Today is National Library Shelfie day, so I’m sharing a sneak peek of my new library / office progress and some of my favorite shelfie objects.

The library in the new house has the most amazing built-ins and woodwork, but it was just too brown. I was inspired to paint the walls blue after seeing a blue library in another house we looked at but ended up not buying.

I sampled three very different hues before settling on Benjamin Moore Downpour blue, which you may remember from the kitchen island in my current house (tear). We are restoring the original floors, which are the floors of my dreams: wide plank white oak. They’re being stripped and coated with Bona Nordic Seal to keep them as close to their natural color as possible. I asked for a sample of how the stripped floors to be placed close to the walls in the library so I could see exactly what the color would look like in the finished room. I highly recommend doing this, and having the paint sample painted directly on the paneling or cabinet it will live on, as it will be drastically different from how it looks on a wall or one of those Samplize strips.

I know I love the color because I lived with it for four years and never regretted it, plus I love the idea of carrying elements from our first house to the new one. It’s like a little wink at our family’s home history.

So far, I’m into it. I’m eager to move my books in, which I like to organize by color because it’s just so satisfying for my OCD eyes. In addition to books, here are some of my favorite items for creating the ultimate “shelfie:”

xo
BB