Color Coded + Organized Ikea Expedit Bookshelf Styling: A Living Room Update


Hello, hello! In between Thanksgiving and Christmas and nursery prepping, I have actually done a tiny bit of unpacking and decorating of our new rental house casa. Nothing groundbreaking, of course, but I thought I'd start sharing these little decorated corners and niches with y'all!

You guys have seen a lot of action in one corner of my living room, over by the fireplace. So far on that end, we got a flashy new paneled mirror to fit over the fireplace, I decorated the corner in a colorful Christmas style with a big ol' tree, I decorated the corner again in a rustic + metallic Christmas style with a tiny tree, I prepared for fall/winter by adding some cozy new accessories... I mean, this corner has gotten all kinds of action! But what about the opposite side of the room?

Our living room here at this house is kind of a tight space as it's a somewhat narrow rectangular room. We placed the couch in front of the TV in the middle of the room, as the fireplace is at one end (as you know!). I balanced the fireplace end out by adding the Ikea Expedit bookshelf to the other end. This also provides us some extra, needed storage space in the living room.

Waaaay back when (like, three and a half years ago!), I arranged the books on this bookshelf in a fun color-coded rainbow style. That style is so pretty on the eyes, but didn't work so well for function as the types of books were sort of disjointed and wonky. So, I made it my goal to use the pretty rainbow system again but with an organized tweak. I also wanted to make sure and add some decorative pieces to the shelf. I attempted to style the built-in bookshelves at my old rental house and I honestly think I failed pretty miserably. Styling this Expedit shelf was my chance at redemption! Oh, and did I mention that this has to be toddler-friendly? Yes m'am.

Okay. Less talking, more pictures. Let's start at the bottom, which holds HDawg-friendly items like magazines, baby books and a selection of some of his favorite board books.


Next up, I organized my books by topic- fiction novels and genre organized non-fiction, like Bibles, law school text books, sociology books, relationship and self-help books, etc. For row two (which is still within HDawg's reach), I decided to put the chunkier books that he would mess with less. At least that's the plan and it's worked pretty well so far. They're too heavy for him to pull off the shelf! On the third row, I categorized the fiction books by color. Prettttty!



It's nothing too drastic, just a few shelves of browns, reds, yellows and blues that make me smile.

Up top went the decor knick knacks. Obviously, I'd like to have them spaced all over the bookshelf, but inquiring toddler hands have dictated a different method.


I think this side needs a little help still. Maybe a plant in the basket?


I love the top shelf, which holds my coveted antique book collection and my favorite DIY piece of all time- my rustic pallet sign.




So there you go! My color-coded + organized + toddler-friendly Expedit bookshelf, all styled up and hopefully making a fun presence on that side of my living room. I'll be sure to share more of these decorated niches around my home soon!

12 comments:

  1. I love the paint color on the walls. What company is it and is it called?

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    1. Unfortunately, I don't know! The color was on the walls when we moved into this home, painted by the previous tenants. I reached out to my landlord but they aren't sure either. Sorry!

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    2. Dang. Thanks so much for checking for me!!! Love your blog.

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  2. Love how you styled it...definitely a lawyer's bookshelf! ;) And I adore the pillow!!

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  3. I always love seeing a styled bookshelf. There is something so pretty and organized about it. You've done a beautiful job with this one, I love all the deep colors of the books.

    Happy new year Michelle!

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  4. Looking great!

    How do you like the expedit? Im considering it but all my past Ikea bookshelf experiences have been lacking.

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    1. I love the Expedit! We have hauled this big ol' piece and used it in three different houses over the past four years. It's withstood all of the moving, time and (as you can see) lots of heavy law books. I am pretty sure we'll invest in another one for a play room in the near future!

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  5. So funny that the first thing I noticed from the first pic is the law school books! The whole thing looks great and I really love those bird bookends!

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  6. Love the way you've got you're Expedit set up! It looks great!

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  7. This looks great! I struggle with overloading my bookshelves to the point where they just look messy. You have a lot stored here but it still looks lovely/artistic!

    perfectly Priya

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  8. Great article! We have very similar taste in design :) I just wrote a similar post on my blog at The Joy at Home: http://thejoyathome.com/4-different-ways-to-style-an-ikea-bookshelf/

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