Source: McGee & Co.
One of the best ways to make your bookshelves, or any flat surfaces, interesting is to style them with a combination of objects. While books are great, to add interest, it is important to use a variety of objects. Combining different textures, shapes and colors can really bring life to an area and give the eye a place to linger and take it all in.
Below are a few tips and tricks and inspirational pictures. If you feel you have seen it all, skip to the end for some fun items to freshen up your bookshelves.
What to Use
My favorite items for bookshelf styling are:
- Art – photographs, paintings, prints
- Vessels – check out links to some amazing deals at my favorite JOANN’s below
- Plants
- Decorative Objects
- Books – yes, some books are great especially for stacking and proving a platform for some of the items listed above
Source: Bobby Berk
Source: Bobby Berk
Source: Room for Tuesday
How to Style
- Clear the shelves so that you can start with a clean slate.
- Gather your objects listed above into a central place.
- Place and layer your items on the shelf with the largest items on the bottom.
- Vary the items on a shelf so maybe you have a few books, a picture, and an object or vessel.
- Place items with different sizes or shapes next to each other to keep it interesting.
- Repeat items such as pictures or vessels that are a different size, shape, or texture to make it look intentional versus a yard sale of clutter.
- Have fun and play with it until it “feels” right.
Source: Haven
Source: Athena Calderone from Eyeswoon
Source: McGee & Co.
What Not to Use
Do not feel like you must use everything. Start with a few pieces, add a few more and when it starts looking crowded, it is time to stop. You want to leave some space, but not too much, so the objects have room to breathe. This is where you have to keep moving things around until it feels right. This also means that you may have items in reserve when you want to mix things up again in a few weeks or months.
If you are feeling inspired to mix things up on your shelves, here are a few of my budget friendly favorites!