shelf.
Candle sticks on the upper shelf along with the addition of large Magnolia Home book ends add height to the top shelf.
The pair of woven baskets can be left empty, however, I chose to stuff them with pillows to add a touch of cozy to this styled space.
Here are a few more tips and tricks for styling shelves:
Repeat color
I chose a neutral palette of creams, matte gold and natural tones for a light and airy decor style.
Choose 2-3 colors you love and repeat.
Repeat Metals & Textures
I repeated glass on the top shelf using small bottles, this glass floating frame on the middle shelf and a glass jug on the console table, along with a smaller glass cloche on the large cake stand.
The flameless candles (on console table and top shelf on far right) are another example of repetition along with the large woven baskets and small basket and bleached white dough bowls. (from At Home and my favorite store, Cocalico Creek).
The metal, matte gold candle sticks repeat texture and color with the metal decorative book topper on the first shelf.
Mix Old with New
The gold floating frame holds two old recipe cards, written by my Mom and my Grandmother.
The small gold frame holds a black and white picture from our wedding day and the small glass bottles are antiques. Adding touches of old with new items offers personality and story to your home and shelves.
Group Decor in Odd Numbers
When placing items, try to use groupings of 3 or 5 max.
Do your best not to over-crowd a shelf or table by filling the surface from edge to edge.
Also, play with height, using the trio of tall, medium, small as a general guide when placing a group of decor items.
Remember, you can use books to add height, by placing them horizontally. Take the book jackets off the cover so the book is less distracting and more decorative.
Are you ready to see two more examples of shelves before you go?
Ok good.
Here is another set of the DIY floating shelves that my husband made.
This set of shelves is not only decorative but also purposeful as it serves as our beverage station above our wine fridge.
This space also used to be a pantry, until last Summer when we renovated our kitchen.
(You can read about our DIY kitchen renovation in this post.)
You may notice the repetition of glass and the color of matte gold along with the mixture of the old beach picture and new small bowl. The woven basket and real house plant on the top shelf help to add height and warmth through texture.
Recently, I gave my pre-teen daughter a coastal inspired bedroom makeover.
You can see all of the before and after pictures in this post.
We decided to hang these floating shelves from Target on her newly shiplapped bedroom wall.
Again, we used the 3 category method of organizing her decor into foundational pieces, tall pieces and artistic pieces that were meaningful to her.
We also kept to a color palette of white, natural and blush, grouped decor into odd numbers for the most part, using, tall, medium and small placements and added texture through baskets, real plants and pampas grass.
Last but not least.
Our youngest daughter has a pair of these glass bookcases from Ikea.
They also happen to be available through Santa in the North Pole. 🙂
Just in case, Santa’s stock has run out…you can grab them for the steal of $49 in either white or black from Ikea. We have had them for several years and they have held up very well.
Our Livvy love bug loves to play in her bedroom with all things girly.
These bookcases are perfect for keeping her pretty and playful things within reach.
Total aside – I often am asked where her bedroom swing is from.
The swing is from Amazon and in amazing news…it is less than the bookcases.
You can order it here for $47.99
Also, I love her jewelry armoire that is hanging on the wall. The one we have is currently unavailable, however here is another one that is almost identical, also from Amazon.
Of course.
There you have it my friends.
Clearly, I am a shelf decor lover of all shapes, sizes and ages.
I hope I am leaving you inspired to tackle a shelf near you.
Remember, you can work with what you have by shopping your home.
Walk from room to room and pick up the decor pieces that fall into one of the 3 categories from above.
Lay them out and organize them into foundational, height and artictic groupings and then let your inner style child play free.
Oh I almost forgot!
My number 1 tip is…
Do Not.
Do Not, Do Not…Overthink it.
I am guilty of this.
And do you know what?
It takes the fun out of it.
Life’s too short – just have fun with it! The shelf style police are not going to come knocking at your door.
You got this,
Dear God,
Thank you for days like yesterday.
Where lemonade stands are fruitful and hearts are refreshed in more ways than one.
Lord, teach us to number our days and help us to keep our paths straight.
Let us seek you above all.
Amen.
Living on a prayer,
Heather
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