Friday's Organizing Item

When people first visit our apartment they usually start asking about our bookshelves and how do the books stay that way (i.e., in a very very tall pile)???

When we moved from NY to DC we left behind the massive Ikea bookshelf we had that had become the "Collector". I had books two, sometimes 3, rows deep, I stuffed dishes I didn't use behind rows of books, we had rows of CDs (and probably some mix tapes) behind books, we bought those clear plastic bins to put in the bookshelf and I dumped all of our school books and materials in them. It was essentially a massive dump. It worked, but felt cluttered and unruly.

Then, when we moved to DC I wanted no part of such a massive bookshelf (unless they were built-ins and narrow and well-designed!). Most importantly, I wanted to take advantage of the height of our apartment. So I found the Sapien bookshelf at Design Within Reach. We bought one, then two, tossed out the books we didn't need or put the ones I didn't need but wanted to keep (I do have a bit of a problem of letting go of books from my 19 yrs of school) in our storage space downstairs and now they hold all of our books. In an orderly, non-cluttered fashion.

I also use them for towels in the master bathroom and they work perfectly for this use. The shelf does not take up any space in the bathroom and the towels act as a decorative layer. Would be nice in a larger bathroom as well as a small bathroom to add some texture and interest to the bathroom. They would work even in a traditional bath with some beautiful decorative towels or some cleanlined, classic white ones.

After we bought them at DWR other stores began making less expensive, equally as nice versions. Here are links and pictures of where to purchase.

Design Within Reach


West Elm


Overstock


CB2
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*Bonus(es):

- West Elm seems to be giving the store away. Free shipping on pretty much everything and sales in the store (G Street store is better than Tysons if you are in the DC area). Plus, look out for the most recent catalog in the mail. On the front cover there is a $25 off coupon, no minimum purchase required!

- DWR has $1 shipping on orders over $500. Note their "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" Promotion -- crazy!

- Overstock has a 10% coupon they are mailing out. I have one in my inbox from this morning -- if anyone needs one, email me!