Handmade Home: How to Style Your Bookcase

kandy smith Very nice!

jcanost So helpful :) I may be ready to tackle my own shelves!

ruthp13a Pretty design but useless if you actually like and read books.

Susan Guthrie Susan, Black, White & Silver just makes me sigh with happiness! I too just love white pitchers. Your bookcases are so pretty. Thanks for your inspiring pictures. I have two bookcases. They are in the foyer, on either side of the staircase. They have to be functional; books & storage of things like candles, printer ink & supplies, etc. I struggle with them always looking messy. The upper left on picture two bugs me, but the motion detector can not be blocked. One shelf is a tribute to my best friend, another is my husband's dumping spot (can you find it?).

susan duane your shelves are beautiful! maybe just moving a few things to the top shelves would make is more balanced. the bottom is a little heavier than the top. maybe on the one with the motion detector you could find some pretty paper for the back of the shelf or just lay a few books flat on the far side. you are so lucky to have them!

cathreno Um, where are the books?

Roseanna Very nicely done...each object is interesting. Here is what I have done with our intimidating 14 foot built-in (my husband's handiwork).

susan duane Roseanna, wow, how wonderful to have such a talented husband! And your styling is great! Thank you for sharing them!

ghnurse36 Can't wait to do my bookcases. Thanks.

martinaparker Susan, I am sitting in my office that I just had painted. All the shelves are empty so I thought I would procrastinate (typical of me) and get on the computer. I am so glad I did! Thank you for all the wonderful ideas!

Kara Findley I mostly like it except for the random family photo on the outside of the shelf... it looks so out of place!

CAROLE MEYER Placing and balancing objects in a room is not easy and this has been done so well. It takes time and practice to learn to do this....thank for this informative post.

celene So what if you actually want to arrange books in an orderly and tactful manner???

rachel21mac My bookcases hold books. What a novel concept (pun intended).

tgsterkel I am looking to hire out to have book case made for me in Portland Oregon. Any suggestions on who to call?

mmsalg Speaking of transforming space, you may want to take a peek at this http://www.custommade.com/hidden-bed/by/salon-interiors. Bookshelf, desk, table, bed...the ultimate transformer.

Cozy Home Interiors Very nice work Susan!! I really love the pop of color on the wall Roseanna. All pics look great. This is what I'm working with. We have a built-in cabinet and I've color coordinated the books.Thanks for letting us share!!

susan duane thank you! i like that you coordinated the book colors! thank you for sharing.

ruth_andre Perfect!

Carl Mattison Design i posted this to the fb page so forgive me.. but here is a shot of one of my two matching bookcases in my living room or "parlour" as they used to say. this room is rarely used, but the bookcases (and fireplace) are pretty much the centerpiece of the room so i add objects, art, photos and other stuff for an eclectic yet organized look.

susan duane they are really pretty! did you hang a photo on the outside too?

kimb I restyle mine for every season. This is what they looked like for Valentine's Day. As you can see, I like iron stone too. This is in my dining space so the antique book case has become a dish cupboard.

kimb Since I didn't show you bookcases in the last post, I thought I'd share my husband's bookcases with you. (I like camera's too. We have two photographers in the family.) I corralled the paperback books in an old locker basket. They look so much better that way. I also removed all the book jackets and added personal items we've collected over the years. It may not look like it, but there are a lot of books in these two bookcases.

susan duane you Valentine's display is so sweet! your bookshelves are great! i love the addition of the wire basket!

lbrukx this is the bookcase in my family room; the cubbies in the lower portion house the kids' games, books, & art supplies. I'm realizing from the picture that I need a plate rack for that Delft plate that looks cut off.

plaidpony this is what i've done with my antique Belgian bookcase. it's one of my favorite pieces.

susan duane http://www.houzz.com/user/tgsterkel did you try a search here under professional?

snapsandsnippets Here's a shot of our new built-ins. It took several weeks and iterations before I settled on this look. I think it still needs work.

sylvie_hurat What would be more useful is how to style your bookcase with BOOKS. I can but laugh when I see a bookcase with 8 books - I counted them.

folsom This is new shelving after a remodel. SImple.

pennypie0780 Maybe if the article had been titled SHELVING instead of 'Bookcases' you all wouldn't be getting your undies in a knot over the lack of books on display. I've been getting rid of all my books, in lieu of my collection of eBooks for use with my readers. Minimizing the amount of 'stuff' I own, which must be sheltered and cared for. Other people (who may be quite erudite and educated, I might add) are not into books for a number of reasons.

Suriah I agree with PennyPie, if it makes it easier for you just call them shelves. In any case, I have two big bookcases that have only a couple of books and one shelf of pretty binders. I use these to display my favorite objects, mostly from traveling. The shelves are puzzle-style and I used risers to vary the height of objects and things like easels holding ceramics and pictures. I also attached a few things to the wall behind the case, like an African mask.

We also have three short bookcases in the living room behind the sofa, next to the desk we have as a small home office area. These three book cases and one in our bedroom are STUFFED with books. Lots of textbooks since we are graduate students. They are shelved neatly, but we have no need to look at them so they are in the back of the room and the two next to the tv are the ones I use to display my favorite things. I love having those things displayed separately from our books to lessen the cluttered look.

crw1st Any books in your bookcase?

frankiecs Great ideas.