Decorating Tips for Shelves and Bookcases

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Group Like With Like

Unite your shelf displays by grouping items by theme, color, shape, texture or material. "Like things together give the biggest bang," says Megan Samuels, ASID, an interior designer in Manhattan Beach, Calif. "It creates a really nice, curated feel to your treasures." A grouping of white pottery and other light-toned objects looks stunning on dark wood or brightly painted shelves, for example, while an assemblage of boxes, bowls or spheres adds instant emphasis that's lacking when they stand alone. Design by Sarah Richardson.