Whether anchoring a family room, adding interest to a basement or providing functional storage in an office, integrating bookshelves into a home can make a big difference. Not only do they add to the overall appeal of a room, but bookshelves provide the space to add personal touches, display meaningful souvenirs and add layers of interest. While styling bookshelves is a bit of an art and a bit of a science, we’ll break down our top 5 tips for bringing those shelves to life and making sure your family is reflected in the details.
1. Start by stepping back. Before diving into the details of the display, take a step back and consider how the shelves will work together. Get a sense for how full the shelves should feel and where the focal points will be.
A collection of vases in various shades of blue and turquoise keep
a consistent theme without being too repetitive. Meanwhile, a large
scale piece of art gives the eye a place to rest from smaller
pieces and packs a punch of bold color.
2. Layer the display. We like to vary the shelves by layering groups of books, objects and photos or art. Leaning a piece of art or a photo in the back, then stacking books in front of it and adding a vase, plant or object adds interest and makes it unique.
When bookshelf flank a sofa or a fireplace, the styling challenge is across both bookcases. Adding a grass cloth background to these built-ins warms up the white paint and adds a layer of texture that allows for a less versus more approach.
3. Make it Personal. Bookshelves are a great place to feature the little things you've picked up on travels, your kid’s pottery or a vintage photo of your family. By grouping your collections together with the books you've read and collected over the years, you are creating a very personal display that is also visually pleasing and interesting.
4. Vary the heights of your items. A variety of sizes in a collection is naturally pleasing. Starting with a tall vase on the left, then a mid-size group of books anchored by a small stack of books with an object on top helps organize a shelf.
Greenery (whether real or faux) always brings life and texture to any styling project. Unexpected items, like the chunky wood beads, keep a vignette from feeling formulaic and add movement.
5. Add some random elements. Perfectly styled shelves are beautiful, but there's something appealing about a shelf or two with randomly sized books, titles and colors. Anyone can order art and design books for display, but it takes years of reading, collecting and editing to get your favorite titles on the shelf. In a public space, it can lead to great conversation about your collection and in your private library, it can be fun to find a long, lost favorite title among the shelves.
When styling large shelves, it helps to use items larger in scale as well. Groupings of large books or boxes make great neutral fillers.