Inspiration from The [Other] Queen City

As a Cincinnati, Ohio semi-native, it is the only Queen City as far as I'm concerned, but because nearby Charlotte, NC was named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen consort of the United Kingdom, and because it's kinda neat, I will allow it to enter my repetoire as the other Queen City.  It's a place I like to go to get away from it all, boasting fabulous food and shopping, Charlotte is quickly becoming my Queen City substitute for when I am sick for home.
Last week, we made our monthly sojourn up highway 77 to discover what that fair city might have to offer this time around.  Here is some inspiration I gathered from the trip...

While at Restoration Hardware Home, these groups of white books caught my eye.  Upon further investigation, I discovered they were covered in standard canvas fabric.  Love this idea!

These lovely little book bundles are simply stacks of old paperbacks with the covers ripped off and string tied around them.

Beautiful teas and cheeses at Dean & Deluca. 

At Anthropologie, I was lovin' these Dr. Seuss-ish light fixtures.  Turns out, they are paper bags painted and tucked into one another. 

I love this decoupaged print lampshade.  Not a novel idea, but still a good one that I plan on duplicating.