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Styling bookshelves (built ins, floating shelves, furniture with shelving, etc) can be stressful. It can be especially overwhelming if you have a lot of shelves or they are really long! It’s easy to make them feel cluttered or unbalanced if you put too many items (or not enough!). 

I want to share some tips today for how to perfectly style your shelves and will include links to some affordable shelf and tabletop decor! 

Tips for Styling Shelves

1. Don’t clutter your shelves. Stick to 1-3 items per shelf unless you have really wide built-ins.

2. Choose a color palette to work in. Unless you’re going for a rainbow bookshelf, stick to 2-3 colors to use between shelves. Too many different colors can look chaotic and messy. I prefer to stick with neutrals and add in green, navy, or orange if it’s fall! When you have a neutral color palette it’s also easier to swap out items without having to re-style the whole shelf. 

3. Alternate shelves to have a different number of objects on each shelf. Not every shelf needs 3 items or 1 item. Above you can see how some shelves just have 1 piece and then others have clusters of pieces. This helps keep things balanced and interesting! 

4. Incorporate different textures and patterns. While some people think all neutrals is boring (and thats okay!), I like to keep things from looking too blah by using LOTS of textures, patterns and materials. You can have a wooden vase, a ribbed ceramic bowl, and marble chain links and it works together. I love those plaid boxes stacked on top of each other too! They’re like pops of fun and add a little life to your shelves. Please don’t use all wood or all wicker! 

5. Decorate according to the seasons. As the months go by and the weather changes, switch up your shelves! In the spring and summer add in faux or real florals into your vases or use floral framed art. In the fall, add those pumpkins you just bought from Target. And for Christmas, pop in a couple Christmas trees. Your shelves are a great spot to display your decor and the things you’ve collected over the years! 

6. Its okay to leave some dead space. You do not need to fill every nook and cranny of your bookcase! Let that puppy breathe.

7. Choose different size pieces. Each shelf should have a little bit of its own personality. Vary the heights of the decor you choose to show off so that not every shelf carries the same height. Same goes for width!

8. If you have really small objects, you can still use them! Place them in a bowl or on top of a stack of books. Use a tray to contain smaller objects as well – just be careful not to put too much!

9. Choose a variety of decor. You do not want you shelves to be repetivite of the same objects. Not every shelf needs a candle or a picture frame. Branch out and see what you can find! I’ve included a list of some of my go-to items for decorating not only shelves, but tabletops and counters too.

10. Layer decor in front of each other. I especially love to do this with framed art. This adds depth and again, keeps your shelves from falling flat! 

Different Items to Use

– a stack of books

–  a large bowl

– vases

– framed art

– a family photo

– fun decorative objects like a jack or an animal

– baskets 

– chain links

– a set of canisters

– flowers

– a small mirror

– pedestals/risers

– candles/candlesticks

– boxes

– jugs

– decorative boxes

– a souvenir from a recent trip

– trays

– a small lamp