Decorating Tips for Shelves and Bookcases

Photo By: Pineapple House Interior Design
Photo By: Caitlin Murray
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©Design by Emily Henderson
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Photo By: Jerry Jacobs
Show Off Your Collections
Put Your Passions on Display
Group Like With Like
Make It Functional
Go Big and Bold
Several tiny tchotchkes on a shelf will only collect dust and look like jumbled clutter. Instead, choose bigger, bolder accessories that will stand out. Select tall vases (if there's no shelf above, fill them with giant flowering or fall branches for a dramatic display); giant balls of knotted rope, substantial pottery and large art books; collect whatever strikes your fancy, as long as you can see it from across the room. Give smaller items more visual presence by collecting them in a container: "I love an old jar filled with vintage photos, seashells collected at the beach or even colorful crayons and marbles," says Megan.
Forget Symmetry and Be Odd
Change the Shelf Height
Vary Accessory Height
A big shelf decorating don't is lining up items of the same height. Their uniform size can appear flat and boring. Instead, "mix different heights by contrasting high and low to keep the eye traveling," says Mary Carol. When gathering pieces to decorate shelves, make sure you have a combination of short, medium and tall objects. Design by Caitlin Murray.
Stack Books
Add Sparkle and Shine
Create Layers on Shelves
Keep It Spare and Simple
Arrange Books by Color
Vary Book Displays
Mix Art in With Books
Display Art in Creative Ways
Look Up and Lock Down
Let There Be Light
As a finishing touch, illuminate your shelves to spotlight the arrangements you've created there. The options for shelf lighting abound: Add track lighting to the ceiling and focus a few spots on shelf displays; mount a picture light above a shelf or a series of picture lights above a series of shelves; affix small puck lights to the underside of one shelf to highlight the contents of the shelf below or discreetly tuck tiny up-lights behind a vase or other item to backlight the arrangement.