Here at jmm PR, we have been scouring the internet for our favourite articles of the week.
This week brings ideas on styling a bookcase as well as New Year’s resolutions to improve your home in 2022 from interiors publications, Homes & Gardens and Good Homes.
Image: James Merrell / Future
Homes & Gardens – How to style a bookcase – the 10 rules our decorating editors never break
Whether you’re an avid reader or want to use displayed books to bring elegance to your space, styling your bookcase right can transform it from simple storage to a room centrepiece. This article by Homes & Gardens has some great tips on making your bookcase look more decorative.
If you love collecting books, it can be tempting to continue purchasing as many tomes as you can fit in your bookcase, filling up your shelves to the brim in the process. However, Homes & Gardens advises against this if you want your collection to fit in with the rest of the room, and instead suggests keeping space for non-book pieces that match your decorative style. To add some natural elements to your display, Homes & Gardens suggests placing a trailing houseplant on one of the higher shelves and dotting some smaller plants lower down.
If you’re building your bookcase from scratch, always keep in mind how you will arrange your storage as you build the piece. For example, if you plan use some shelves to showcase sculptures or artwork, you should make them bigger to not only match the size of the pieces but to also leave plenty of space around them so that they look even more a part of the display. As mentioned in some of our previous blog posts, using your shelf as a divider in an open-plan space works wonders for zoning out a place for specific tasks and also breaking up the room so that it looks more organised.
You can also apply the colour scheme of your room to your books if you’re going to buy a new collection for the shelf. For a more traditional space, opt for hardback books that have a neutral-coloured spine once the book jacket has been removed. If you want to add some more colour to your room, place your vibrant tomes against a darker coloured shelf to help them stand out even more.
Image: Ligne Roset
How you arrange your books is also hugely important in making your bookcase look presentable. You don’t always have to stand your books up straight; if you’re looking to add some variety in the way you stand your books, you can stack them in organised piles instead. When doing this, make sure there is space around the pile so that it looks deliberate, and partner it with an ornament for a more styled look. Your stacks could be organised by colour or topic to bring some added creativity to the shelf. Mixing vertically and horizontally placed books will also make your bookcase look more interesting.
When organising your storage, always remember to place the larger pieces towards the bottom of the shelf for a more balanced look. It is also important to put accessories above or below a row of books and vice versa, rather than accessories stacked on top of accessories. This further paces out the look of the bookcase and makes it appear more organised.
Have these tips given you some ideas on styling your bookcase? Let us know in the comments!
Image: Swoon
Good Homes – 8 easy New Year’s resolutions for your home
As we enter the first month of 2022, many of us will be creating resolutions of things we would like to achieve throughout the year. While cutting down our alcohol consumption, developing a healthier diet and losing weight are common, how many of us can say that we create resolutions for our home? This article from Good Homes is great for anyone looking to make their home more organised, stylish and environmentally friendly throughout 2022.
In the article, Good Homes shares research conducted by the British Heart Foundation, which highlights the fact that a shocking 30 per cent of people have thrown away furniture, electrical items and homewares that are in good enough condition to be reused, sold or donated. If de-cluttering your home is on your list of New Year’s resolutions for 2022, why not look at DIY projects that can help you upcycle your existing furniture? Failing that, you could try selling or donating your pre-loved items instead.
Once you’ve decluttered your space, the article suggests investing in storage that can keep your home looking neat and tidy. Storage solutions that can fit inside cupboards and cabinets is ideal, as these are great for helping to organise food in the kitchen, toiletries in the bathroom or clothing and accessories in the bedroom.
If you’re ready to start transforming your space but aren’t sure where to start, collecting ideas from local design and interiors shops is a great alternative to scrolling through your Instagram feed. You could also try attending an interior design event or exhibition to get ahead of the latest trends for the year! Supporting more small and local businesses is another great resolution to make for 2022, and as the article suggests, they can often “have a much lower impact on the planet, since mass production requires a huge amount of resources and often results in wasteful, unsold goods.” Why not spend the weekend heading out to local stores in your area? Alternatively, you can try online websites like Etsy and Not on the High Street if you’d rather stay warm at home!
Sticking with the sustainability theme, Good Homes shares some super helpful tips for those of us wanting to be more eco-friendly in 2022. According to the article, small swaps can make a big difference, so why not look for stores that allow you to refill your own containers, or you could try switching your plastic bottle for a more environmentally friendly option. When it comes to purchasing new furniture for your home, the article suggests opting for a mattress that’s made from natural fibres, and it highlights the fact that some woods, such as mango wood, are more sustainable than others. According to Good Homes, “there are plenty of eco-friendly options for wall and floor coverings now too”.
If this article has inspired you to create some New Year’s resolutions for your home, let us know what they are in the comments!
Ends
Jess and Steph at jmm PR
7th January 2022
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