I never thought of it, but these look great. I'd also never guess it's a Tokyo apartment.

NO, No, no

This looks hideous.

i like it

no.

A bit too grannyish, I think. That said, if that's what was available/affordable, I kinda think s/he pulled it off pretty well.

Too cluttered and crowded. One of my pet hates, decorating-wise, is walls lined with piece after piece of furniture.

Um, if they at least had the same colour, but since not then no.

I don't like it. Those three mismatched pieces just hulking there on top of one another make the room look smaller than a uniform wall of books would.

I think it would look better if they were all the same color.

I don't like it, especially in this version. Maybe if the bookcases were all the same height, and as Ninakk says the same color, it could work.

Each of these bookcases individually is quite pretty though.

YES~!

at first I thought yes but then decided it just looks like they need more storage space.

I would like these three together if only one was a bookcase, the other a coffee table and the other a sideboard.

I wouldn't put them in the same order; a little too step down for me. Maybe I would put the only one with doors in the middle, and paint the two open ones the same color, BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY GET THE CRAP OFF THE TOPS!

Put me down for "no".

The photo looks nice, but most people I know who have mismatched bookcases don't have pretty ones to begin with. Think sagging rows of books on superannuated particleboard of many different vintages.

Charming apart from one another, together...a lot more shabby than chic.

Those aren't actually mismatched at all! haha!

Think about it: they have the same neutrality in their hues, same curves, same beveled edges, same painting style, same lines...

You want mismatched, I've got a corner where there's a pine board shelf full of screws, two crappy pine bookshelves with different coloured wood veneer, and a green ikea dvd shelf. Now that's mismatched, and doesn't look nearly as nice as this picture here! False hope! False hope! lol

It's kind of cute, but I would never do that in my home.

I like!

Not for my own home, but it looks good here :)

NO

I think I'd try to scatter them thoughout the place if that's possible. Otherwise, if they like it, it's fine with me.

NO!!! I generally like mismatched things but as mentioned above i like them to be at least the same color. also I think that placing them from highest to lowest creates a bizarre effect maybe if they were swapped it would look better

YES YES YES
They're perfect. They don't need to be the same color, that would ruine the look. They're precious. I want to buy them and put them in my home.

I agree with the person who said to paint them all the same color. Then I think this could work.

Very nice, but as mentioned above, not really mismatched -- all three are painted and patinaed similarly, in harmonious neutral shades and the style differences between them are not jarring or egregious. They make an attractive trio, but it would require thought and effort to pull off the effect with genuinely mismatched shelves.

Ye Olde Used Furniture Shoppe...

(I've lived in Japan: They're not known for great taste in Western-style interiors)

This one made me smile! I don't think it's granny-ish at all . . . but the couch & rug are, ugh!

But if you put your hand on the screen to cover the couch and look at the photo again, you might view the bookcases more fairly, without the distraction, :)

I'd put the butter-colored one in the middle.

To those who suggested painting them all the same color, I can tell you, having "been there, done that" -- it would be BORING!

P.S. And I'd get rid of that small cream-colored one at the far right. It sends the decor into the "looks-likes-storage-facility" category.

A couple of these filled with objects, I might be open to. For books, though, no way. I'm of the firm opinion that the organizational and the display value of books improves with the number of linear feet of shelf (i.e., one high bookshelf around the ceiling is amazing, a long set of shelves above a heater is great, a Billy or other bookshelf unit is tolerable, cubbyholes are anathema).

only if they were all painted the same color.

No thanks

I don't like the step-down effect of the order. I think it's fine to have mismatched stuff, but I don't like these side-by-side. Set up around the room or around the home would be lovely, but this isn't working for me.

They need to be the same color and height...

I guess I can't decide, but I like the individual pieces. I'm feeling like there's just a lot going on on that wall.

No. It looks like "wall o' crap" where too much is shoved against the walls with no breathing space. I like them individually and I like the way the colors combine, but it's just too much & too crowded on that wall.

no way. the whole thing looks super dated and the color scheme doesn't help to rectify the situation.

Thumbs down. And how weird someone I know in Maine has that same little shelving case on the end but in natural wood not painted white. Is this really Tokyo? I've only ever been to modern sleek homes in Asia...

Not everyone in Japan is into modern. I think these would be more successful if painted the same color, and if half the junk was tossed out.

Absolutely not--the mismatch in both size and color really ups the sense of clutter.

Ennh. Looks a bit clutterish. If they were all the same style and different colors, maybe.

hehe, that looks like something I'd end up doing some day when I could actually justify getting nicer furniture. While it looks wacky and distasteful to most, something about this combination hits the spot for me. Each to her own style. :)

I can't believe it, but I actually think this is pretty cool.

Leaving the other furnitures, bookcases looks great with a style of their own.

I like it, but I'd never be able to pull it off.

Dynamic.........tension.
Me likey.

I'm on the fence with this one. The three can work together, as they are all similar in appearance, but the current arrangement doesn't do it for me. I think they would look best scattered around the room, but if the only place they can go is up against one wall, then I'd put them in a different order. I think putting the tall, wide bookcase in the middle would create more visual interest and would allow for more interesting arrangements on the top shelves.

I think it looks great. Better than matchy-matchy any day! :-)

no way

These look to heavy and cluttered together. There is such a thing as too much shabby chic.

Well, Melle is right, they aren't all that mis-matched to start with.

That said, I don't like them together any more than I do mismatched dining chairs, which is to say, not at all. But someone who DOES like country style and mismatched dining chairs might enjoy them a lot.

No. If their sides were flat and they could sit right up against each other, that's fine, but as it is now, the tiny gaps between the bookcases would drive me nuts.

I think the problem I have most with this is that they really are different, yet EXACTLY the same in some ways. The styles are so similar it looks themey and more like a store selling bookshelves than a home. I think if there were some space between them and they weren't so all exactly in the same country style, it might work better.

Again, this is obviously just my personal opinion. Whomever did this room loves it and that's all that matters.

I do think the blue cabinet on the far right is nice. It looks like it would be at home (by itself!) in almost any decor. Rare to find pieces like that.