Bookcases are truly magic pieces of furniture! This simple item holds so many items that define us, and that we love, it’s a classic favourite for living rooms, hallways, studies, bedrooms – you name it! Once you’ve found yourself the perfect bookshelf, you might find that your placement and styling isn’t quite going how you originally imagined it. Don’t panic, that’s totally normal and we all go through it – even the pros. So, how do you go about getting right this time? Well, you’ve come to just the right place to find out! Here’s how to decorate your bookshelf like a pro…
Start with the obvious
Of course, you’re going to need to begin with the books – they are the main event here, after all. Gather all of your reading and group them into clusters, the way in which you group them is totally up to you. You could organise by author, fiction or non-fiction or even just by colour, whatever works for you.
Stacking formations
The key to getting that slick design look is by incorporating both horizontal and vertical stacking techniques. Varying how you’re stacking throughout your case is going to bring a beautiful look to each and every item that you place on there.
Stick to odd numbers
When you’re stacking and placing, you should try and stick to odd numbers instead of even. For some reason, us humans love to look at odd numbers, so for your case to be well designed it should appease our eyes and stick to clusters of three, five and nine in every little book or object formation that you do. This makes all the difference when you take a step back and look at your styling as a whole, promise.
Send for symmetry
Repeating certain stacking formations here and there is a cool way of bringing in a little symmetry into your styling. This only has to be done on one or two shelves, too much and it will all start to look slightly odd so be mindful as you’re doing your mirror images. Keep it shelf by shelf or mirror something from the top level on the bottom for a more rounded look.
Colour considerations
As mentioned briefly above, organising your book by colour is an awesome way of making your bookcase the centre of attention in a room. You can go the whole hog and create a rainbow effect or group together small palettes for a subtler approach. If your books are more neutral than colourful, you can use objects such as vases or mini sculptures to bring in some pops of colour instead.
Use a bookend
Bookends might be a bit of a forgotten thing, but there are some seriously amazing ones out there to try. Look for ornate designs that nod to the overall design feel of your home, for example, classic homes will favour a creamy neutral scalloped edged bookend whilst a Hamptons household might like something that’s in the shape of a fish or a glass accent in a sea green tone.
Incorporate different design elements
Bring in glass, metal and ceramic details to add texture and variation to your bookshelf. This will transform the piece from something that just houses your books to a work of art.
Bring in the greenery
Lastly, add some plants here and there. Greenery is fresh, beautiful and the perfect finishing touch for a bookcase. Add three or so plants on different shelves to finalise your bookcase styling.
And there you have it! Get shopping for durable bookcases in Sydney to find the perfect piece to style.