5 Ways to Style Shelves Like a Pro
An established interior designer shares her tips for decorating shelves in appealing ways
When it comes to styling shelves, there are some tried-and-true methods that can give you that straight-from-the-pages-of-a-magazine look. Here are some of my favorite tips and tricks to help you achieve the same result in your own home.
Ba Design Group took a more minimal approach for this kids bedroom in Miami. Crisp white frames and shelving let the colorful modern art be the star of the show. And having enough negative space in between the frames keeps the look clean and fresh.
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2. Show Off Your Collectibles
Displaying collections can be a great way to add visual interest to a room. In this home office by East End Country Kitchens, the homeowner has a large collection of white and neutral-colored ceramic vessels in varying sizes and shapes. Larger objects stand by themselves, while smaller objects are grouped together, creating a balanced and harmonious look.
Displaying collections can be a great way to add visual interest to a room. In this home office by East End Country Kitchens, the homeowner has a large collection of white and neutral-colored ceramic vessels in varying sizes and shapes. Larger objects stand by themselves, while smaller objects are grouped together, creating a balanced and harmonious look.
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In one of my recent projects, the client is an artist who creates animal sculptures in cast bronze. She asked for a proper place to display some of her favorite pieces in her home office. So when we designed these custom built-ins, we created a larger space in the center for a couple of her bigger pieces, while grouping the smaller pieces with books and other objects.
3. Put a Little Light on the Subject
In this Austin, Texas, living room by Bulhon Design Associates, the built-ins feature integrated lighting that illuminates art and other objects. The backlighting enhances each of the objects by giving each piece its own unique presence.
Also note that the objects are of similar sizes on both sides of the fireplace. This decorating technique creates a feeling of symmetry, even if the object placement isn’t exactly symmetrical.
In this Austin, Texas, living room by Bulhon Design Associates, the built-ins feature integrated lighting that illuminates art and other objects. The backlighting enhances each of the objects by giving each piece its own unique presence.
Also note that the objects are of similar sizes on both sides of the fireplace. This decorating technique creates a feeling of symmetry, even if the object placement isn’t exactly symmetrical.
The backlit glass hutch in this Chicago kitchen by Advance Design Studio puts the spotlight on all the beautiful white farmhouse serving pieces, adding a lot of charm to a mostly white kitchen. Note how some pieces in the hutch are stacked and others are freestanding, a reminder that placement of items doesn’t have to be uniform to work.
4. Use Baskets and Bins
Open shelves can be clutter magnets in a busy household, so I always recommend using containers for a more tailored and tidier appearance. Rockwell Developers created entryway cabinetry that provides lots of storage, with woven baskets that give family members places to stash their stuff on the way in.
Open shelves can be clutter magnets in a busy household, so I always recommend using containers for a more tailored and tidier appearance. Rockwell Developers created entryway cabinetry that provides lots of storage, with woven baskets that give family members places to stash their stuff on the way in.
In this Salt Lake City laundry room by Jackson & LeRoy, cabana-striped totes in different colors allow each household member to have their own place for folded laundry, ready to grab and put away in their respective rooms. The punch of color is a great contrast to the gray cabinetry and keeps the space from feeling too monotone.
5. Group by Color
It’s practically a design cliche, but there’s no denying that grouping books by the color of their jackets creates visual impact in a room. I love how Natasha Habermann Studio uses this kind of color blocking to make the cabinet wall look like abstract modern art. The black painted cabinetry creates a moody backdrop, allowing the colors to really pop. This is a great method of arranging books artfully when you have a lot of them.
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It’s practically a design cliche, but there’s no denying that grouping books by the color of their jackets creates visual impact in a room. I love how Natasha Habermann Studio uses this kind of color blocking to make the cabinet wall look like abstract modern art. The black painted cabinetry creates a moody backdrop, allowing the colors to really pop. This is a great method of arranging books artfully when you have a lot of them.
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Displaying art on shelves or picture ledges is a fun method to get that art gallery feel while still having everything organized. Completion Interior Design & Architecture painted these shelves the same color as the wall, allowing them to recede into the background but also give the art some structure.
Other benefits to this arrangement is that it avoids the need to hammer lots of picture hooks into the wall and gives flexibility to rearrange the art or add new pieces to the mix.
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