You know, it’s not just bloggers that love “those” Ikea shelves.
To prove it, I asked my friend Fred to show us her non-blogger version of shelf style!
Fred is obviously not her real name … it’s a nickname from many years ago that has stuck. Her real name is Nicola and we met in 1983; she was the little sister of my best friend Mel. I had a little sister about the same age, and somehow the four of us just clicked. We started going to youth group together and all these years later we are still close – below is a pic of the four of us on a cruise last year (L to R: Mel, Anissa, me and Fred). We often joke that we are sisters by choice rather than birth!
1. What room are your shelves in?
I have 4 “Cube” bookshelves; one in the lounge room; one for my office nook as I do quite a bit of work from home. I bought the one in the dining room because the kitchen had a breakfast bar which we never used (the dining table being RIGHT there) and the space seemed so redundant! So I got the bookshelf and it is great because it keeps all my devotional books handy so I can grab them easily when I stop for coffee and breakfast. There is also one in our son’s bedroom.
2. How long have you had them?
We have acquired them gradually over a few years – we have had the ones in my lounge room and dining area longest – probably about 3 or 4 years? We got the one for our son’s room about two years ago when we redecorated his room. The one in my “office” is the most recent – I bought that in the last month!
3. What do you store in the drawers/cupboards/boxes?
The things we store varies considerably depending on the needs in the room they are in:
- Lounge – we have one basket of Lego for visitor’s children, another with all the controllers etc for the Wii, another for clothes/knickknacks which are heading off to Lifeline.
- Office – drawers for stationery, and storage boxes for all the miscellaneous stuff that I need for my work.
- Dining Room – bits and pieces which are handy to have in the dining area, but not on the table, like the napkin holders, drink coasters etc. The storage boxes tend to get filled with all the detritus of life (catalogues, receipts, etc) that you might need ‘some time’, but don’t want to have lying around on every surface.
- Son’s Bedroom – I don’t know, and I don’t WANT to! 😉
4. What is your favourite decorator item on your shelves and why?
I love the candle holder in the dining area – it was a Christmas decoration, but is so pretty it just stays there permanently.
I like the slice of crystal in the loungeroom – we brought that back from the Jenolan Caves as a memento of our 25th Wedding Anniversary trip.
I like the LOVE decoration in the lounge – I picked that up from a little boutique in Montville to fill a space on top that was looking bare.
I also like the flower and anniversary plate in the lounge – they are really just there as a decorative centrepiece to the bookshelves, but they are nice.
5. How often do you change the look of your shelves?
Very seldom! I’m a bit of a control stability freak, so I tend to set things up fairly much as I want them and then just leave it like that. There is always organic change – an addition here, something removed/replaced there, depending on our requirements, but I certainly don’t go rearranging my shelves for the heck of it!
It’s Your Turn!
I love the bright colours in Fred’s home – though I don’t know if I could be brave enough to actually paint a wall in lime green. Could you?!