The living room shelves were one area that made me decide it was time to thin down my ironstone collection and other antiques from my stash. I put ironstone casseroles on the top shelf because I had nowhere else to put them. Since I’ve displayed all sorts of ironstone pieces all over my house for years, it didn’t seem odd, but I realized I put them there by default, not because they were the best thing for those shelves. I felt like the shelves would look better if I removed them and rearranged. Here’s how the shelves and mantel were decorated over the holidays…
And I left everything in place once I took the greenery down. As the weather was starting to warm up, though, it felt like too much stuff, and I wanted to simplify.
I removed everything from the mantel except the blue and white ginger jars and a piece of vintage coral. The shelves are still visually interesting, but everything has a little bit more room to be appreciated.
In addition to removing the ironstone casseroles, I relocated some of the decorating books and sold a few of the antique books that weren’t a part of sets.
I did add one thing – a wooden sewing box that was in the guest room closet. I didn’t have a great place for it in the guest/sewing room, so I brought it out here to put on the shelf. I like how the antique wooden boxes work with the books, natural elements, and add some height.
Instead of having my fossil beach finds leaning against books and scattered on the shelves, I put them all in an ironstone dish. They obviously aren’t as easy to see, but it is visually neater to have them contained.
Now, I just need to remember that I don’t need any more items for these shelves! I am always tempted by cool antique natural elements like coral, turtle shells, and such, but I just need to walk away!
Speaking of shopping, the Lucketts Spring Market is rapidly approaching, and I am excited to look for a few pieces of furniture that are still on my list. I’ll share a Lucketts wish list before the event in another post. I think working on purging and organizing before an awesome market like that will end up keeping me more focused on what will really add to our house and what will just be more stuff.
I’ve had to take a break from organizing for a few days to get paintings completed to sell at Lucketts, and I’ll share a preview of those before the event. I’ll be getting back to it. The garage is in my sights…
19 Responses
Thank you for this Marian. I needed direction to display books with heirlooms in an uncluttered and purposeful–yet still natural–way. This is perfect! The wooden boxes are beautiful.
I love, love, love your style…. and I too have several turtle shells. What do you do to them to be able to hand them on the wall? Would love to know.
I hot-glued a wire onto the sides of the inside back of each shell.
Love what you’ve done! Could you share again your favorite antique and thrift shops you visited when you were in Raleigh NC? Going in the next few weeks
We haven’t heard about the sticky basement floor recently. We should be told !
Yeah, it’s still there! 😂 I’ve been working on gardening and organizing, but I’ll get back to it when it’s too hot for outdoor projects.
Looks well edited
Your painting is so good
Paint jenny lind over…as if you don’t have enough to do….;0 )
You know, I actually bought it with the intention of painting over it and I just haven’t done it yet!
Oh!!!! No….I love Jenny. She looks right at home. Just go to Michael’s and buy an oval frame.
I mean, I’m going to paint Jenny over Jenny, so it would still be a Henny painting, but in oils instead of just a print.
Ohhhhh….awesome good!!! I can agree with that!!!
So refreshing and it looks more like a proper library.m and relaxing space 🙂
So enjoy your post and style!
Tell me what the greens are on the mantle, please.
Can I purchase them? Instructions to make?
The evergreen garlands are from the Norfolk Pine collection at Afloral. The seeded eucalyptus garlands are from Amazon. You can find both linked in this post -https://missmustardseed.com/christmas-2024-living-room/
I honestly liked the rows of tureens on the top shelves. They seemed to serve as the ‘top layer’ or ‘frosting’ of the book case, providing a nice contrast to the various combinations of books, shells and antiquities on the lower shelves. Not a criticism, just my viewpoint! I LOVE the ironstone bowls filled with shells. I recently bought an angled Chinoiserie bowl that I plan to use as a seasonal display piece, starting with shells for this summer! As always, your inspiration and creativity are very much appreciated!
It looks great, Marian. I love all your gorgeous old leather books.
Your shelves still feel visually dense to me. I have to guess, too, how all the elements are related to each other. You have some very nice collections, but just because you have them doesn’t mean they fit well into your setting. Much like you edited you kitchen shelves, you may have to refine your shelves here so the book collections can be appreciated. Or is it the shell collection you would like to highlight? Simply giving a composition more room to breathe can upgrade it from mediocre to successful and project a sense of quiet.
Yep, I get what you’re saying, and I knew they would still look cluttered to some! The look I am going for is a “curiosity cabinet” sort of feel, with natural elements, old books, and items that feel science-y, like wooden boxes, framed notes, and a magnifying glass. To me, it works, but it would look nice simplified even further.
Beautifully done in true Marian style! I tried to zoom in to see if your own published books are on the shelf…if not, I think they would delightfully appropriate.