“Seasonal” Decorating ~ Styling the Bookcase

I’m not much of a seasonal decorator in the literal sense.  I do do a Christmas look, but other than that, my decor doesn’t necessary revolve around the seasonal calendar.  You won’t see much Valentine’s or St. Pat’s Day baubles around here.

I am, however, a “seasonal decorator” in another sense, though.  My “seasons” revolve around the moments that I walk into a room and think, “Uggh…I’m ready for a change.”  It often comes simultaneously with a burst of sunshine through the windows.  The beautiful rays that stream down not only warm the cockles of my heart, but they also draw attention to the dust bunnies I’ve missed in my normal cleaning.

I figure that if I’m going to have to move furniture to clean underneath, I might as well go for a whole new look!  It is one of my most favourite things in life.

A whole new look…

For absolutely no money.

Some people have fireplace mantels that they like to “change up” for different looks.  In the absence of one of those, the built in bookcase in the Living Room is my fun thing to accessorize.  Last summer the back of it got a whole new look with some Dollar Store beach mat:

It’s really fun to deck  out with lots of driftwoody stuff…

At Christmas time, it had a few splashes of red and shimmering gold:

 

Sadly, when I took down the “Christmas” nothing too exciting was put back in…  During one of our recent power outages, I decided it was time for another “seasonal” change in the bookcase.  {If I recall correctly, I was terribly bored that day…  Vacuuming and laundry were sadly out of the question , so, what’s a girl to do but rearrange furniture and redecorate??}  Here’s how it went:

I started by completely emptying it out, dusting off the shelves and “building” it from the top down.  I grab things from all over the house and play around…adding in and taking out things until it looks “right”.  I seem to have some favourite things that stay through all the changes, but relocating them makes it all feel new again.

And if that moving picture is driving you batty, here’s some pictures standing still:

{P.S.  Truth be told, I’ve been dying to try out  “how to make an animated gif” since I read it in this tutorial from Centsational Girl.  I actually restyled the bookcase a month ago, and re-restyled it so I could do the cool moving pictures thing. I know, I’m a little crazy that way, but at least I got the shelves dusted again!}

Linking up to:  Gingersnap Crafts, Shabby Creek Cottage, French Country Cottage, Chic on a Shoestring, Redoux, Serenity Now