BOOKSHELVES 101: STYLING THE IKEA VITTSJÖ
In the midst of a pandemic, my partner and I recently moved to a new apartment in Brooklyn. And with new beginnings comes new furniture! My first place with a partner, we essentially started from scratch, purchasing everything new prior to moving in. Although vintage and antique stores are some of my favorites, it seemed safer to purchase the bulk of things online and have them delivered (due to COVID).
We both work as designers, so maintaining a style within our one-bedroom near Prospect Park was important to us. I tend to stray towards colorful and patterned items, while his taste is more reserved, with a strong attention to symmetry and balance. As we needed to purchase everything, sticking to a budget was important, but we knew we didn’t want to compromise. Cue IKEA’s Vittsjo series.
Versatile, inexpensive and relatively simple to put together, we ordered 3 of these bookshelves: one for the living room, kitchen and our bedroom. In our kitchen (pictured below) this was necessary: we don’t have much cabinet space, and no drawers to speak of. The bookshelf is where we house our plates and bowls, cups and glasses, plus serving bowls and more.
Kitchen shelves filled with utensils and other items.
Styled with our favorite books, items and records (plus paint by Clare).
Our living room has books, candles and memorabilia we wanted to display, including items I’ve collected from travels around the world. Another important highlight was finding space for my partner’s record collection. The bookshelf was perfect for all of this!
Natural bedroom light!
In the bedroom, we kept things simple. Our bedroom receives the most light, so we placed a languorous Pothos plant that cascades down the shelves. The rest of the shelf unit is filled with smaller items, like a Mondrian container from the MoMA design store, plus my partner’s cameras. It was important to us to keep this shelf clutter free and open, balancing items with white space.
As you can see, these bookshelves are extremely versatile. Available in a multitude of sizes, and two color ways (white and black) they’re the perfect option for any space.