Styling shelving is fun, trust me, yet so often clients ask us to accessorise their shelving and if we go back to visit the property at a later date, nothing has changed.
TIP 1: Shelving displays should evolve, whether it’s seasonally, to display a new purchase or collection or just to refresh your interior design.
TIP 2: Restyling your shelves is one of the cheapest ways to update a room.
What you display on your shelves should be an expression of your tastes. Create vignettes that tell a story, express a sense of humour or are visually pleasing and make you feel good.
Where to begin?
Decide what job your shelving has to do before gathering the content. Shelves usually fall into three categories:
Practical: such as a bookshelf
Display: showing a favourite collection, ceramics, photos
Practical and display: in which case you have to consider accessibility when positioning items
TIP 3: Begin with a blank canvas (or an empty shelf!)
What to use
Books: coffee table or reading books. If you have a favourite subject such as travel or architecture, group books together, similarly if you have a favourite author.
Photos: Frames should co-ordinate with the interior. Mixing frames is more difficult than sticking with one type of frame.
Artwork: Great for adding personality and mixing up the dimensions. Use a small artist’s easel to elevate pieces.
Pieces: these could be ceramic, glass, metal, storage baskets or boxes, objects that you’ve acquired and love.
Plants
Now what?
TIP 4: Set out everything you have to use on a surface nearby.
TIP 5: Begin with the tallest items. Place them across your shelving, balancing them out vertically and horizontally. Avoid stacking items vertically ie one vase above another on two shelves.
TIP 6: Begin to add in the other items, vary heights of items in relation to each other.
TIP 7: Use the entire shelf from back to front, with larger items at the back. For example, place a small photograph in front of a stack of books.
TIP 8: Layer things up. That photograph could go on top of the books, or a sculpture could be placed on top of a storage box.
TIP 9: If you’re grouping things together, odd numbers look “easier” on the eye, more relaxed.
TIP 10: Play with different textures and materials as you group things together.
Once you’ve finished placing your objects, walk away, go and have lunch or a cup of tea and come back to review what you’ve achieved later. This is a fluid process: it can continue to evolve until you reach a point at which you can stand back and not want to change anything.
Until next time that is!
If you feel that you might need more help with your interiors, perhaps our Virtual Consultancy is what you need? Or for more ideas about our full interior designer service visit our website using this link.
Most of these inspiration images were taken from our Eton and Maidenhead projects. For some more ideas on styling shelves, visit our Pinterest page
