5 Tips for Styling Built-In Shelves
Have some built-in shelves in your home that you’re trying to style? Here are a few tips for styling built-in shelves like a pro!
For the last few weeks, I’ve been working on taking a dated little nook in my bedroom and transforming it into something completely new and special. The project is officially done and I’ve reached the fun part – styling the shelves!
I love styling shelves, but it wasn’t always one of my favorite things to do. It took me a long time to learn the tips and tricks to make it easier. I have shared some of my favorite ideas for shelf decor in the past along with a deep dive on how to style shelves, but today’s post is more of a quick & dirty rundown of my best tips for styling built-in shelves.
Shelf Styling Tip #1: Keep it Practical
The first – and most important – tip to consider is to make sure you’re styling the shelves in a way that works for you. Consider where they are and what purpose you want them to serve. For example, these open shelves are in my bedroom. We don’t really need them for storage, they’re more for display. But, I still wanted to have a spot to tuck away a few things, so I added some baskets and closed storage.
Ask yourself if the shelves are primarily for books, storage, display, or something else. Let that guide you as you work and make sure that what you add to the shelves actually works for you.
A few ways I put that into practice here:
- My bedroom is pretty dark, so I knew I wanted to incorporate a lamp
- I added a basket so I can tuck away anything I don’t want to look at
- When thinking about what our room needs, my top answer was more color and life – so I added some faux flowers to brighten things up.
Shelf Styling Tip #2: Consider Texture, Height, and Weight!
As you’re gathering things to use on your shelves, you want to go for a variety of colors, heights, textures, and weights! You want to have some things that are tall paired with shorter items, along with some that feel dense and large paired with something a little lighter and airier.
You create visual interest in a shelf display by using variety! So, spend some time playing around with how things look next to each other. Step back and observe if one side of the shelves feel “heavy” and try to balance that out.
My rule of thumb here is to work diagonally. If the left side of one shelf feels heavy and has larger items on it, I’m going to balance that by making the right side of the next shelf feel a little heavier!
Shelf Styling Tip #3: Stick to Odd Numbered Groupings
A really simple rule to remember when you’re styling shelves is that odd-numbered groupings are more visually pleasing than even-numbered ones! So, if you’re styling a few things on a shelf, grabbing three items and grouping them together in a triangular setup will look more dynamic and interesting than just two items next to each other.
Of course, this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Like many rules, styling rules are made to be broken! But, if you’re new to styling shelves and you want a simple guideline, this is a great one to remember.
Shelf Styling Tip #4: Don’t Overdo It!
The biggest mistake most people make when styling built-in shelves is feeling like they have to fill up every inch of the shelf. It leaves you with a result that feels busy and overwhelming.
Instead, embrace white space! Your eye needs a spot to rest and it’s okay to have some room on the shelves where it feels like things can breathe a bit. To keep this looking intentional, vary where the negative space is. Leave some space horizontally between some items, but also leave areas where you’ve used short items. That creates negative space vertically! Pair taller items next to short ones, or play around with stacking items to get height.
The key here is to play! Shelf styling takes practice and even after years of doing it, I almost never get it right on the first try.
Shelf Styling Tip #5: Step Back & Take a Photo
Finally, one of my favorite tricks for making sure I like how my shelves look is to step back and take a photo. A lot of people style their shelves from up close without every stepping back to take it all in at once. But, most of the time you’re looking at the shelves from further away, not up close!
You’ll find that when you step back you can see how everything flows together, and it makes it a lot easier to know what you should adjust. In addition to that, I find that taking a photo of my setup always gives me more clarity than just looking at it. I can’t explain why, but try it! Snap a photo of your setup from across the room and use that to see what you think about your styling job. You’ll be surprised at how helpful it is!
Hopefully this leaves you feeling inspired to style some shelves in your home! I promise it’s one of the best ways to make things feel fresh and interesting in your home, and the more you do it, the better you’ll get!