The Minimalistic Approach
This Year Is All About Minimalism
Well, as much as the tiny hoarder in me will allow. I have a mild obsession with organizing. Closets, my dream pantry, all the kids stuff, life...you name it, I likely have a plan for it. Little by little I've been trying to make this starter house a home. It's far from finished and a constant work in progress. What it needs are more substantial items to make any decor in this much larger space fit. Moving from a typical NYC apartment to raural NJ was a huge change; in surroundings, lifestyle and pace. Most things I owned looked puny in many of the larger spaces here. So, into the growing pile of yard sale items a lot of it went to eventually be swapped out for lesser and more sizable pieces. I'm trying to make sure that my purchases are not impulsive and purely intentional. This way we have less without comprimising style. Meaning less time dusting, cleaning and rearranging (kids touch e-very-thing).
My latest obsession is a wall mounted bookcase. You see, we have this akward space at the end of the stairs between our front door and sitting room. The previous owners had a grandfather clock there, so it wasn't noticable at all. That being said, the traditional feel of an old grandfather clock isn't in the budget nor is it my taste (not for this space anyway, in a library with floor to ceiling built ins and rolling ladders, maybe. But not here). I haven't come across anything I liked and am Always tossing back and forth between brass or matte black (with the occasional lucite number thrown in); til I stumbled upon one of my favorite influencers home update on instagram. She purchased 3 of the most gorgeously modern, perfectly minimalistic and easily adaptable [to many different styles and tastes] wall mounted bookcases. Problem is, they are $349. A Piece.
On the hunt I went. Anyone who knows me knows how much of a bargain shopper I am. I almost never pay retail $ on anything. If you do enough digging (and sometimes waiting) you can almost Always find a deal, coupon | promo code or wait til seasonal decor assuredly goes on sale. There is No Way I'd be able to justify that price tag even if I only need one. After a bit of digging, I found a pretty good match to the one my heart was set on.
The original is a Helix Acacia Bookcase by CB2:
There are variations in each unit, [obviously] which aren't too drastic if you're willing to compromise on a few things. For instance:
- The Helix Acacia has the tallest option of the three at 96" (which is wildly appealing), one color choice and two widths (tall: 6 shelves | wide: 4 shelves) but has the option for a desk or 2 shelf drawers which could be cool if that's your thing.
- The Theo Ladder is shorter, maxing out at 72" tall. Now, the metal tube frame is thicker on this one and it has one less shelf (5) but, on the upside, this particular unit comes in more color combos (4) than both the Helix Acacia and the Loring.
- The Loring is also 72" (the only height option) a wall-mounted unit as well, keeping the minimalistic design theme with two color choices and 5 shelves - but it's a leaning bookcase with varying shelf depths. Which is the biggest difference compared to the previous options.
What I enjoy about all three is the open top shelf. This means you won't be restricted if you wanted to display a tall potted plant or larger framed pieces [which is what I'll probably do to try and compensate for the height difference in the more expensive version]. The one bar support beam on each side is also what drew me in as it would be (in my home) in an entryway of sorts - this means the shallower, the better so that it doesn't obstruct the path in a physical or visual way while still allowing me to put my own style spin on what would otherwise be a bit of an awkward space. Now that I've found which one I'll be purchasing for the house, I'll have to fill the shelves with something...but that's a dilemma for another day. What I do know is that what lives there will be uncluttered, purposeful and a bit larger scaled than the smaller items I used to own.
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