Bookshelves

I was reading through the January issue of the Costco Connection (because that's how far behind I am, apparently) when I came upon this helpful article called "How to Style a Bookcase".  Here are some of their suggestions:

• For a cohesive look, choose a color tone for the accessories and stick with it.
• Leave at least a third of the shelves empty, if not half.
• Think of each shelf as a complete arrangement.  Your eye should move form shelf to shelf smoothly; if one item dominates the other items, remove it.
• Create dimension within each compartment by stacking small books like a pyramid, topped with a smaller artifact.
• Group similar objects together in threes or fives.
• Put larger baskets or attractive bins on bottom shelves for kids' toys and games.
• For a vintage look, remove the paper jackets from all the books.
• For a casual feel, mix up colors and add family photoes in nice frames.
• Lean framed art against the back and layer accessories in front of it for dimension.
• Don't be afraid to remove shelves, especially if you have a lot of them.  Less may be more in this case.

Well, all I can say is--I think we've nailed it!  We may have to remove the baby powder, though, as it seems to dominate the other items on that shelf.

Silly me for thinking that bookcases were actually for storing as many books as humanly possible.  Maybe one year we'll be able to have "cohesive" bookshelves, with up to half the space empty, and the other half filled with accessories, photos, bins, and oh!  a book or two.   Not any time soon, by the looks of it.