It’s Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. I spent a good chunk of mine working on some projects after a productive trip to Ikea with my mom and Junior. Junior was appropriately Swedish in his Baby Bjorn as we walked through the maze in search of a linen cabinet for our laundry room and whatever else caught our eye. We did find the cabinet (more on that further down), but it was the “whatever else” that makes me really happy.
You see, I’ve always had issues with one of the walls in our living room. It really needs a console, but we have a bookcase there instead. Styling it and the wall above it has been a challenge for me. Last October, it looked like this:
Never mind the Halloween decorations – the real problem is how off-balance everything is. The bookcase and the art aren’t centered, and the art is too small.
My next attempt was to move a large piece of art from our mantle to the bookcase. Because I couldn’t commit, I never hung the art on the wall. The bookcase moved over a smidge so it was ever so slightly more centered.
What I really wanted (and still want) for above the bookcase is one of Suzanne Kasler’s new sunburst mirrors for Ballard Designs.
While browsing in Ikea’s marketplace this week, I found this $20 mosaic mirror. Not exactly what I wanted, but the shape just right. Using some framed art cards that I bought during last summer’s trip to Nice and photos I took during a book club trip to Nantucket, I created a much better display on the wall.
This time, I centered the bookcase along the wall, and spent loads of time with my yard stick and tape measure to ensure that the art was centered along the wall and also between the bookcase and ceiling. The colors in the art and photos are perfect for the living room, with soft blues, greens, and hints of red and gold.
It still looks a bit incomplete. Perhaps some tall potted plants on either side? I’m not sure. Suggestions??
Our Ikea trip also yielded the linen cabinet I was looking for, on clearance for only $50! And I’m proud to say that I built 90% of it with out my hubby’s help. 
Although most of the weekend was spent on doing things around the house, we also took Junior for his first visit to the beach. It was a cool and windy Saturday afternoon in Boston, but walking around Castle Island was a nice way to introduce the munchkin to the fresh, salty air.
Unfortunately, this is what he thought of it:
Nah, he was just hungry. Most of the time he just slept!
Many thanks to the lovely ladies at BonBon Rose Girls for featuring me as a Freshly Picked Rosebud! I’m so flattered and it totally made my day!
The wall in y0ur family room looks much better! You can’t beat the price on that mirror either! I agree maybe some plants or some type of larger vases would further balance it out. But you may have to put those away when Junior starts crawling/walking!
Aw poor little Jr…love Castle Island. Hope this rain goes away soon
I totally have that mirror you bought in our entry!
I love the mirror and think centering the bookcase was a good call. Have you considered a long bench on the wall, maybe down the road? I can’t see from the photo, but it looks like the ideal place for a bench.
You might hate me but I like the bookshelf a bit off center. it balances out the half a stairway that is showing. I would put the colorful black framed print back up to the right, add a lamp to the top of the bookcase along with a collection of family photos and hang the mosaic mirror above it and off center to the right. I would then place a large floor plant under the other print to fill out that empty space. That should balance everything out nicely. It is too busy the way it is now and all those tiny prints just dont work. Good luck
I think anything looks better with living plants!
Love your web page! And your baby is adorable. Thanks for the great pics too!