Living Room Bookshelves

Hello friends! Today, I wanted to share with you how I transformed this awkward little nook in our living room into a place to display our photos, art and treasures. When we moved into our home, the nook is where the TV was supposed to go. However, it really limited how much seating we could fit in the living room, so I had an electrical outlet put above the fireplace mantel and that’s where we mounted our TV. Here is what the space looked like before:

I had the idea to put staggered floating shelves in the nook and to paint the back an accent color in Behr’s Starless Night. I cut, and drilled, and hammered, and painted, but when I installed the floating shelves they immediately sagged. The shelves (at 10” wide) were too wide and the dow rods I chose were too skinny and short to support a float. I cannot tell you the depths of my disappointment, but I’m a problem solver, so I thought of the next best solution. I found a guy on Amazon that makes custom iron brackets. These brackets go up the back instead of down. Therefore, they take up less visual space since you can hide them with your decor. I installed the brackets and shelves and voila! A beautiful space to store all of our collectibles, plants, books and photos.

They just almost look like they are floating.