Final styling and accessorising – one of the most important stages of any Interior Design project

Bookshelf styling

How do you arrange everything on a shelving unit so it looks stylish and not overly cluttered?

The trick to good bookshelf styling is to focus on a couple key areas.

Learn to turn an empty lifeless set of shelves into a carefully curated arrangement

Bookshelves can have a duel purpose as storage for books and display space for accessories. Learn how to style bookshelves so they are both functional and pleasing to the eye. There is no reason why a functional bookshelf can’t be stylish too. Here are some tips.

The best bookshelf decor often comes from personal items you probably already have. Look around your house to find artwork, picture frames, vases, and other accessories in a cohesive colour scheme or style. Place the largest items on the bookshelf first, staggering objects between shelves. Fill in with the rest of your objects, adding in stacks of books or magazines and potted plants for added colour and texture.

For picture-perfect bookcase decor, resist the urge to pack in a ton of accessories on every shelf. Keep a clean look by choosing colours or tone-on-tone schemes for vases and figurines that sit well in the surrounding room, and make sure to mix up shapes. Every so often, step back to assess the overall balance of your arrangement. Place items off centre, or try larger or smaller ones until you like what you see.

Objects that have special meaning to you or evoke certain memories can make great bookshelf decor, as long as you choose what to display carefully and don’t include absolutely anything and everything. Gather souvenirs from travel, artwork, or treasured collectibles to decorate your shelves with care and consideration. For a more dynamic display, arrange stacks of horizontal books to act as a pedestal for small objects. To add interest, alternate stacking books horizontally and vertically. One of the best ideas for decorating bookcases is to use accessories as bookends. Boldly coloured accents and picture frames make great bookends and stand out on neutral shelves.

Deep bookshelves give you the luxury to play with layers. Lean artwork along the back of the shelves, and prop them up with books or heavier objects. You can also place a few small pieces of art near the front of the shelves to add depth.

A more modern looking shelf calls for a sparser look, so group together a small set of books that are all of a fairly uniform size.  Accessorise with streamlined vases and metallic decor, leaving lots of open space on shelves to let the accessories shine through. You can add interest by giving your shelving unit a pop of colour with a backdrop of paint or wallpaper.

Don’t underestimate the power of bookends when decorating a bookcase. Use heavy, sturdy pieces as a bookend to keep shelves neat and organised. Bookends especially come in handy for paperbacks, which are less likely to stay upright.

It can be difficult to decorate bookshelves with an eclectic style. When you have pieces that cross a variety of styles, they can still all work together on a bookshelf, as long as colours coordinate.

If you’re having a shelving unit built in, be sure to measure the largest pieces you want to display to ensure the shelves are properly spaced in order to give each object some breathing space. Built-in units are great to showcase sculptures, treasured antiques, and framed photos.

Bookshelf Styling Tips – For the inner interior designer in you

1. Mix up the book placement – try a mix of vertical and horizontal arrangements. Do this both within the same shelf and then also try mixing up the way entire shelves are arranged so that one shelf is all horizontal and another is all vertical.

2. Try arranging your books by colour – This is often a bit controversial, but unless you have a collection of 2,500+ books, it shouldn’t make it any more difficult to find the books you’re looking for.  Organise books by the colour of their spines to create colour blocked bookshelf decor. Vary heights and create interest by stacking books horizontally as well as lining them up vertically. If you have volumes that don’t fit with the others, turn their spines to face the wall so only the pages are visible.

3. Decorative objects – Think sculptural.  A beautiful bowl, plate or even a stack of boxes.

4. Something natural – A lot of our favourite bookshelves incorporate organic materials…. a bowl filled with rocks, but you could also include a sea fan, a beautiful seashell or small plant.

5. Artwork – Definitely incorporate artwork into your shelf scheme. You can prop small pieces on the shelves and even hang larger pieces on the shelves themselves for an English library look