Living Room Update: My New Ikea Vittsjo Shelf

So, I previously mentioned in this post how I bought this Vittsjo shelf.  I had moved the Billy bookcase from the living room into my rearranged & reorganized studio and used the Vittsjo to replace it. (This is one of those 4 projects I mentioned in the last 2 posts)

My Billy bookcase held A LOT of books.  The Vittsjo doesn't have sides to it,  so it presented the challenge of not being able to stand books without using bookends.  Since I currently don't have bookends and since I had a lot of non-pretty books, I had to get creative with how I styled the shelves.  In addition to wanting the shelves to look nice, they still had to be functional (did I mention I have a lot of books?).  I ended up separating out the books and moving some to the studio (my travel books) and some to the guest bedroom.

Let's take a closer look at each shelf, shall we?  First up, the top shelf:

Books by my favorite author, Marian Keyes.  If you ever get a chance to read her stuff, do so!  It's like chick-lit, but smarter, witty. & funny!  Yep, that's a picture of me!  ;)  That was from my trip to Savannah, GA - I love the composition and the colors in the photo.  And to the right, home design & decor books.

2nd shelf:

A picture from one of my trips to Cabo San Lucas - it's in a shadowbox and I put some seashells & rocks in it.  Some of my favorite autobiographies & biographies.  And yep - many of them are about rock stars - fascinating stuff, people!

Next up is the 3rd shelf:

More books, more decor.  Historical & art books on the left.  Random books on the right.  The beach canvas is one that I made using a picture from my St. Thomas trip & tissue paper.  I also made the F cork monogram.

Lastly, the 4th shelf:

Some classic children's books (and possibly future classics).  A jar of beach sand and shells from various beach trips.  My stereo so I can listen to my tunes.  And a picture of me & some friends at an Angels baseball game.

I think the Vittsjo is a much better fit for the living room than the Billy bookcase.  I'm so glad I was able to make room for it & find an excuse to by this shelf.  I may tweak it a bit after I get some bookends, but so far I'm really loving how it turned out.

Originally posted by Adventures in DIY

Linked up to:

Thrifty Decor Chick's October Before & After Party