Interior Design
Written by Sheree Douglas
How to Style Your Bookshelves Like an Interior Designer
Your bookcases add personality and beauty to your room and home, but to be beautiful and pleasing, they do take some thought and planning. The final look should feel balanced, interesting, elegant, and creative.
The very first step is to determine the purpose of your bookcase. What room will it live in? Is it in an office, a living room, or a dining room? Each area should have items on the bookcase that reflect the function of the room, along with decorative items.
Styling your bookshelves well takes skill, but with some knowledge, tips, and practice, you can design your own bookshelves beautifully.
So, here are 5 of my top tips for bookshelf styling…
1. Less is More
Be very careful not to clutter the space, and in fact, you may even need to declutter first. Choose what you feel would be the most interesting, functional, and beautiful items that you want to use.
Remember that you want the outcome to be beautiful and pleasing, so each piece should be pretty in itself. I only use hardback books because they are the nicest. Choose your favorite items that you love. And remember that less is more.
Think out of the box regarding what can go on your bookshelf. Some ideas of items that could work:
Vases
Baskets
Pretty plates or bowls
Framed Art
Family Photos
Books
Decorative Boxes
Trays
Mirrors
Candles
Greenery – plants and flowers
I usually ask my client to gather all of these things in one area, like the dining room table or island, and I select from that what can go on the shelves. I also have them completely take everything out of the bookshelves that we will be designing, so we can start with a clean slate.
2. Create Item Groupings in Odd Numbers
Odd-numbered groupings of 3-5 items look the most pleasing to the eye. Perhaps you will use 3-5 books together or 3 different frames that look good together or 3 pretty perfume bottles…you get the idea.
Make sure that these items harmonize with each other and look very nice together. Notice that I did not say match each other. It actually will look much better to harmonize, or look nice together, not match.
3. Mix it Up!
To add interest and contrast, use different sizes, visual weights, heights, textures, and even colors. Variety is key for a wonderful, finished look.
You can use metal finishes and mirrors to lighten things up. It is very important to notice what the mirror reflects, make sure that is nice too! It is okay to mix metals and woods, but only a couple of metals or a couple of wood finishes work best, don't get too carried away.
4. It’s All About Layering
Okay, now is the time to start placing your groupings on the shelves. Place the larger items first and toward the back. Working from back to front, place your medium size items and then the smallest in the front.
If your grouping is all the same size you can add a pretty box under the back one to make it taller. Next, you can turn a couple of books, or a single book, on its side to add a little height to the middle accessory, and lastly, the front one would just sit on the shelf. Voila, you have created varying heights.
Another thing that I want you to consider is visual balance. Let's say you did the group we just described on the left side of the top shelf. You may want to balance that using another grouping of different accessories on the third shelf on the right. This will create a visual balance. You may put a plant on the right side of the top shelf and a different floral on the left side of the third shelf. These should have similar visual weights.
Now, on the second shelf between the first and third shelves above, you could have five family pictures in frames of different sizes and perhaps designs. Remember, they will look prettiest and be more interesting if they don't match.
5. Stand Back & Edit
Have fun playing around with the shelves. Stand back to make sure the balance is feeling good, the color palette looks pretty, and the visual weights are nice. Even experts try items and if it doesn't feel just right, we try something else until it looks and feels great.
Keep changing things up until you are happy with your results. It takes practice, but you really can do it!
When I style shelves, I always try to use items that the client already has, if possible. Don't go buy a ton of things, unless you really want to. Most of the time you have already bought things you love and we just gather them all, and add a few nice books and plants to soften.
Once, we have done the best with what you have, then we can see what we may need to buy to complete the look. Try it and have fun with what you already have.
Or, if you are just too busy or don't want to do it yourself, we can be there for you to style your room to the nines. Book a discovery call below and let's talk.
Eager to get an expert's hands on your space? That's what we love! Contact us and we're all yours. ;)
Warmly,
Sheree
Sheree Douglas
I work with people, who love lovely items and surroundings, to create an interior design that is a beautiful reflection of themselves and their lifestyle. I help them put together a plan, weed through the millions of items available, budget, and curate it all into their fabulous home design. I love working with people! Interior Design really can be fun, exciting and a valuable asset to your home!