Beautiful Bookshelves

It's certainly been a busy start to the summer! After finishing up my final exams, I sped home to unload the car and turned right back around to hop on a plane to Colorado. I got to see my bestie graduate from nursing school (yay!) and spend a few days hanging with her. The day of her ceremony was absolutely gorgeous, and it was so special to be there for her. We've been friends since we were less than a year old!

{What are best friends for, if not making sure that your cap is perfectly centered?}

While I was away, my Dad painted my room a new color. (Did I mention he's the best?) Previously, my room was red and the inspiration for it came from my travels through Thailand and Morocco while I was in high school. It's been a while and my tastes have changed a bit, so we decided to give it a new spin with light grey walls and navy, coral, and yellow accents. It's a work in progress, but one of the biggest focal points of my room is my bookshelf. Enter the reason for this post: I've been on the hunt for bookshelf styling inspiration. I may be a bookworm, but I also love pretty things. My book collection is a point of pride for me, and I want to put it on display in a way that conveys how big a role books play in my life. 

Below are some of the beautiful bookshelves that I've stumbled across. There are so many ways to style a shelf, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of the pretty possibilities!

{one}

{two}

{three}

{four}

{five}

{six}

I think what I like most about these is that they bring attention to the shelves by using color. I'm tempted to copy number three and paint mine white with a yellow background. And the color-coordinating on four and six? Gorgeous. It's hard to find shelf styling that actually features more books than decorative items, which is why number two is really inspiring me to add fun touches but keep the attention on the books themselves. What I really need is a wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor shelf so that I can actually display all  of my books, and not have them hiding under my bed in boxes. I guess that will just have to be on my list of future must-haves. 

Stay tuned for more updates on my bookshelf makeover!