source: house beautiful
Every home I visit the first thing a client wants me to do is restyle their bookshelves. A well styled bookshelf filled with collectibles, books and family treasures adds warmth and interest to any room. Use your bookshelves to display pretty vignettes of your favorite items. Here are some examples of great bookshelf styling and some of the tips I follow whenever I am styling them myself.
COLOR THE BACK: It is always a plus when the back of the bookshelf has some color or texture. Color and/or texture makes everything "pop". If you are not ready to make the commitment to paint, cover a piece of foam board with your favorite fabric and place it in the back of the shelf. No commitment there! If you decide you don't like it, just take it down and recover the foam board with something else.
Source: Martha Stewart
Show off Your Collections: Pull out the items that you love and put them on display. Your shelves should be a reflection of you and your family. In this photo a collection of pottery that feels like is has been collected over time is not symmetrical but yet still completely balanced. The varying heights of the object give visual interest while the similar colors bring everything together. Whether you collect birdcages or buttons, sculpture or shells, transferware or teacups, any collection you love deserves pride of place in your home. Plus, there's power in numbers: "Anything looks better as a collection," says Mary Carol. "The different sizes, shapes and colors play off each other, and grouping a collection together gives it emphasis." Gather up your treasures around the house and mass them for a stunning display.
Source: HGTV
Group Like Items: Create unity in your shelf displays by grouping items by theme, color, shape, texture or material. Like items grouped together will give you the biggest bang. The picture below is a perfect example. Each shelf is linked together by either color, shape or texture.
Source: KimStephen Interiors
Go Big: A bookshelf filled with a plethora of smalls will look cluttered and distracting. Instead use Big Bold accessories to mix in with your smaller items. If you think something is too big, trust me it's not. Bold accessories stand out.
Image Source: Style at Home
Mix Up The Height of Your Items: A big no no is to line up a shelf with items that are all the same height. This makes the items seem boring and unattractive. Instead vary the height of the items in your shelf to keep the eye moving across it. You can increase the height of an item just by placing it on a book.
Image Source: Ikea.com
USE BOOKS: A said before, one way to increase the height of an item is to place it on a book. Also when you place it on a book it seems to give it a bit of importance and bring some attention to it. I also like to use books because they bring color and texture to the vignette.
Image Source: Lonny
CREATE LAYERS IN YOUR SHELVES: Consider depth when accessorizing your shelves. Depth is the placement of items from front to back. Use pictures trays and plates to stand up in you shelve to add depth to them. Layer small shorter items in front of the larger items you have stand up in the back. Consider the pieces in the back as a backdrop to the smaller item in the front.
Image Source: DimplesandTangles
VARY YOUR BOOK DISPLAYS: Not all your books have to be standing up or laying flat. Use them both ways. This is a great way to increase the color and texture in your display as well as fill up empty space. "Display some books up and down and others
laid on their side," says Nancy. "And group books by subject — mass all
the photo books together, for instance — or by size, which instantly
creates a sense of order." As for those tatty paperbacks, get rid of
them or hide them in good-looking boxes or baskets tucked into your
bookshelves. Design by Emily Henderson.
Image Source: PorchlightInteriors
