Bookcases are most often painted out the color of the wall or are a natural wood finish. But sometimes, they bust out of their studious restraint and become the life of the party room. Here, we see bookcases in color:
Normally, the books on the shelves provide the color, but we love the colorful lines popping through full shelves from the painted horizontals and verticals of these bookcases. It's a rich and busy look, for sure, but one that certainly could work for some.
Images: Bethany Nauert, Design*Sponge, Lagerlings, Martha Stewart, Ashley Whittaker
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I love the look of exposed shelves, or shelves with glass doors. It makes a room more "human", more believable.
We use IKEA's Linnarp cabinet as a linen/bathroom closet:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k2yhe/4555868195/in/set-72157626005170274
And the IKEA Norrebo (sadly, this has been discontinued), which also has open, exposed shelves:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k2yhe/5176124011/in/set-72157626005170274
And our favourite: wine cases that were used to first pack our books, and then tipped on their sides and stacked to create a bookcase:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k2yhe/4507140274/in/set-72157623938569198
Stunning...love this look.
This is an excellent idea, particularly if you are in a rental unit where you aren't allowed to paint the walls. A wall of painted bookshelves could server nearly the same function as a painted accent wall, especially if the shelves weren't overcrowded.
We color coded books on our shelves. It really dresses up the old white book shelves and adds more color to the room.
Yes! I have a bright blue shabby-chic bookshelf with color-coded books, the bookshelf is just a touch darker blue than the color on the walls, and it looks divine.
I love these! Truth is I love just about any bookcase.
In addition to the fact that the bookcases themselves here are so striking, I love the fact that the books aren't organized by color. That drives me a little batty. Imagine going to the bookshelves in photo 1 and wanting a specific book but you can't remember if it's red or blue or yellow.
I love the blue chandalier in the first picture -- does anyone know where it is from?