My idea of a reeeallly blissful night back home, (when the hype had retired for the eve and I needed some Jane Time) was having a bath, hopping into fresh, crisp sheets, being surrounded by those ridic 'display' pillows and reading a really good book. Doing this, I lost all sense of time. This still very much appeals to me, but the sad reality is that I have gone from a little girl who use to buy a book once a week with her pocket money religiously (okay, alongside a 50 cent mix) to a London lady who seems to have replaced reading with martinis, and buying books with an Amazon addiction (like a hoarder) with things she doesn’t really need.
However, over the past couple of weeks, I have started to build up a wee collection of books. The genres vary (no Mum, not all self-help), and I even got a first edition copy of the Catcher in the Rye from prowling those golden second-hand book shop haunts down Brick lane!
Where to put all this new literature? I have no shelves in my room, so the books have been collecting dust on my floor in a pile for the past few weeks. How to resolve this? I needed a book shelf, and one on the cheap – pronto!
Oh how the land of Argos has changed my life. I purchased my white, ‘Malibu Book Shelf’ for £20, and went about building it myself. Recommended construction time: 45 minutes; Jane construction time: 90 minutes (and I may or may not have a spare screw). However, I beamed with delight that I built it myself and have somewhere to keep all my new books. Mix the shelf up with a glass jar filled with spring daffodils, a candle and a frame – and voila! Instant wall/room break up of space adding extra visual appeal. Storage and that homeliness-feel all achieved at once! It is a cheap way to mix up a wall and add a bit of flair.
Utilise the space on your walls a little more. By adding a few floating shelves to your bedroom or living room will provide not only extra storage but act as a decorative feature too. Free-standing shelving is easy to buy (again, hello Mr Argos) and easy to put up (even I can).
Malibu White Interlocking Shelf - £19.99 - Argos: http://www.argos.co.uk
I was walking with a friend a few weeks back along a river, as it was dark I could see all the action happening in the well-lit rooms of people's houses. One house in particular caught my eye. The bright lights were on in the living room and what you could see was four huge walls adorned with bookcases and an epic amount of books. I commented on how awesome all those books were. My friend questioned this, and asked me ‘how do you know they are awesome? - you don’t, you can’t actually see what books they are.’
My friend made a very good point. Just because these walls were overcrowded with books didn’t necessarily mean they were good, worthwhile books. It also didn’t necessarily mean that this house was filled with love, flair and culture. I based my whole proposition on a quick glimpse into the window.
It is interesting, most people who know me, know I don’t have HEAPS of friends (even look at the floor count limit I have placed on facebook). Why? Well, being a good friend is a full-time job in itself and secondly, a lot of people don’t actually quite know nor ‘get’ me; very few do.
Strip away the bleached hair, dancing-rave-loving-perseco-
We can look at life like a book shelf. We place all that we class as important on that top shelf, whereas things which are much more undesirable at the bottom. Sometimes we have to give it a clean, re-prioritise where things sit, add new books, trinkets, give it a paint job. What does your book shelf of life look like? Cluttered, untidy, needs rearranging? Do you like what you see?
Do me a favour this week: Smile at strangers (it’s infectious and quite interesting how many do actually smile back); walk a mile in someone else’s shoes for a change before you judge; and universally, never, ever judge a book by its cover. You may in fact be surprised what you find – pleasantly surprised. I know so. x
