The Bookcase Part 2

If you missed the first post, cleverly titled: The Bookcase Part 1 you might want to read that first before reading this post. :)

So, we had some red objects and a few silver ones in the bookcase with blue backs.  I liked it, but I showed my mom and she thought we needed a little more variation in color.  Yellow seemed like the obvious go-to, because it was the accent color being used in the kitchen with the blue walls.

I wasn't really sure what the yellow was going to be until I stumbled across a craigslist posting that caught my eye.  I'm not even really sure what section I was looking in, or how I saw it, but I found a man on craigslist selling over 300 National Geographic Magazines for $60 (plus a nice bookcase to go with).  The oldest magazine was from 1956, and include almost every issue from 1960-2003.  I did a quick google/ebay search and found that half as many National Geographics from the same period were selling for $300+ on ebay.  Plus, I love history very much, and I love looking through National Geographics very much, so if it ended up not working out in the bookcase, I figured they would not go to waste.

I was a little nervous, because it was my first craigslist purchase and the man asked to meet in the parking lot of a grocery store in Lawrence by a flag pole and to look for his van...oh, and he said he didn't own a cell phone.  So, naturally I call my mom and ask if she will go with me, and she was awesome and said yes.  So, we both show up at the flag pole and find our van.  Turns out, it was an incredibly nice man who had separated out the magazines into smaller boxes so they would be easier to carry.  He even gave me a whole box of Smithsonian magazines for free.  All in all, it was a great experience, but I'm still glad I had my mom there with me :)

I took them back to Tony's house and started going through them, and was in love.  I couldn't stop looking at all of the old advertisements and articles.  It was all so fascinating.

Eventually I found the issue form March 1987 (the month/year I was born) and lots of other neat issues like right after we landed on the moon.

Love that they had the floral border in the 60's and 70's

Landing on the Moon

Hologram Edition from 1989 I believe

The famous piercing eyes issue.

Issue from the month I was born.

My oldest issue, February 1956

So, then it was just a matter of putting them in the bookcase in a way that wasn't too contrived, and that added something to the room. Which was much more difficult than it sounds.  Eventually, I came up with this:

This set up is definitely not permanent.  It seems a little contrived, and the primary colors thing is a little bit in your face.  I like it, I think I love it, but I'm just not sure.  Tony likes it, which is the most important thing.  The only thing that bugs me is when people assume we went red blue and yellow because they are KU colors.  That honestly wasn't the intention at all.  And this blue is definitely not PMS293 KU blue (at least not in person).  Working with that color all day, I'm not sure I could look at it all night too :)  However, I guess I understand where people get that idea (even the Crate and Barrel movers immediately said, Oh I get it, KU color scheme)...so I should just let it go and move on.  It's not like it's a bad thing.

The set up isn't permanent, who knows, I'm sure it will all move around before too long and once Tony starts getting actual objects in the house, it will hopefully feel less placed and more personal.  I didn't purchase any object that didn't have a personal connection or meaning to one of us, but it's always nice to have actual personal objects as well.  Here are a few details from the bookcase:

p.s. ignore all of the empty picture frames with random models in them.  Those will be filled at some point...hopefully.

iPhone picture...sorry

An airplane for Tony :)

As always, love my sailboats :)

I just love this little birdie!

Right side

Left side

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The Bookcase (Part 1)

(This post has been sitting in my drafts for probably 2 weeks now.  I just haven't had time to finish it, so I figure I might as well post half of it.  Here's the first part...second part to come later.)

The bookcase in the den was one of the first things I loved about the house.  Right when you walk in the front door, you walk straight ahead and see a large built in bookcase and a lovely fireplace.  This is what it looked like when we first walked through the house:

Picture is a screen shot from the listing

And here is what it looked like on closing day:

We decided to carry over the blue from the kitchen (BM New York State of Mind -10%), but only on the backs of the bookcases.  So, that was the first step...

This is from one of the first few days in the house, and if you can't tell, the den was the central spot for all tools or really just anything.  Looking at this stresses me out beyond belief...I am so thankful it is gone!

Once that was done, we added back in the shelves, painted the cabinet doors, added new hardware to the doors and I started adding things to it.  I wanted to only use a few different colors in the bookcase, and that color ended up being red.  I initially (before Tony had even closed on the house) gone to a used book store and purchased about $60 worth of used red books.  I didn't want them to be just any books, because no one wants random books in their bookcase.  My concentration in college was in Art History, and I have always loved everything about it.  It just so happens, most of the Art History books were red, so I lucked out.  I also got a few architectural/engineering books for Tony and even a Catholic hymnal book to remind him of his days in Catholic school :)  Little did I know, that it was the exact same hymnal he used in elementary school.

So, once I had the books, I slowly started adding random pieces I found.  I first picked up a few from Hobby Lobby, and realized how much stuff it was going to take to make the bookcase look full.

A few more items added, and Tony painting the ceiling.  Not the color of the ceilings before in contrast with them now...makes the room feel so different

Then, one day Tony convinced me to go to a little shop in Overland Park called Great Finds.  Now, admittedly I was hesitant, but went with an open mind.  It was SO much better than I expected.  Great used furniture at even better prices.  While we didn't find any furniture, we did find a painting that we both loved.  While it is a little small, it will do for now.  I believe it was marked at $60 and we got it for 1/2 off.  We ended up paying $30 for a very pretty original oil painting.  The canvas is a little loose, but not too bad.  The frame is even a great blue color which made us love it even more...oh, and it has sailboats...which means I obviously love it.

Sorry...iPhone close-up

I think that's enough pictures for one post.  I will finish the "bookcase post" later on...

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Just Some Random Updates

Just a few random iPhone pictures for now. The light fixture for the kitchen arrived and Tony installed it Friday. Yesterday, the couch and garnet cabinet from Crate and Barrel were delivered. Still have lots of work to do in the den, but it's coming together! Once I have some free time I will post better pictures with more info, but this will do for now :) Happy Sunday!

-Annie

P.S. We don't plan on leaving the tv tray as a side table :) Or the little rugs we used to add felt to the bottom of the sofa.

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