RENTAL HOUSE: OUR FRESH & BRIGHT DIY BOOKSHELVES!

It’s done! It’s a super simple design, but this DIY bookshelf in our rental house is finished and functional! Just inside the main floor back door and around the corner from the new ‘school at home room’ (reveal coming soon!), we now have a functional, fresh and bright place to store a good chunk of our children’s books!

rainbow bookshelf
children’s books on a family-friendly DIY bookshelf

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If you’ve been following the blog for awhile, you’ll know that I LOVE kids books. However, I truly don’t love how much space they take to store! They seem to make their way into every room in our house. I was determined to find an area that could store more books and act as the key area we keep the books (the kids still have a few faves in their own rooms).

Let’s go back to where we started. Below left is what this exact spot looked like when we moved in! Because it sits next to an exterior door (which you can see on the right of the photo), we quickly hung simple hooks and put a shoe rack underneath. As you can imagine, this area became a hoarding spot for all things dirty and messy very, very quickly. Just a few weeks ago, we created this super simple bookshelf. You can see in the picture on the right how it looked before we added two more coats of white paint.

rental house bookshelf nook before
in progress bookshelves

I wanted to create a fresh place to store a decent number of books for the kids and provide them with an extra spot to plop down with a good book. It helps that this area is right next to the room that we are currently using as the school at home room so that someone can go and sit and read when they are not feeling like doing ‘work’.

The remainder is all styling! I wanted the top shelf to feel pretty and also store a few fun things, like the terrarium and my new watering can, which I love. I also popped this typography print up there to remind me throughout the day that whatever happens through this pandemic, the kids are alright. We hope! Ha. The wall sconce adds impact and functionality so that even on dark winter days, it’s still a well-lit area to read a book.

beanbag in front of modern bookshelves with children’s books

This extra large basket is a necessity for storing shoes that are not in season. I love that it has a lid to keep the look streamlined while adding extra texture to these plain white bookshelves.

kids bookshelf with the kids are alright print
styled bookshelf
coloured kids books in bookshelf
top shelf styled with the kids are alright print
white books with marble bookends

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8 SUMMER KIDS BOOKS THAT INSPIRE A LOVE OF NATURE

child reading book

It's been too long since I've shared a post about kids books, but my feeling about the importance for early childhood literacy has certainly not dwindled. Summer is THE perfect time to get reading with kids and reading outdoors is one of our much-loved lazy summer day activities! So grab a blanket, a kid or two and head outside with some new books that are sure to become summer favourites.

kids bookshelf

Today's book selections are perfect for reading outside with the kids; they will even inspire a love of nature and teach you a thing or two as well!

8 summer books for kids that inspire a love of nature

01. // The Honeybee; 02. // Curious Kids Nature Guide; 03. // Seed School; 04. // Plants Feed Me; 05. // Up in the Garden Down in the Dirt; 06. // How Do Flowers Grow; 07. // Tap the Magic Tree; 08. // The Butterfly Dance.

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15 CALMING YOGA BOOKS FOR KIDS

kids yoga books

Do your kids ever get overwhelmed? Mine sure do! Since us adults still struggle to pull out the right tools each time we feel frustrated, angry, annoyed, etc, imagine how kids feel! This list of amazing kids books centred around yoga is a great beginning to help your little ones understand and start talking about ways to help them feel calm and thoughtful through yoga!

yoga books for kids

Our local kids yoga studio, Yoga Buttons, right here in Vancouver has been such a positive influence on our children and they often remind each other (and me!) to take a deep breath and try to be calm. It's been so helpful for us and I hope you can find a book here to share with your little one too. Hand picked by the studio owner (thanks Carolyn!), these recommendations come straight from our favourite kids yoga teacher who deals with dozens of kids every day!

15 yoga books for kids

01. // You are a Lion; 02. // Yoga Bunny; 03. // Rachel's Day in the Garden; 04. // Peaceful Piggy Yoga; 05. // ABC Yoga; 06. // I am Peace; 07. // Little Monkey Calms Down; 08. // Move your Mood; 09. // Yawning Yoga; 10. // In the Garden; 11. // Good Night Yoga; 12. // Peaceful Piggy Meditation; 13. // Good Morning Yoga; 14. // By the Sea; 15. // Breathe Like a Bear.

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ART BOOKS FOR KIDS

Children's art room books and shelving

Photo by Amanda Haddow Photography

In anticipation of sharing the first reveal of 2018, our home creative art space next week, I'm sharing a sneak peek of all of our favourite books that sit on the shelves there!

You know I LOVE children's books and for this space, I wanted to include books that were both informative to the art process and also ones that we could pull out in the throws of frustration that happen throughout craft making and the creative process. 

These books are ones we read again and again and I can't wait to keep adding new ones as the kids grow and get more involved in their own artistic endeavours.

For those who are wondering, yes, these books will get dirty, likely get paint on them but more importantly are used and loved. Remember to PIN the image below to save it for future reference!

12 art books for kids and children of all ages

1.// Tinkerlab; 2.// What Do You Do With An Idea; 3.// The Day the Crayons Quit; 4.// The Wonder; 5.// Beautiful Oops; 6.// Art Play; 7.// Mix It Up; 8.// Anything Is Possible; 9.// The Book of Mistakes; 10.// What To Do With a Box; 11.// Art; 12.// Art Workshop

Happy Friday friends...have a great weekend!!!

Melissa Signature.png
 

GIVEAWAY {WITH LOST MY NAME BOOKS}

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED...

lost my name book

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!

You know I love a good kids' book and these ones are INCREDIBLE. Lostmy.name is a company that creates magical books for children that incorporate a child's name and turns them into the centre of the story! You may have heard of the adventurous tale of The Boy Who Lost His Name, or The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home and The Kingdom of You and if not, head over to their site and check them out! 

incredible journey home book
kingdom of you book

When our kids saw their name in the books, they really were blown away. "How did you do that Mommy?", "How did the author know my name?" were a couple of questions that quickly followed. As a Mom, other than fascinating my kids, I love the story lines and the lovely quality of the pages.

Well, today we are GIVING away not one, but THREE of these beautiful stories to three lucky winners! Head over to my Instagram page to see all of the contest details and tag your friends!!!

lost my name books
lost my name book

Giveaway closes Friday June 30th. Winner will be announced on the blog and also on Instagram. Good luck friends!!!