We have lived in this new house for a year and a half now. One of the first rooms I wanted to tackle was my girl’s shared bedroom. In our first house, the girl’s room was by far the cutest room in the house. If you recall, it was shot for a Land of Nod catalogue. Be sure to check out the full post on Honest to Nod, because little Denali and Olivia are pretty cute.
In this house, they still share a room, but it’s actually twice the size of their old room. BUT, the room needs help, the walls are blue, the trim is beige and the full wall of built-in cabinets are red, cream and beige (ya 3 colors). The built-in cabinets are at least 20 feet long with 12 cabinet doors and shelves to the ceiling. The other 3 walls are all windows. It’s a HUGE painting job, so for the last year I’ve been trying to find a painter (that I could afford) to tackle this room with a sprayer for me. All I want for this space is crisp clean white trim, white walls and white bookshelves. It’s actually a lot to ask. But, it’s finally happening. You guys, I’ve never hired a painter, we’ve always DIYed. But, I was really hoping to leave this big job to a professional.
I found a painter and he started yesterday. It didn’t start out too great. After the first day of priming, I noticed that they had left all the brackets for the shelves in the built-ins and the hinges had just been left on the cabinets (slightly taped). Ya, they had painted over those. The closet had drips of paint everywhere and there were a couple big gauges out of the hardwood floors. I wasn’t too excited about having to address these issues. My first instinct was to fire them and just take on the job myself. But, I decided to offer a little grace, show them exactly what I wanted done and have them fix their issues. Just letting them go seemed like the easiest solution, but I decided to stick it out and hope for the best. By the end of the day I was feeling confident that they could actually do a good job.
But, seeing this room turn white (Sherwin Williams – Alabaster White) has me giddy to style some bookshelves. Our plan is to go a little more boho and grown up. Denali is 16 and even though she shares a room with her 6 year old sis, I want the space to feel like hers. So, to get me in the mood for some shelfie styling, I rounded up some of my favorite shelves out there. 
Remember this leaning shelf from our first house?
I love the boho vibe of the objects in these built-ins. The don’t feel stuffy and proper, but more playful and young.
These shelves in a kid’s bedroom are to die for. It definitely has more of a nursery vibe, but I am taking notes for Olivia’s side of the shelves.
This minimal, modern aesthetic makes my heart happy. I’m always a fan of monochromatic.
From the master stylist herself, Emily Henderson, these shelves are filled with all the prettiest things possible. I think the second version, with the more saturated objects and pottery feels more like the direction we will take. Denali loves any shade of blue and Olivia love anything in the pink/orange/coral family.
These shelves have a light, airy, beachy vibe that I’m sure would speak to Denali.
And this last example is really just for my own reference. I can never get enough of black + white, wood tones and natural fibers.
Little and big girls, come with a lot of stuff. Here’s hoping we can make it all look cute together. I’m giving one side of the bookshelves for Olivia’s things and the other for Denali’s. It should be a fun challenge to find a way to get their things to work together for a cohesive look.