How to Style a Shelf

“SHELFIE”: A picture or portrait of your bookshelf.

Shelf styling can sometimes be the forgotten fun in a home, once all the hard work and energy of furnishing a room has finished, don’t forget to spend a little time (and money) on your shelves. Within any room design, shelves are the personality of the room. Their a great way to freshen up a scheme, and add new interest into the space with each season.

People by their very nature collect things, whether we intend to or not. Little keep sakes, that ticket stub from a first date, a birthday card, a feather found on a walk; when framed these memories can stay with you. Your shelfie should be an expression and celebration of who you are.

Most creative folk style so naturally, using objects they may have found throughout an entire lifetime. They instinctively curate these objects using their texture, colour, size, or material in a juxtaposition. Telling a story through objects gives personality into a space.

Other folk, may collect things that end up in a box under their bed that they don’t know what to do with. Or they may end up on a shelf but are displayed in the wrong way. Here’s some advise if your going it alone for the first time and need some help!

Larger objects first

Get a sense of scale and proportion to your shelves. If you’ve got more than one shelf in the room, stand back and get a feel for how the room reads and how the colours work together. Start with Artwork or Books, and layer with vases, plants and ornaments.

Artwork & Photo Frames

Depending on the height of the shelf work with framed artwork that compliments the room’s interior colour palette. To add depth either position these at the back of the shelf and layer with smaller vases, candles or plant in front it.

Framed artwork can be limited edition screen prints by your favourite print maker, or digital reprographics of hand painted artwork. It can also be framed record sleeves or your favourite album or a cool graphic design on a birthday card from a best friend from years ago.

Book Orientation

Who said books have to be displayed upright? Not everyone has a library at home, nor at least want to have the overwhelm of several shelves of books all mixed together in different categories. Too many books on show, means the coolest ones get lost in the mix. Whatever your passion, cherry pick your absolute favourites and limit what you have on show.

With a bit of clever design, books in themselves can really look amazing on any shelfie. Stack them horizontally and vertically, align a stack of 3 to 5 on the left, right or centre of the shelf. Use a stack of books to be a book end and cluster them into size order.

Be strict with the colour and typography. If a books design doesn’t have something edgy or beautiful about it, take it off the shelf and pop it into a draw for safe keeping. Group by colour. Sort into size order. Use between 3-15 books, any more of less will make it feel too sparse or cluttered.

Book Stacking

One way to finish off your book display is to pop an object on top of the stack. This layered effect adds interest and height to the flat surface of books, creating a pyramid effect with the object at the top of the triangle.

The diagonal line

Scale and size is really important when you are working with multiple shelves. If your working with more than one shelf, larger objects or objects within the same colour palette should weave through the shelves on opposite diagonal lines.

If your not one for colour, then let textures lead the way. Mix metallics or unusual contrasting textures into your shelving scheme to allow a subtle interchange between its height and design.

Colour balance

Often within any interior scheme, there will be an accent colour. Usually its a power colour, and a colour that really resonated with the homeowner. This colour pop can really help navigate a room, guiding the eye around the space allowing it to rest on a composition of objects. Whether that be a cushion on a sofa, a lamp on a sideboard or a vase on a shelf, little pops a colour within your scheme are key to creating harmony in a space.

Decorative objects

These elements tell the story. An antique ornament your grand mother gave you, a potted plant your best friend got you when you bought your first home, objects you’ve collected on your travels, a record from a gig, or new vase you fell in love with because of its colour or texture. It all tells your story, your shelf becomes a part of you and all the things you love in life.

Vase

We love a vase at Spruce Shop, and genuinely believe that every shelf deserves at least one!

If your going for one large vase, let it stand alone to off balance a vignette of objects at the other end of the shelf. Depending on its height, use dried flowers within its display so that you can leave it on the shelf and enjoy its maintenance free aesthetic.

When clustering vases together consider how their size and shape work with one another. When working with texture and colour, allow for subtle contrast so to allow each object to be independent of one another.

Houseplants

Different needs for different greens. Every corner of your house will have a different climate and condition in which your house plants will either survive or flourish in. Get a feel for the sun orientation to the nearest window to your shelf as this will dictate what type of plant to purchase.

Next up, is matching the pot with the diameter of the plastic container your plant comes in. If you already have the pot, take it with you when shopping for your plant. Whether you choose a colour pot, a textured pot, a pot with a beautiful glaze, a trendy concrete or terrazzo pot, theres plenty of choices out there.

Don’t forget to measure your shelf first, most shelves are 22cm deep so don’t go too wild on the size of the plant otherwise by the time you’ve found the right pot it might end up being too big.

Edit

Now for the most important part. Edit. Don’t forget to stand back and “feel” the space. How does it all sit together, does the scale work, does it tell a story, do the colours work together?

At this stage it’s really important to allow each collection of carefully curated objects to have their own space. Allow for space in your shelfie for the viewer to linger and enjoy each display. Too many objects may have a negative result; less is often more.