Friday Fun: Bookshelves

Original grey steel shelves.

Painted!  White to blend with the walls.

I'm slowly loading them with books, magazines and other things.

Whew, I finally finished painting the shelves for my mom's living room.  I never want to paint metal furniture again if I can help it, although I did learn some important lessons.  One, buy a good spray primer.  Then buy at least twice as much spray paint as you think you're going to need.  I hate spray paint because it smells terrible and really stresses my wrists to use, but I'd recommend it for painting something like this because there were so many rounded edges, which a brush just didn't cover well.

They look a lot better in the space now that they are white.  (Um, the old steel frame windows are so ugly, that they ruin every picture that they show up in, but window replacement will happen when the larger renovations occur, and until then, they'll just ruin my pictures).  I'm still trying to fill the shelves.  Its hard to balance books and objects well.  Since it's in the living room, I really want to focus on interesting books that visitors might want to look through.  Neither my mom, nor I, are the type of people who like to have objects out purely for decorative purposes, so the shelves will primarily house books.  Maybe some records, her small stereo, etc.  The top shelves are being particularly difficult.  I think we'll try moving the masks that are currently hung above the window above the shelves to draw the eye up, and I'm thinking that the books should lie horizontal.   So far I haven't liked anything that I've put up there.  I'd also like to try a small, possibly sculptural, lamp because it's a dark corner.  I like both of these, but I don't love them.

The Cindy Lamp, by Ferruccio Laviani, $273 from the MOMA store.

The Block Lamp, $135 from the MOMA store.

Any ideas?  Shelf styling strategies?