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Creating The Perfect Bookshelf
Having a well-designed and decorated bookshelf in a living space is one of the best ways to show your personal style. You can use it for much more than literature by stocking it full of art, sculpture and other memorabilia and items that mean a lot to you. Depending on how big your bookshelf is, the whole process can be a little bit intimidating, but the end result makes it completely worth it. Here are just a few tips on decorating the perfect bookshelf.Rotate Some
Just because it’s a bookshelf that doesn’t mean you have to place all your books in it like they do in the library. You can add visual interest quickly and easily by flipping some of the books horizontally and creating small stacks instead of having them all sitting vertically. You can also get away with have fewer book by doing it this way, and even add small accessories, sculptures or vases in between. Try to start out with the largest books first then add the smaller ones to the tops of the stacks so it’s a bit more even, though you don’t need to get everything perfect symmetrical.
Add Some Variety
As mentioned before, the bookshelf is for more than just books. Any items you want to display, from sculptures, to vases, plants, or decorative boxes or jars, you can stick it all on the shelf alongside your books. You can put them in between the stacks you created, or use heavier items as bookends for your collection. Decorative boxes are perfect for practical storage of items you might want close by, but don’t have a real place for if the bookshelf has no drawers or other hidden compartments – as most tend not to. This isn’t limited to a living room or great room, either. In a kitchen, you can have a bookshelf filled with cookbooks broken up by kitchen essentials like serving bowls, jugs or pitchers – essentially any item that looks good with the rest of your decor.
Switch it Up
In most adjustable bookshelves, you’re able to change around the heights of the actual shelving to add some variety. This can make some of the space taller or shorter than others, giving you the freedom to add tall items on the shelf to add some visual variety to the entire case.
Watch For Patterns
If you have a lot of items on your bookshelf, it’s imperative that you find patterns and motifs that can be repeated throughout with similar items. Try to repeat these patterns by taking notice of how a particular book stack and item combination is laid out. Also, consider the colours that are used and try to keep it cohesive and balanced so nothing feels completely out of place.
Try Wallpaper
A great way to add visual interest to your bookshelf is by adding wallpaper to the back, so that it can peak out from behind your books and other items. This is the easiest when dealing with bookshelves with removable shelves, and you can add the wallpaper either permanently as you would normally install wallpaper, or making use of double sided tape if you anticipate that you might want to change the look of it later on down the line.
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