How To Style Bookshelves

It takes more than built in Bookshelves, custom raised panel wainscoting and a plank ceiling to create a beautiful library. Creating a library takes books and creating a beautiful library is all in how you style your bookshelves. “Styling” is just a fancy word for “putting stuff on the shelves”.

I mean, we can all enjoy the beauty of finishing a project and these builtin bookshelves are no exception.

But once the shelves are filled with books and treasures, the space feel homey. Not to mention it’s a functional feature!

Styling Bookshelves

1. If you don’t have enough books to completely fill your bookshelves YET, you can fill up some empty space by leaning a few books up against the end of a row of books. I do this on several random shelves, alternating the angle on different shelves.

2. Use some chotchkies but don’t overdo it. They are bookshelves after all. Use just enough to break up the monotony, to add some variety of height, color and texture to what the books provide by themselves.

3. Use recurring colors throughout the room. I used a lot of brown/wood and red on my white bookshelves. There are a lot of red book covers on my shelf. I love ALL the colors but feel that the red dominates. I made sure to disperse the red books throughout the bookshelves so it would feel balanced. I also brought in the red pillow to pull that color out and unify the entire room.

Library with White Painted Built-In Bookshelves

See how much better it looks with the red pillow than the white? (Or maybe you like the white better. Whatever, it’s your room. Do what you like.)

4. Use what you have, love what you use and move stuff around until it makes you happy! I don’t want perfection. I want it to look happy, homey and welcoming.

I randomly placed things I’ve accumulated over the years unto the shelves to fill empty spaces and bring more color and texture into the room.

5. Use Structure and Order …but be Random!

I like to organize my books by height. I try to put books that are relatively similar in height on the same shelf.
On shelves where I want a single topic of books to be placed, I put the tallest book on the left and gradate down to the shorter books.

Library with White Built-In Bookshelves

I like to be random about how the books sit on the shelves. Some are straight and tall. Some are stacked in piles. Some are lounging around all slouchy, leaning on one another…almost ready to fall over.

Library with White Built-In Bookshelves

But even amidst my chaos –is order. The stacked books go from largest to smallest and the slouchy books are all the same height.

Library with White Built-In Bookshelves

6. Above all, make YOUR eyes happy. You are the one living in your home and enjoying your space so you are the one who gets to decide what works for you.

Styling Bookshelves

Put on some good music, dance around like a crazy person and have fun Styling your Bookshelves!

15 Comments

Ahhhh, lovely and love all the style details you provided. I’m imagining you now spending your days sitting on those chairs getting absorbed in novels, I would sure love to. Inspired me to add more books to my family room bookshelves that are presently primarily tchochkes!