It is many ways you can style a bookshelf in your home to contain more than books stacked up vertically. A bookshelf is a brilliant opportunity to bring some personality into your home and decorate your walls with more than just books and picture frames hanging on the wall. But it can sometimes be difficult to know where to start when you want to decorate a bookshelf, so here are my top tips on how you can approach the senario. If you are buying a bookshelf to style, would I recommend to go with a bookshelf that has flexible modular units, but all bookshelves can follow the steps regardless of how they look.
- More than books
The key to styling a bookshelf is to understand that it is not suppose to only contain books. Items you can add can be picture frames, vases, trays, candles , jewellery boxes, small and big books, candy, ribbons, pencils. You name it. It is only your creativity that will stop you when it comes to what you can add.
- Quality over quantity
What’s very important to remember when you are going to style a bookshelf, is that you do not to actually fill up all the space in the bookshelf. When styling a bookshelf, it is key that you bring depth into the look. This means that you want some areas to be closer to the eye, some further away and some areas you want to see no items and just the back of the bookshelf. This means that it is important that you prioritise what you want to bring in to the decoration of the bookshelf. In addition, too many pieces will make the space seem cluttered and your pieces will not be able to stand out.
- Layers
When you have found the pieces you want to add into your decoration of the bookshelf, it is time to understand how to layer them. Be mindful of heights and sizes of the items. If some pieces are bigger than others, add the larger items to the back and add smaller accents in the front. This will also support the dimension of how the bookshelf is looking.
- Three, five or seven
The next step is to understand how to put the right pieces together to bring harmony to the eye. The eye balances more on an uneven number of items than even. Therefore go for three, five or seven when items are grouped together.
- Colors
To try to make the decoration look put together, try to have a strategy when it comes to colours. You can have same type of colours on the same shelf, or you can restrict the amount of main colours you are bringing into the bookshelf. One example is to only use natural colours if you wan to have more of an minimalistic look to the bookshelf.
- Lighting
Another way to make the eye be drawn to the bookshelf, is to add lighting to it. You can for example add small fairy light to the shelf, or you can add a reading light into one of the shelves. Another great way is to add small picture frame lights that can be attached over the picture frames that you have added or an electric candle in front of it.
That’s my top tips on how to decorate a bookshelf. What are your tips for decorating a bookshelf? I would love to know!
