I work from my office every single day, and when my bookshelves show up in the background of my Instagram stories, I get so many questions about the styling of them! I must admit – I owe all credit to one of my best friends, Lauren, who is so talented – especially when it comes to bookshelves. She was the one who styled them and decided to organize them by color {which I love and think is so fun!}
Surprisingly, I already owned all of these books, and we just used ‘knick knacks’ that I either bought, or collected over the years from travels and whatnot. I have done my best to link as many of the items as I can, but feel free to just use mine as inspiration! This would be sooo easy to recreate at home. A few tips I’ve picked up from Lauren, and others over the years are below!
Add Texture
This one is soooo important! Adding in plants or succulents is a really easy way to not only add a little color, but to also add in texture. Succulents are especially nice because they don’t require a lot of attention – you can water them every couple of weeks and then just let them be. I also love adding in personal mementos like a photo or a knick knack from a recent trip. These not only make me happy, but are also great for adding that second layer of texture.
Go vertical and horizontal
You don’t want your bookshelves to look too perfect, so lay some of your books vertically while some are propped horizontally. I also love to arrange some at an angle – take a stack of smaller books and angle them inward. All of these little tricks will create a more interesting scene than if all the books were organized perfectly in a line.
If you need to, take book covers off
I do this all the time. Sometimes book covers can be too fussy but the book underneath is perfect. Usually all one color, this is a great trick if you are sticking to a theme when styling. I did this a lot when I did the bookshelves in my den and wanted everything to be neutral.
Leave some space
I didn’t use this tip in my office since these shelves are smaller, but I definitely learned the importance of this when we did the bookshelves in my den. If the shelves are long, you need to leave white space so they don’t feel cluttered. You need to step back and remember that don’t need to fill in every space – leave a few open spots so the shelves don’t feel so heavy. When in doubt, leave it empty! You can always add more over time.
Don’t be afraid to have fun!
There are no rules – If you want to go more neutral, then go more neutral! If you want it to be crazy, and color coordinated, then do that. The best part about bookshelves is that they can constantly evolve.
Photos: The Retro Penguin
