When it comes to styling bookshelves, most of us just throw up their hands and give up from the get-go. We see beautifully styled bookcases and we wonder how in the heck did they do that?
We get it. It does seem like an impossible task.
So we thought we’d break it down for you using my (Mercedes) bookcase in my Savannah living room. We will deconstruct the elements and go into detail of how we put it together and then give you some of our favorite bookshelf finds so you can do it yourself.
Easy peasy.
1. Ground the bottom shelves with stacks of books and then feature them on every shelf going up
This is our favorite way to start when styling a bookcase. The bottom shelves are only for books. Books ground the bookcase, giving it a stately and solid appearance. We must state the obvious here: bookshelves are named bookshelves for a reason – books should be included and take the starring role. Physical books are wonderful to both look at and read. Because so many of us read digitally these days, we recommend that books in your bookcase be extra special. Hardbacks are our favorite but soft covers are fine too, especially if they have beautiful covers.
You can see that on the very bottom shelf we decided on three stacks, bottoms facing out; then on the second shelf up we went for two stacks with spines facing out and then one vertical set. We added just one accessory on the second shelf up – a Moroccan bowl on top of the stack furthest to the left. We don’t go heavy on accessories on the bottom shelves in general.
2. Add an eye-catching small table lamp
Lighting up a bookcase makes it all the more appealing on a darker winter day or in the evening, which is why we almost always specify a shorter table lamp. The height should be in a range so it’s eye level either sitting down or standing up or somewhere in between. If it’s too high, people see the bulbs; too low and no one sees it at all. The lamp should take up at least 2/3’rds of the height of the shelf so you may want to place it on a stack of books like I did.
My bookcase features the Senza White Table Lamp, made of swirling white glass. Everyone thinks it’s thousands of dollars, but it’s pretty darn inexpensive for a table lamp everyone comments on.
3. Sprinkle in a few personal framed photos
Adding in some small, tastefully framed photos gives a personal touch to your bookcase. In my bookcase, besides the table lamp, and also on the shelf above stand two framed photos of family members. (By the way, this only applies to residential homes, not Airbnb’s or vacation homes where you actually want to avoid personal photos).
4. Feature some vases or other interesting vessels or decorative objects
These are key for building an eye-catching bookcase design. The roundness of different vessels, be they beautiful liquor bottles, a brass pineapple bar mixer, or antique, ceramic vase add girth and substance to a bookshelf. My third shelf up features a Clase Azul Tequila bottle as well as a brass pineapple bar cocktail vessel. A couple of upright cocktail recipe books stand between them.
We also love draping glass beads over books for an extra eye-catching zing.
5. Last but not least – art, art, art
We never leave out framed art in our bookcase designs. It adds sophistication and introspection to the overall feel of the shelves. We encourage different frames for contrast. Choose larger art pieces for the top of the shelf.
Speaking of the top of the shelf, this area should feature your largest objects, especially if you have high ceilings like I do. We stuck a birch branch in my Chinese ceramic vase to accompany the gilded framed watercolor to the left.
Now for some bookcase shopping inspiration……
Some items may be associated with affiliate links
