For me the trick is defiantly positioning lay some down and stand some up, add some personal decorative pieces to break up the books Play with height and groupings of things maybe put something tall with 2 smaller things add some pictures or even those little boards with sayings on. Mostly though I think it's important too add some beautiful things that mean something to you and incorporate them with your books.

I like having small collections of things that remind me of good times, like some family photos, a souvenir or something I picked up on a fun vacation, a gift from a good friend, etc. My rooms are similar to old time parlors with small collections of "curiosities" that get people talking, like my certificate for finishing my apprentice blacksmithing class that I had framed and hang on my wall, or the photo of me in my Civil War uniform with my team's cannon. A game of Skittles from Dad's home state of Kentucky, or a fossil from Mom's childhood home in Pennsylvania. https://www.berea.edu/student-crafts/skittles-game/

Hi Patricia, I come across this problem a lot, I match the colour samples in the studio and they work perfectly. When we take them to site the lighting in the room totally changes the look of the colour pallets we chose. Lesson one for us, "always" put the colour samples in the room before agreeing them with the client. Lighting is the single most important factor with pastel colours. If its a north facing room colours will always look dull. Due to the position of the window the units under the window will always be in shadow which neutralises the blue tones and brings out the grey. Two ways of approaching this. 1 Re paint with a stronger blue to offset the neutralising effects of the lighting. 2 Change the lighting. Put an extension into the room and get a few different lights, LED warm white, Soft white, brilliant while etc. Look at the effects in the day and in the evening. When you find the light source that brings out the blue tones use that on all the lights in the room... With regards to colour on the walls, at the risk of being boring I always go white. When you put white up against a pastel colour the pastel shades really pop out. When you put another colour in it alters / distracts from the pastel. Hope that helps, Martin: www.angel-martin.com

I have a large crumpet sofa and it is the most comfortable sofa I have set on. Unless you get tall legs, the sofas are very low to the ground which my mother hates but was not an issue for me until I got pregnant. I love the sofa.