Here are some awesome photos of some wonderfully styled bookshelves as well as some tips for you on what you can do to get a similar look in your home! What you won't see: books turned around backwards so you can't see the title! Well, okay, a few great photos have found their way into this collection. But as an avid book lover, a bibliophile if you will - maybe even a bibliomaniac! - books are to be read. Yes, they are awesomely decorative too. Why not both? Also books grouped by color. Once again there are some great bookshelves below that are color coordinated but just because I couldn't resist them! They wouldn't be found in my home :-) And lastly, I wouldn't have a sparsely decorated bookshelf - because I have a lot of books. But that doesn't mean some aren't beautifully styled.
Here are some tips for your bookshelf styling. And all of these tips can be found in one or more of the photos below.
- The best way to get a beautifully styled bookshelf is to make a mix of vertical and horizontal arrangements and stacks. Some shelves can have a good mix, others can be all of one or the other. Your goal is variety and a good mix.
- Definitely incorporate some art into your collection. Or a few special photos. You can prop larger pieces behind books. Smaller pieces of art in front. And my favorite, the very British look, is to hang larger pieces on the front of the shelves themselves.
- If you have an abundance of books, you may try grouping by subject and labeling your shelves.
- You can incorporate natural elements like seashells, driftwood, found feathers, etc. for a lovely organic look. Using natural elements adds texture too.
- Sentimental or sculptural objects like meaningful figurines, a beautiful bowl, an old toy, trinkets, etc. And you can add or subtract as the whim hits you!
- Use stacks of vintage books, alone, with great bookends or with a big old ribbon around them. They have a patina that can't be beat. (See the third photo below.)
- You can take all the dust jackets off if you're going for a vintage, bohemian or eclectic look. But save them all!
- Consider visual balance. Try to look at the finished bookshelf and ask yourself, are all the heavy objects on one side? Does the bookshelf appear emptier on one side? Does it look "balanced"?
- Prop some of your favorite books or books with an amazing cover up on a shelf.
- Do you collect something that is small enough to distribute throughout the shelves? Put some small ones together between stacks of books. Put one on top. You get the idea.
- Choose a "look" and stay with it on all the shelves: formal, vintage, classic, cluttered, and so on.
- Use anything other than books in one color family. A great look.
- Wallpaper, old (unusable) book pages, printed art: all can be used to line the back of your shelves.
- If you have an idea, just try it! Be fearless! It's not written in stone and you can change it up if you don't care for it.
- Enjoy!
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| All photos are found on Pinterest unless otherwise noted. |
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| Nate Berkus perfection. Notice the variety of vertical and horizontal arrangements? |
