Before watching this class, my sheIves looked like this. I knew there was something wrong with them, but I wasn't aware of what exactly was the issue. After watching this class, I learned that it didn't have a cohesive color scheme, the tall books and stacks of boxes were too tall , and there wasn't really any balance or repetition (also, the fact that this shelf was a mess wasn't helping either.)

I began with your tip of putting everything from you plan to put on your shelves together in a pile and looking at it. I noticed three things: 1: I have way too many empty boxes (see those top two shelves full of boxes? Only two of them has something in it, and one of those two just have more empty boxes!). 2: I have a couple of black elements that I would prefer not to have (like cheap cardboard frames that people gave me when they gifted me the photos in them) and 3: I had lots of crystal/glass things that I loved. So, I decided to move all my empty boxes to another room and replace my black frames with something glass. 

Here is the shelf now! I think my biggest issue was the fact that these shelves still had to be functional, but I wanted them to be beautiful too. I decided it would be to difficult to do this with an exact color palate, so I decided to have most of my storage containers be neutral, and let my art and art supplies be the color. I tried to keep some repetition and unity going on with repeated brown boxes, fake plants in glass vases, and artwork that wasn't in frames (or frames without a border). I made sure that nothing I put on the shelves was too tall. Things that, like some books, I laid on the side. My one exception was the wooden man that I loved too much to take off the shelf!

 

Overall, I think my shelves look a lot better. I was able to make them look a lot more open and beautiful, while still keeping them functional. I also was able to do this with stuff I already had, which was very nice. I completely agree with what you said, that the design of a room can affect how you feel when you're in that room. Since decorating this shelf, my head is clearer and I've been able to focus a lot more! Thank you for the time you put into this class, it really was helpful!