Last updated on December 22nd, 2021
There’s more to decorating a bookshelf than just stacking books inside it. You can get all creative and style your bookshelf so that it doesn’t just house your books but makes a style statement all by itself.
Here are a few tips and tricks to understand what makes a beautiful bookshelf!
Understand The Composition
When you decide to style your bookshelf, think of the items you’re going to put inside it, as groups. And think of this group as a single unit, that you’ve brought together based on their similar color, style, and theme. In the end, your bookshelf will be the end result of many such single units coming together.
Stack Sideways
For a simple yet elegant look, just stack your books up sideways, taking care to space the stacks in such a way that you leave room for collectibles and photographs. You can also place your curios atop the stacked books to complete the look.
Face Forward
If you have books that have a beautiful cover, instead of having them lying sandwiched between other books, place them facing forward. It will not just break the monotony but will also beautify the entire bookshelf.
Layer Them
Don’t keep your display unidimensional and make sure you create layers of items and books on your bookshelf. You can put the tall items in the back and keep the smallest ones in the front of the bookshelf. It is absolutely alright if some items are partially hidden, it will only add to the depth of things.
Match Items With Books
Make your books come alive by keeping objects near them that describe some aspect of the book. Keep your beloved souvenirs with travel books or a figurine of a fairy near a book on fairy tales!
Organize Well
You can bring a library-like order to all your books by classifying your books by category and lining them up vertically and creating a tag for each genre and sticking it over the front edge of the shelf.
Find The Perfect Balance
You can vary the sizes of the items that you decide to keep on your bookshelf. Just make sure they are all balanced in relation to each other and that no item is too large to seem overwhelming or too tiny to get lost among the other items.
Create A Nook
You can carve out a nice little niche for your decorative items like a vase or a sculpture, by stacking books vertically on both sides of the object and placing a few books underneath it horizontally, if required.
Use Paint
You can bring the different knick-knacks that you keep scattered on your bookshelf together by coating them all in the same color of paint. This will keep all the objects visually tied together, keeping things interesting.
Add Contrast
Add some contrast to the overall design of your bookshelf by adding a rounded object over rectangular ones, for instance. Or breaking the monotony of leather-bound books with an object designed in glass or metal.
Sort Them By Color
Try changing the way your bookshelf has always looked, by sorting them by color for a change. You can play with colors the way you want. You can create a rainbow or put black and red books together to create excitement or have different colors on different levels of the shelf.
Add Knick Knacks
Once you’ve got a hang of how to decorate your bookshelf, don’t be afraid to go all out. Keep adding trinkets to it, in similar materials ad colors. You can hang ornaments from the spine of a book or create a vignette in a niche, without worrying about blocking the books.
Display Artwork
As far as your bookshelf goes, the more the merrier. This means that if your think there’s no more room in your bookshelf to spare, you can still find other ways to decorate it. You can hang art from the front of the shelves or in the space around it.
Embellish Your Bookcase
You can brighten your bookshelf instantly by sticking wallpaper or a decorative gift wrap at the back and transforming your simple bookshelf into a work of art!
Happy decorating, folks!
