Style the Perfect Shelfie

When styling the perfect “shelfie,” there are a couple of guidelines you should follow. No matter what shelf style you have, whether it be contemporary or traditional, the rules are simple. They may seem obvious, but they are the universal rules for how to decorate a bookshelf in your unique space.

This is one of the iNSPIRE Q entertainment centers to showcase how to decorate a bookshelf. There are two bookcases and a TV stand, all crafted with metal with a distinct industrial aesthetic. The shelves are all decorated with brown books, brown baskets, and brown pieces of décor to enhance the Old World vibe.

Looking for an easy and practical way to add style to your living space? Whether you have an existing bookshelf that needs a face-lift or are adding one to your home, organizing it can be tricky. First and foremost, bookshelves are for storage, so it’s easy to clutter them and create more of an eyesore than a style statement. If you want to display keepsakes and accessories, maintaining the look with a good visual flow can also be tough. With a few quick tips on how to decorate a bookshelf, we’ll have you well on your way to a beautiful shelf that’s part storage, part display, and completely stylish!

Organization

The first step is to start from scratch! If you don’t already have an empty bookshelf, then take this opportunity to de-clutter; only keep items you really love or need.

Another image that shows how to decorate a bookshelf. This is one of the all-metal, industrial-inspired bookcases. It is decorated with brown books and brown baskets. But there are also some white-colored pieces of décor that match the beige linen accent chair off to the side.

Style

The second step is to know your style. If you’re decorating an existing piece, this will be the simple part! Do sleek and simple chrome accents and an high contrast color scheme catch your eye? Or do you love industrial and vintage elements that have a more classic flair? Either way, your accessories should reflect the style of your shelving units as well as the rest of your room.

In the antique/industrial shelving pictured above, you may be surprised to find that there aren’t more books! There are quite a few gaps filled in with wicker baskets, vintage boxes, figurines and conversational pieces. If the bookshelves were filled to the brim with books, the overall look would be quite heavy and uniform. Depending on what you want to display, a ratio of half books and half accessories would be just about right. The visual interest the better. Even if you’re going with a contemporary design, hardcover, leather bound books are always a safe bet! Paperbacks aren’t as stylish or versatile. Have a few old text books sitting in your closest since college? Put those over-priced dust collectors to good use and make trendy book covers for them with burlap or linen! Vintage books are also inexpensive and plentiful at any antique or thrift store.

Be creative when stocking your shelves with book; stack some horizontally and place an accessory on top. Alternatively, go for a messy look and put a few volumes strategically out of place. It’s important that the decorations and design of your bookshelf reflects not only your personality and lifestyle through the items it displays, but also through the way you display them. Make it unique to you!

This chrome-finished bookcase is decorate with white and grey pieces of décor. These pieces are complemented by the chrome finish and a nearby white accent chair.

Contemporary

For a fresh and modern look, choosing accessories that are simple and clean will help give you that striking, minimalist style. The key elements to making monochromatic pieces work together are shape, texture and balance. Ceramics are a great way to collect similarly colored pieces in all shapes and sizes. Choose two or three large pieces for the entire bookcase, and grab smaller, supplementary items to fill in the gaps. Always look at the shelving unit as a whole, instead of shelf by shelf, and start by positioning your bigger objects first. Never place two large items next to each other on the same shelf; you’ll disrupt the flow. Instead, place the pieces in a slight zig-zag composition, like the sea shell, textured orb and vase on the second, third and last shelves respectively. This will create a natural sense of balance.

In addition to the white ceramic objects, feel free to use a variation of accent materials—like the silver lantern and mirrored box. These pieces draw on the bookshelf’s finish and complete the modern look. A few pops of color certainly won’t hurt either, but don’t go too overboard. The beauty here is in simplicity.

This is the iNSPIRE Q Cornice Triple Shelving Bookcase in a grey finish. The shelves are decorated with a multitude of décor of various shades of white, grey, brown, and black. Boxes and baskets provide storage opportunities without creating clutter.

Traditional

In the end, decorating a bookcase is about looking at it as a whole, and evaluating how the books, pieces and accessories fit together to create a harmonious look. It’s a great place for eclectic interests to collide, but color, pattern and repetition of elements should create visual relation interests to collide, but color, pattern and repetition of elements should create visual relations. In the elegant, vintage inspired bookshelf above, the limited neutral color scheme creates a sense of refinement while the creams, beige, and dark browns add variation and contrast. The natural materials like the light, unfinished wood, ivory ceramic vases and wicker baskets recall one another throughout the overall composition, while a few unexpected elements, like the pewter jars or black metal lantern, give the style a special touch.

Because this shelving unit is so large, the need to keep things from crowding is important. Only one to three larger pieces are chosen to occupy a single compartment. This may seem counter-intuitive to all the available space, but this way, you’ll be able to enjoy your carefully chosen items and nothing will seem lost or unorganized.

Inspired to re-organize and decorate your bookshelf? Less can be more, a color scheme will help keep your design unified, and accessories that vary in size, shape and texture will bring interest and balance to your overall composition. No matter what your style is, always make sure to put your own personal touch in your bookshelf. After all it is your shelf, so make it meaningful to you.

This is the iNSPIRE Q Cornice Double Shelving Bookcase in an Ivory White finish. These shelves are decorated with mostly white and brown pieces of décor. The white pairs beautifully with the ivory white wood finish of the shelves and the white linen sofa off to the side.
This is the iNSPIRE Q Cornice Etagere Bookcase in an ivory white finish. This bookshelf is decorated with various pieces of décor and books in different shades of white, grey, black, and blue. The colors really stand out against the light blue walls, ivory white finish of the shelves, and the white metal daybed off to the side.
In our final image on how to decorate a bookshelf, we once again used the iNSPIRE Q Cornice Etagere Bookcase in Ivory White. It is set against a green wall and has a lot more colorful pieces of décor on its shelves, using earthy colors such as brown, white, black, and red.

Now that you know the basics on how to decorate a bookshelf, show us your perfect shelfie in the comments below or tag us on social media @iNSPIREQ!

Want more style inspiration? See how you can rethink your bookshelf:

Shop all iNSPIRE Q bookcases now!

Setting up a home office? Then this post is for you!

You can also check out all our latest posts, follow us on social media, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tips and tricks!