I have a different sort of post for the blog today and it’s pretty fun if I do say so myself! I was given the idea to discuss bookish decor and what it meant to me. With solely the idea in mind, I jumped at the chance to share my own thoughts, and found a really cool new website in the meantime – Havenly! They are an online interior design site; you can pick a designer to collaborate with on interior design ideas for the fraction of the price of most designers or simply take quizzes to find your own style. They also have a blog full of innovative design ideas, highlight real projects that have been completed, and have a shop to purchase decor.

When I move someday, it’s definitely a resource I’d think about using! I had fun clicking around their site when I was contemplating writing this post on decor. In any case, I thought I’d break this post up into two parts: how I decorate now and how I’d like to decorate in the future aka when I have my dream library! Bookish decor is a way of life for bookworms, after all 🙂

How I decorate now:

• I absolutely love floating shelves! I have two in my bedroom and want to get a larger one for the living room. They’re such a unique and fun decoration and you can display books in many ways: favorites, books to read next, etc.
• Varying shelf arrangements- I try to break up the books on my shelves in groups so that it draws the eye and is more aesthetically pleasing. Horizontal groups on the left or right with vertical books peppered in the middle.
• I also love seasonal book displays, especially during the holidays. I have a corner of kitchen counter with my Hanukkah display including a few pictures books I loved from my childhood. I also like to line up a variety of picture, YA, and adult holiday books on my main shelves facing outward with winter candles. It adds to the Christmas cheer!
  
• Maybe the most fun way to decorate your home if you’re a bookworm is with bookish merchandise- there is so much of it these days online! It can be easy to go overboard so I try to be selective with what I buy (even though my wishlist is a mile long for when I have a bigger bookish space in the future!). I have a Scorpio Races seaside print in my bathroom, a Just Read print in my living room, and a few bookish candles from one of my favorite shops. There are always so many candles to get! And there are lots of prints that I would love to frame and hang on a gallery wall someday. A few of my favorite shops:
  • Novelly Yours Candles
  • Icey Designs (candles, pencils, stationary)
  • Canterbury Road Co. (candles)
  • Evie Seo (pillows, prints, mugs, etc)
  • Love Ashley Designs (prints)
  • Risa Rodil (prints, mugs, totes, etc)
  • Emgrav (prints, mugs, tshirts, etc)
  • The Art of Young Adult (prints, mugs, totes, etc)
  • Susanne’s Art (prints, mugs, totes, etc)
• One of my favorite random purchases was a gold sequin ampersand from Target that I keep on my bookshelf, along with a ceramic hashtag bookend I got as a gift. And I do have quite a few Funko Pop collectibles, though those aren’t as book related 😉
  

Future decorating ideas:

• I’d love to have a proper coffee table someday with plenty of space for art books and history coffee table books! My parents have a great collection and I love how they are displayed.
• Something I never knew I wanted until I saw my cousin’s summer house: a kitchen island with built-in shelves for cookbooks! It might encourage me to actually use them too haha.
• Most of all, I would love to have a separate room to create my dream library: a round room with a window seat and blankets under the seat (storage!), lots and lots of shelves, a wall for framed prints, cozy stuffed chairs and pillows… I could keep going. A side table for candles and a mug of tea. There are too many pictures to share so take a look at my Pinterest board when you have the chance!
• I’d also love to have a built-in shelf (like the Pinterest pic below) in my living room- so great for books, picture frames, and knickknacks. I had a small one in my apartment after college and it was the best!
  

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  What would you put in your dream library? How do you incorporate bookish decor into your life now? Do you have a designer’s eye or would you need help from somewhere like Havenly like I might? Let me know!