Inheriting Style

A few months ago, Justin's grandma moved in to a mother-in-law suite which had been added on to Justin's aunt's house specifically for Grandma. It was a bittersweet time for many family members and one of the hardest parts was choosing what to keep and what to get rid of. This was no easy task for Justin's aunt, who coaxed Grandma into discarding as much as she could, but even when Justin and I showed up to help on moving day, there were many items that still had a big question mark as to where they were going to end up.

After moving some of the big things out of Grandma's house, Justin's aunt said to us, "if there's anything you want, let me know, because otherwise it's going in the trash." As an advocate of recycling, reusing, or repurposing, I wasn't thrilled with the thought that the excess furniture and belongings would end in a landfill. Therefore, when we saw something we thought could function in our home, we asked Justin's aunt if that was something we could have and almost every single time she responded with Yes! One of these pieces was this really cool mid-century (from the actual mid-century, not a look-a-like), glass-doored, two-shelf bookcase.

I must admit that at first I wasn't sure where we could use it. I thought it might work well in the office (and it still may), but when we brought it home it sat in our front entry for a short time while I pondered it's future placement. Then one day, as I was walking upstairs I found the perfect spot.

The table we had put in our second floor hallway had been there since we moved in. It was a great piece, but it provided no function in the space and I thought it was a lost opportunity since our hallway is quite large and acts more as a landing or foyer for that floor. In a quick 15 minutes, I swapped the table out for our "new" bookshelf and packed it with all of my books that had been hiding out in boxes.

The "staging" of my shelf isn't pretty but I don't care because now this space is functional and looks a bit more lived-in. I love the shelf and I love that all of my books are on display. The best part of this quick change was as I filled it up, I came across books I forgot I owned and enjoyed flipping through them again. (I should really make the task of rearranging or organizing my books a frequent chore because I'm sure I would use them way more.) Nonetheless, now the real question is whether I should refresh the bookshelf with a coat of paint...