The Playroom Bookshelves

I've always been drawn to shots of bright, clear sky blue in kid's spaces.  Here are a few of my favorite rooms:

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Velvet and Linen

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Martha Stewart Living

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House Beautiful

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Cottage Living

We really needed some good bookshelves for the kids books in the playroom (and a great shot of sky blue color!). I found these at a local antique market called Merchant Square on sale for something pretty inexpensive like $100 or $150 for the pair. The barn red color was not working for me, but the shape of the shelves, with the angled corners was seriously calling my name!


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I had a left over quart of Farrow and Ball's Blue Ground, which is a great color of bright sky blue. We brushed on a coat or two and added some of these super-cheap acrylic IKEA pulls to the cabinet doors and we were in business!

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We color coordinated the books right before the Domino shoot, and I've been surprised that the kids have been pretty diligent since then about replacing the books to their right shelf after reading. I think easy organization (especially a simple system like this one - by color) helps kids want to keep spaces tidy.

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And of course I love the sky blue color in the space! It's a pretty close match to the color of the clouds in the Hygge & West wallpaper print on the ceiling.

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18 comments:

  1. Wow - this is fantastic! That blue is the perfect punchy pastel. I love it!

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  2. Such cool bookshelves! I love that room, especially the wallpaper on the ceiling!

    COOCOO FOR COCO

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  3. What a find! Those are amazing shelves!!

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  4. LOVE this whole space- it has such a wonderful energy about it!!

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  5. Oh I just love children's play rooms. The shot of blue with the wall paper is so calming and dreamy. Love the pink poodle working so hard to hold up the leaning stack of books ;)

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  6. The librarian in me shrieks at the shelving books by color instead of type or author. But I do love the "look".

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  7. Your colour choices are fab! I love to read what furniture you have found and transformed, the bookshelves look great.

    http://www.diyingtomakeit.com

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  8. Love the shape of the bookshelves! I can't get over how gigantic your house is! It's awesome! (And I'm so glad you're still blogging!!)
    www.lifewithleroy.blogspot.com

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  9. Do you know if the walls in the MSL photo are decals or painted on?

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  10. I'm currently designing kids playrooms! Great images!

    Love, Jamie Herzlinger
    www.jamieherzlinger.com

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  11. They look great! I am curious about why you wouldn't have sprayed them with the critter rather than painting with a brush. I bought a critter awhile ago now but have yet to use it.

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  12. I really like the way these bookshelves turned out painted blue! And the style is also great. They have a little bit different appearance but also seem very until. It looks great in the room, especially next to the beautiful red carpet!

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  13. such a great DIY. The room looks awesome and those bookcases are perfection in there!
    thanks for sharing!
    www.otomihome.com

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  14. what a special room! I would have loved it as a little girl, and I love it as an adult girl, too!

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  15. Those shelves are amazing and the color is gorgeous! Loving the pulls!

    Christa
    www.gardeniasandmint.wordpress.com

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  16. Hi Jenny,
    I have to say, I love the ceiling wallpaper more and more every time you photograph the playroom. It was an absolutely ideal choice for that space. LOOOOVE IT!

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I so appreciate hearing from you. Nice comments make my day! Thanks for keeping things light here, friends! :)