The Overlooked Styling Element That Will Transform Your Space

At Gray Oak Studio we have a few tricks up our sleeves when it comes to styling. We head to every Install Day prepared with loads of two things: plants, as you already know we are self professed plant ladies over here, and books. Yup, books. The unsung heroes of styling. We use them in each and every project to add texture, height, scale, and interest. 

When it comes to styling with books, we love to stack them, group them by color, or just let a really beautiful and meaningful book take center stage.

When considering which books will work best for each project, there are three simple factors that we keep front of mind: size, color, and content. We use big ole, showcase books on a coffee table or console table, styled along with plants and objects. We love to stack them on a chair or ottoman. And, of course, we use them on a bookshelf. Loads of books in stacks and rows.

So now that you are convinced that you need more books in your life, where should you start your bibliophile journey? There are actually a lot of places to stock up on books. We always suggest you shop your home first, we guarantee you have some hidden gems lying around in a box in the basement or tucked away in cupboard somewhere. Let’s give those old books new life by taking off their dust jackets, which can at times be a bit too busy and colorful, and enjoy them the way they were intended - dust jacket free and in their purest state.

A collection of some beautiful blue books having a real moment here surrounded by plants and brass accents.

Stafford Project

No luck in your attic or basement, you can always head to your local bookstore to find the perfect hardcover that speaks to you. Or your town’s annual library book sale and thrift store. Etsy is also a great place to find vintage books if that is more your niche.

We take the task of sourcing books for our client spaces very seriously, and have spent many hours scouring the internet and book aisles to find the elusive perfect book. We always try to include something personal for each project, whether it is a nod to a client’s favorite vacation spot, hobby, pet, or hometown roots, it’s nice to have a book that isn’t just pretty to look at, but that is meaningful as well.

We pulled together a roundup of some of our favorite coffee table books to get you started. Drop us a line and let us know what is gracing your coffee table these days!

Books for the World Traveler

Destinations of a Lifetime

1,000 Places to See Before Your Die

Wanderlust

Books for the Minimalist

Simplicity

John Derian Picture Book

Minimalista

Books related to New England

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The Great American House

The Sea

New England Modern

Books for the Animal Lover

Dogs

Good Dog

The Wild Horses of Sable Island

Until next time! And remember to subscribe to our blog so you don’t miss next time!

- Sonia

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Home Decor Giveaway 2020 - Shop The Decor

This post is for everyone who entered last week’s decor giveaway and didn’t win. We truly wish we could give you all something from our stash, but that wouldn’t be a great business model…SO, we’re doing the next best thing. We’re sharing lots of similar decor options at ranging prices for you to treat yourself. And we’re even including styling inspiration to give you ideas on how to use them.

White Chunky Knit Pillow

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A chunky, soft knit has a casual feel. It’s great in a family room paired with a more tailored sofa or chair. In our Prospect Project Family Room, we added a variety of blue and white textural pillows on a tailored gray sofa. They feel ready made for a family movie night.

Prospect Project by Gray Oak Studio

Two-Tone Basket

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We consider baskets (two-toned or otherwise) essential to every family room. They add function and beauty by way of texture. In our Stafford Family Room Project, we used a basket next to the sofa to hold an extra throw pillow and blanket. Baskets are also great for next to a media console or bookshelf, they fill that extra bit of horizontal space. You can also fill them with magazines or toys. Whenever it’s used for the latter, we love draping a pretty blanket on top when guests come to hide the mess.

Stafford Family Room by Gray Oak Studio

Set of Stacking Boxes

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In the living room of our Prospect Project, we stacked some long brass boxes (the exact set linked above) on a bookshelf. We love how stacked boxes create height. They also create function - they are great spot to hide matches or cards or old movie theatre stubs. You can separate a set of boxes and use them on different shelves of a bookshelf or in different spots within a room to create visual cohesion.

Prospect Project by Gray Oak Studio

Round White Vase

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White vases look amazing against a colored background. In the sitting room of our Stafford Project, we scattered white vases throughout the built-in bookshelves that flanked the fireplace. The white was a beautiful, soft contrast to the blue/gray walls. You don’t even have to fill them with anything!

Stafford sitting room by gray oak studio

Oval Tray

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We used an oval tray on the round coffee table in the sitting room of our Hickory Project. Sometimes round on round doesn’t work because it’s too much of a good thing…but oval does. And oval is also really beautiful on a console table, the narrow nature of console tables don’t usually allow for a round tray, but an oval tray fits and is a nice contrast to cleaner corners. Plus, oval shaped anything is very on trend.

Hickory Project by gray oak studio

Lidded Wood Container

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We used all sorts of wood decor when decorating the built-in media console in the living room of our Enos Project. But, take particular note of the tiny round wood box on top of the books on the middle shelf. It’s the smallest piece, but the whole vignette would be imbalanced without it. The darker tone, the organic grain of the wood - it adds so much to the white and gray and blue backgrounds that we all love. And, it would be a fun spot to save lucky pennies.

Have a wonderful holiday! We're taking a nice break over the next couple weeks to unplug, relax with our families and recharge. We have so much happening in 2021, can’t wait to share it with you!!!

- Leah

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Free Design Services Giveaway 2020

It’s been a minute since we’ve shown up on the blog. But we’re back. And we have some epic news.

We’re going to design one lucky person’s room of choice for free. The winner will send us photos of their room, some inspiration images and design goals. We’ll send back a layout plan, a design board and shoppable links, the whole kit and kaboodle.

this design board from a prior post - shop the furnishings here.

We had hoped to make our Gray Oak Gives Back project an annual occurrence - doing a full service project on the design house, so to speak. But, Covid. Which has been the answer to so many things this year, right? UGH. Well, we’re pivoting. We might not be able to do one mega giveaway, but we plan to do lots of mini giveaways throughout December. And we’re starting here.

How do you enter? Great question. Instagram is the answer. You need to follow us on Instagram, like and comment on our posts any day this week. Or every day this week! Each like and comment will count as 1 entry.

What’s more is that we’ll share the design board and shoppable links for ALL to see right here. It will be a lot like our month of free advice in April. The transformation will be tailor-made for the lucky winner - a layout to maximize the function and flow of their room and furnishings to meet their style. And we’re going to share the wealth here on the blog because there is always a universal tip or chameleon decor item that everyone can benefit from knowing about.

This is an excellent segway into an awesome before and after photo that we want to share. One of our blog posts during our free advice in April was created for a lovely follower who sent us the photos below. Here is the full blog post.

Just last week, we received an incredible email with photos of the completed transformation. Here is what this living room looks like now.

We were so excited to see the layout changes we advised, the fireplace transformation look as beautiful as we knew it would and the window treatments updated per our suggestion. She even added the two poufs in front of the window seat like we recommended! Doesn’t it look awesome?

So, head to Instagram and enter to win. Or tell a friend so she can enter to win. Or enter to win and then give the prize to your mom for Christmas! And remember that you can enter everyday this week. AND, remember that this is just the beginning…we have giveaways coming every week for the rest of the month.

We love the holidays.

- Leah + Sonia