A bookshelf is one of the most personal (and most neglected) surfaces in a home. But why is that so?
Well, it’s because most of us just stack books on it and call it done. And while that is the primary purpose of a bookshelf, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add anything else to it. Just like every other element in your home, your bookshelf deserves to be styled.
For example, interior designers treat shelves as a canvas, using them to add texture and personality to a room without taking up extra space with more furniture.
You can do that, too. You don’t need to redecorate your whole home to get a nice look for your bookshelf; you just need an idea and a few spare minutes to do it
Keep reading for a few of our favourite ways to style your bookshelf like a pro.
5 Steps to Style Your Bookshelf Like an Interior Designer
If you’ve decided to make the most out of your bookshelf’s potential, here’s the process we suggest following for the best results:
Start by clearing everything off
This sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many people skip this step. Before you can style a shelf well, you need to start from zero. Take everything off, give it a wipe down, and look at the space fresh. When it’s empty, you’ll see it differently, so it’ll be easier to come up with a vision for what you want it to look like.
From there, sort your items into three categories: things you definitely want displayed, things that belong in storage, and things you’re not sure about. When in doubt, leave it out. Overcrowded shelves are the number one mistake designers see in client homes, so start from the biggest problem area.
Think in layers
The secret to a well-styled shelf is layering three distinct types of items together so they complement rather than compete with each other: books, objects, and organic elements:
- Books form the backbone. Mix vertical stacks with horizontal ones, i.e., get a pile of two or three books laid flat to create a natural platform for displaying objects on top. Group books loosely by colour or spine height rather than obsessing over alphabetical order.
- Objects add personality. Think ceramics, candles, framed photos, small sculptures, or decorative bowls. The rule of odd numbers applies here: group things in threes or fives rather than pairs to avoid it looking too symmetrical and stiff.
- Organic elements to stand out. Once you’ve got everything else in order, ensure you make your shelf feel alive rather than staged. You can do this by using greenery, wooden elements, rocks, or anything else you might have on hand.
Use greenery to break it up
One of the simplest tricks designers use is placing a plant or two among the books and objects. Greenery softens hard edges, adds a splash of colour, draws the eye naturally across the shelf, and cleverly breaks up the row of books.
But, since not all of us have green thumbs, a real plant may not be the ideal solution. Plus, real plants on shelves often struggle because they’re away from windows, get inconsistent light, and tend to be forgotten when watering day comes around. If that’s the case, we suggest looking into high-quality artificial plants.
For bookshelf styling specifically, smaller plants work best. You want something with an interesting texture or trailing habit like trailing ivy, a small leafy shrub, or a compact potted fern, rather than something large and bushy that dominates the whole shelf.
With this in mind, artificial shrubs and small plants are worth considering. An artificial option gives you the same visual payoff without the wilting, the soil mess, or the weekly maintenance.
Play with height and depth
Flat, uniform shelves are boring. Designers deliberately vary the height of objects to create visual movement like tall items at the back or sides, shorter items in front or centre, etc. This gives the shelf a sense of depth and variety.
A few ways to achieve this without buying new things:
- Stack books horizontally to raise shorter objects up
- Lean a framed print or artwork against the back of the shelf rather than hanging it
- Let some items sit closer to the front edge of the shelf, others further back
That front-to-back layering makes the shelf look considered and full of dimension, rather than items just lined up in a row.
Edit Ruthlessly
Once you’ve arranged everything, take three steps back and squint (yes, really). If your eye gets stuck somewhere, something’s off. Usually, there’s either too much of one thing clustered together, or a colour that’s pulling attention away from the whole.
A good rule of thumb is a rough 60/30/10 approach on shelves: about 60% books and functional items, 30% decorative objects, and 10% greenery or organic elements. That 10% does a disproportionate amount of work in making the whole thing feel curated rather than cluttered.
Remove one item at a time until it feels right. Less is almost always more.
A Few Final Tips
To wrap it up, here are a few other easy tips to decorate your bookshelf in tandem with the ones we’ve already covered:
- Vary your textures. Mix matte and glossy, smooth and rough. Place a ceramic next to linen-covered books next to a leafy plant, for example.
- Don’t match everything. Coordinated doesn’t mean matching. A cohesive colour palette (say, warm neutrals with a few greens) is more interesting than items that are all the same tone.
- Let some shelves breathe. An empty shelf or two isn’t wasted space. Actually, it’s what gives the eye somewhere to rest. Don’t overdecorate your shelf because, in the end, it’ll look more haphazard than cohesive.
Styling a bookshelf well is more about arrangement, restraint, and a few well-chosen accents than anything else.
Get the layering right, bring in a touch of greenery, and edit until it feels effortless. That’s the designer approach, and it works every time.