So Shabby Pink - How to Make a Bookshelf Disappear

I sure do miss Christopher Lowell. I know many of you remember him. I was a loyal fan when his show was on. I learned so much from him and it was his teaching shows that convinced me I could "do it too." He would always end his show with "You can do it." I would love to see him on TV again.

Maybe because of what I learned from Christopher, our home is always changing. My husband never knows what he is going to find. He went to North Dakota on a business trip long ago and came home to white kitchen cabinets. This is a man who is ultra traditional and does not like change. Bless his heart. He is stuck with little 'ol meeeee....

Since my husband is so traditional, I don't go nearly as far with the pinks, shabby chic and cottage looks as I would like. I am, however, learning to mix the two so that we are both happy. He has had to learn to live with some pink though.

When we ( I ) decided to brighten and lighten up our living room, I had a big challenge. We have two large focal point elements on the same wall in our living room - the fireplace and a large bookshelf that is directly beside the fireplace.

Whenever I walked in the room, all I saw was this big colorful wall of books. It just made my head spin to look at it. Because of being positioned where it is, it took all the focus off the fireplace. Most importantly, is was not a pretty focal point.


My challenge was to take the focus off the bookshelf and put it back on the fireplace. We painted the bookshelf and the walls the same color white which made the bookshelf blend into the wall more. Placement of white and neutral colored accessories on the shelves, didn't draw as much attention as the bright books.

Here is the after:


This was a good change.


I found this nice nautical picture at a yard sale for $2.00. The frame was gray so I simply painted it the same color as the cream colored trim in the room.


I think the key to making any decorative display special is to actually populate it with treasures that are important to you. I love the beach, pink and white, so whenever we travel, I try to bring home a little something to add to the shelf.

It is important to note, however, that there is a point where you stop adding. That is really hard sometimes. I have had to take a few things off this shelf as it started to look like storage instead of display.

This is one of my treasures from a gift shop in Destin, Florida.


This redo of this shelf did satisfy the traditional in my husband in that it's neatly arranged and not cluttered. I love it because it's all neutral. Lots of white!

Thanks for reading today. Hope you visit again soon.

Warm regards to all,

Peggy