STYLED by Jasmine Bible & Taylor Titus + PHOTOGRAPHY by Tom Daly
Your bookshelves are the perfect space to display goodies that you love and treasure. Gather the sentimental pieces you’d love to showcase, then follow along with our step-by-step process to organize and style your bookshelves.
1 – ESTABLISH A COLOR PALETTE
Limiting yourself to a strict color palette is the most effective way of creating a beautiful and cohesive bookshelf. Consider the other colors within the room and throughout your home—it doesn’t have to match exactly, but needs to happily co-exist. Most importantly, find a color scheme that excites you! For our bookshelves, we chose stark black and white with touches of gold, muted greens with mustard and leather, and hues of rose gold.
2 – SHOP!
Start by first shopping for your house! Find objects that fit within your color palette, then head to your local thrift store to find books, vintage pottery, candle sticks, or quirky accessories. Next, move onto local boutiques, like
ROCK PAPER SCISSORS and ROXIE DAISY in Downtown Charlottesville, VA, to find unique accessories and sculptural elements. Finally, round out your shelves with stylish pieces from places like Target Home, World Market, and Home Goods.
OUR PICS
BOOK Design By Nature by Erica Tanov, $35, ericatanov.com
VASES 3-Piece Hat Trick Vase Set, $15,
HOURGLASS Hexagonal Hourglass with Gold Stand, $22,
3 – RESIZE YOUR SHELVES
One size does not fit all! Begin with your tallest object, giving it some breathing room—we suggest an inch or two above the top of the tallest piece. Then adjust the remaining shelves accordingly. Give yourself permission to remove a shelf if it works better for the overall spacing.
4 – START BIG, THEN SMALL
Begin by placing your largest objects on different shelves, to create balance. (You don’t want all the large objects on the right side, for example.) Then arrange your books in stacks or rows, with the largest books being on the outer edges of the shelf, placed in descending order as they come in towards the center. When you create stacks, be sure the cover of the top book is aesthetically pleasing—the more curious and artistic, the better!
OUR PICS
PRINT Framed Cactus Wall – Project 62, $37,
FAUX PLANT Faux String of Pearls Plant In Textured Pot,
PAPERWEIGHT Wood and Marble Geometric Paperweight, $14,
5 – ACCESSORIZE!
Now comes the really fun part-time to accessorize with whimsical and fun objects. This is your chance to inject a dose of personality in your bookshelves. Find pieces that speak to you and express your sense of style. Small candles, vases, and textural pieces add visual interest, and keep the eye moving around the shelves. Crystals, like the amethyst we chose, add an extra element of texture and sparkle. Try placing smaller objects on top of a stack of books, so they don’t get lost visually.
6 – ADD GREENERY
To bring your entire bookshelf to life, finish with a dose of greenery. If your bookshelves get ample sunlight, choose live plants, if not, go faux! There are a surprisingly realistic options available. Choose a mix of small air plants, succulents, and wispy greenery.
OUR PICS
SALT LAMP Himalayan Glow Naked Salt Lamp, $17,
STORAGE BASKET Copper Wire Storage Basket, $20,
TERRARIUMS Copper Geo Terrariums, $19–$39,
Special thanks to
Stanley Martin for allowing us to use the bookshelves in their beautiful Colton model home in the Whittington neighborhood.
We shared this story with you in our Spring/Summer 2019 Issue of NEST Magazine . To view the full issue, click here .
