A well-styled bookcase can make a room feel elegant + pulled-together, but despite the best of intentions, when done wrong, styling bookshelves can result in overflowing, cluttered, and attention-competing busy-ness.

Styling Bookshelves in a way that mixes + matches decorative accessories in fun + unique ways is an integral part of creating a balanced look.

And one of the small, but oh so frustrating, things our clients often struggle with in their home is pulling it all together. 

In an effort to help put down the craziness + amp up the heart tingling goodness… we’re spilling a few of the juicy design techniques that we use to style bookshelves for our clients.

Assess The Bookshelves

Before we ever begin considering how to style anything, in this case bookshelves, we consider the functionality of the bookcases + how our clients want to feel when they’re in this area of their home. 

Are these bookshelves for displaying curated pieces of decor? Do these bookshelves need a bit more practicality for work or storing a curated library of books? Or is there some happy-medium between the two?

What role do the bookshelves play in the room? Are they a focal point or do we want the bookcases to simply be a backdrop?

When you’ve given the time to assess the functionality behind a space + how it’s best to utilize them, then styling bookshelves has a foundation to start with.

Less Clutter, Better Focal Points

First, remember that at Elegant Simplicity, we believe home is everything you need + nothing more™. Thus, your home is better by having only what you need. 

This holds true for styling bookcases. 

What you want is bookcases that are styled in a way that doesn’t make your eye compete for attention or question what to look at. The shelves don’t feel cluttered with tchotchke, they feel balanced + purposeful.

Curate With Intention

Your home should be curated with intentionality, specifically around the way you hope to feel + how you hope others will feel when they’re in it.

Having shelves piled with a bajillion shiny new distractions may sound good when you’re like “oh I just need this done already.” But if what those shelves are filled with isn't true to who you are + who you hope to become, well… chances are your bookshelves will quickly fade into the background of your life + become invisible. 

Womp, womp…

But you don’t want invisible — you want elegant, simplicity *wink* + of course a heart-tingling good vibe when you see them! And we know the importance of adding personality to a space that hugs family + friends when they walk in. That’s why we believe in curating with intentionality  — the styles you gravitate towards, the places you’ve traveled + the things you like.

After all… a bookshelf is more than a place for stuff; it's a reflection of your journey,  a mirror of your mind. Fill it with what nurtures your soul. 

Variety is the Queen of this Castle

Bookcases aren't always for books! Now, again… what’s important here is the functionality of each bookshelf but even in the most utilitarian bookcases there’s still room for incorporating things that are simply books.

Variety in the styling accessories is the best way to keep a scene looking interesting, which is why we love to mix the types of items on your shelves.

Consider these styling accessories for your bookcases

Home decor items could include baskets, mirrors, vases or bottles, boxes, candles, greenery, frames + of course... books! 

Go big boo…because the options for home decor ideas are literally e-n-d-l-e-s-s.

Diversify Your Bookshelves

Beyond functionality, when we’re considering — what’s needed to aesthetically balance a bookcase we not only look at the type of styling accessories but the diversity of the stylistic elements we’re selecting. 

Creating drool worthy bookshelves is about considering things like: several different colors, textures, heights and weights to the decorative objects.

We love mixing a little shiny with a little organic to create a balanced feeling.

How To Style Bookshelves

Here are a few tricks of the trade from over a decade of experience for placing items in your bookshelves. 

Largest Decor Items Go First

We always place the largest items first! 

Why?

Large items are going to stand out more + if we have a beautiful woven basket, we probably don't want to place it next to a large vase. Since they’re similar in size they’ll compete for attention on the bookshelves.

Instead, we want to create visual balance by spacing our largest items out. Sometimes that’s having items of similar scale on the same shelf + sometimes that’s balancing those large items across the entire bookcase. 

Tall Items In The Back

When we style bookcases, we always place our tallest items in the back! 

This creates a sort of frame + foundation for the pieces that will then go in front. Back-row items could be portraits, tall vases, pots of greenery, etc. 

Which brings us to our next point...

Create Decorative Groupings

Another trick of the trade is to create decorative groupings of items.

Putting together an odd number of items (usually 3 or 5) that look oh-so-fab together is about combing what we’ve discussed above:

• Less Clutter, Better Focal Points

• Curating With Intentionality

• Variety In Styling Accessories

• Diversifying Finishes

Each grouping will usually have a variety of heights, weights, sizes + types.

Consider Asymmetry

When we think of balance, we often think of equal parts. But… it's a fact--asymmetry is pleasing to the eye. 

This means that when we're curating decorative groupings of items, we usually favor a "stair-step" of heights instead of a perfectly symmetrical presentation. Meaning — we don’t want the same height or things of the same size together.

Asymmetry is a technique we use all around the home but especially for bookshelves! Can you say vignette? ;)

But as much as we talk about considerations, our last tip for styling bookshelves is as important as anything up to this point.

Step Back & Edit

All along the way, step back + edit what you’re styling. Design rules are meant to be broken — you simply need to know what they are + when to break them *wink*

We edit + rearrange pieces until we’ve created that warm, fuzzy collection of goodness that has you + your people sighing with bliss when you walk through the door each day. Ahhh…

It’s important to remember when it comes to designing your home, peace of mind is the ultimate luxury. There’s a lot to consider when styling bookshelves in your home + it’s often not the only consideration a room needs. 

Don’t be afraid to drop your comments about styling bookshelves below OR if you’re completely overwhelmed by all of this (which we totally get) + you’re in need of a bit of help, then let’s chat.

And if you absolutely loved this article about bookshelf styling then trust me boo, you’re going to really enjoy this FREE video course: 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.