If you have bookshelves in your home or are thinking about adding them to your space, you have probably asked yourself this question:

How do I style bookshelves?

 Well, I'm sure you are probably thinking, where do I even start? How do I make my bookshelves look good?, and are there any rules when styling bookshelves?

Today we have all the answers for all your styling bookshelves questions, so stick with us and let us help you create the perfectly styled shelves. 

Before we jump into the "rules", and all our tips for styling your bookshelves, here is a list of the items you should gather for styling your bookshelves.

• books (we love vintage) 
• vessels (vases)
• Framed photos 
• Artwork (we love vintage)
• Flameless candles 
• baskets or boxes 
• bowls 
• decorative objects 
• Trinkets from your travels
• Beads, trays, 
• plants for greenery, or florals, dried flowers 
• statues 
• unique items.

How to style bookshelves? step by step

Before we jump into the quote unquote "rules" we would like to remind everyone that in design "rules" are just a guideline, you can always break the rules if it feels right.

Over here, we believe the rules are just a guide to help when styling, but we would like to remind you to always focus on how the space you're styling "feels" rather than following all the "rules. " 

If it feels off, break that "rule" and do what feels right. You may have to step back, look, maybe even leave it a day and see how you feel about it with a fresh look.

If you have things that seem weird or don't normally go on bookshelves but you love the way it looks and you feel happy about it, we say do it!

The things to keep in mind when styling your bookshelves.

1. Size of bookshelves

First things first, you need to look at the size of your bookshelves and each shelf space. 

This will help you determine how large your pieces should be and how many items you will need. 

Scale is very important in design. You don't want pieces that are too large, but you also don't want all pieces that are small either. 

Larger pieces you can use

• vases or vessels These are great to ground the space and you can start decorating with larger pieces, then place smaller pieces and books with them.
• Statues They are great for adding height, texture and weight to your bookshelves.
• Larger art pieces They add colour and visual interest to your bookshelves. Art adds a softness to heavier objects, creating a nice balance so everything doesn't feel too heavy.
• Baskets or boxes they fill in the space of your bookshelves. They provide lots of texture and they are practical because you can use them as extra storage.

               Larger baskets and boxes should go on the bottom shelves. rectangle baskets can look heavy when place on high shelves.

• Bowls whether it's a heavy marble dish, ceramic, or plaster. They all provide a great texture and interest, get them in a larger size and they fill in bookshelf space nicely.

                bowls or dishes, if on a larger scale, are great as a stand-alone piece.

2. minimalist or maximalist 

You are going to need to determine which one you are before gathering things for your bookshelves.

Do you like minimal decor on your bookshelves? like a standalone vase or statue, maybe just a piece of art on a shelf?

Or are you a maximalist where you love things, and things that mean something to you so you may want multiple pieces on your bookshelf? 

Maybe you fall somewhere in-between and like things but don't need it to be a lot, but also need more than one or two pieces per shelf.

Once you figure this out, you will have a good idea of how many decor pieces you will need to collect.

Tip always collect more items than you need. It's helpful when styling to have lots of options.

3. Consider your budget

Well, for styling bookshelves, the decor pieces you choose can cost as much as the shelves or even more. 

If you are minimalist and like things clean, classic and simple, then your budget could be on the smaller side.

If you are a maximalist and love things, then you will need a healthy budget.

Here are some tips if your budget is a little on the smaller side.

• check marketplace for decor, art, or vases 
• Search the thrift store for vessels, vases, basket, small trinkets or books. Books are a great, cost effective way to fill space.
• Gather pieces you may have found on your last vacation, even if they aren't typically what you put on a bookshelf if you love it and remind you of your travels, we say add it.
• Dollar store you can find baskets, clear vases you can paint, faux concrete planters, wooden beads, all great filler pieces for your shelves.

Hot tip check out the dollar store, Walmart or Canadian tire garden section, they have clay animals, like bunnies or faux rocks, mushrooms, you can paint them to match your aesthetic and use as bookends or just a decor piece.

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4. Choose your aesthetic

This is a given. You need to have a colour palette in mind and what you want the overall vibe to be.

Over here, we focus less on a specific style and more on how you want it to feel. 

First thing, what colour your bookshelves and room are going to determine your colour palette. 

Here in my apartment my bookshelves are a greige colour, so I knew I wanted my decor to have darker pieces against the light bookshelves, like greys, browns, and Tan. 

we wanted a warm, cozy vibe, so I really wanted to add shades that completed the dark browns, like cream, terracotta, and deep Burgundy. 

We also have rust tone, tan and grey in the wallpaper, so I wanted to pull some of those colours as well. 

We wanted a more elected style for the bookshelves; I wanted thrift'd pieces and new pieces and we wanted to pick things with all different materials and textures to make it feel soft and organic.

5. Mix finishes and textures

Take the list from above of the decor items that you're going to use on your bookshelves and make sure they have different finishes, materials and textures.

Here are some examples of materials: 

• marble (decorative objects, bookends, or trays)
• glossy finish objects and matte finish
• textured (twisted candles, linen books, woven baskets)
• papier mâché (raw organic, rough surface, uneven) bowls, trays
• wood (smooth and textured )
• concrete look (uneven texture, or smooth)
• plaster (matte finish, uneven texture) easy DIY a vase or tray with plaster  
• Leather (wrapped in vases, trays, spheres, decorative boxes)
• Metal (hammered metal with dents add texture, smooth, mix and matches your metal frames or objects. Gold, bronze, black.
• clay (trays, and small objects, even vases) add a lot of texture 

Keep this for reference when you are shopping for your list of decor pieces. It's a great cheat sheet.

Good thing to remember for every hard material object like marble, concrete, glass, metal. You should add some pieces that soften the hard, heavy feeling of those objects like textured candles, dried florals, leather, wood, linen or woven items.

6. Gather everything

After you have shopped the items you need for your bookshelves, lay them out on the floor beside your shelves. 

This will help you see everything you have and the colour palette better.

7. Large objects

Now that you have all your bookshelf items, you are ready to decorate your shelves.

First, start with larger objects like vases, vessels, sculptures and baskets. 

These larger pieces can standalone on a shelf or can pair with other smaller decor pieces. 

Larger objects help to ground your bookshelves and make it so easy to build around them with smaller pieces.

Decorate in one decor piece or group in twos or threes.

Space out your larger pieces. You don't need to have a large item on each shelf, but try not to put two very large pieces side by side on a shelf.

Place some sitting more forward and some pushed back. This creates depth to your bookshelves, creating visual interest to your space.

8. Layering

Now you can start adding other decor pieces. 

I like to start with books and frames. Same principles apply, place some of them more forward and some back. 

Place books vertically, and horizontally. This helps to create level depth and visual interest.

Books are a great filler and cost effective way to fill in shelves. You can always remove books and fill In with more decor finds later too.

If you have small boxes, I would add them in next to any open space. 

Now you can add all the smaller decor pieces, candlesticks and smaller picture frames or trinkets. 

Tips when layering

• Place smaller objects with other pieces in two's or 3's. Your larger pieces can be standalone or you can layer in a smaller piece in front or beside.
• Create levels in your shelves, e.g. place one candle stick on shelf then place two or more books horizontally on a shelf a then place other candle stick on top of the books. This adds height and makes your shelf look more interesting.

Example: Shelf one has candle sticks, art and a small bowl. This looks a little flat because everything is in place at the same level.  

Shelf two by adding books, then placing candles at different heights, and one forward and back gives this shelf more depth. Layering pieces and adding height makes in more interesting to the eye.

• Place orbs, candles, small trinkets on top of books or in front of larger vessels.
• Use organic pieces like dried flowers on tops of books, flat on the shelf or add to vases to fill in space and add height and texture.
• You can then add small trays, small bowls or trinkets in groups of 2 or 3 to fill in your shelves.
• When placing items on your shelves, play with height don't keep everything the same. Level, it will make your shelves look flat.

Tip, don't overstuff your shelves. Blank space is good, it gives the eye a rest, and it's nice to have a few shelves more simple.

9. Step back and edit!

This is the part when you have everything on your bookshelves and you need to step back so you can see how everything looks and feels.

Remember, don't go on what looks good or better to go with how in makes you feel when you look at it.

check out the rest of my hipstoric apartment entryway Here

For us bookshelves are always evolving and that's okay, you can change things up, add new things, change decor for the holidays. Just remember to have fun with it!

Designer tip step back and look, when you feel it's looking good, take some pictures, this is a great way to see it better.

Take your pictures at the sitting level, so sit in a chair on your sofa and take a few shots. This is a more flattering angle and it will translate better into the photos.

 If you are not sure if you love how they are looking, then take a break for a few hours and go back with fresh eyes. 

There you have it, the ultimate guide to style your bookshelves.

We hope you feel more confidant to take on your bookshelf styling process and with our tips you love how they look and feel. 

Remember, styling your space is always evolving. You can always edit it if it doesn't fell right, so I say have fun with it and don't put so much pressure on yourself.

most of the items in this space are thrift'd.

 Here is are shopping list for some items in my space.

candles 

plug in hanging lights

Bench