Tips on how to style your bookshelves

I walked into my parent’s office while I was there a few weeks back and found their new furniture find in complete disarray. I am the type of person that can’t seem to bring myself to just walk away and so I found myself restyling their bookshelf. I got weird looks from some and help from one of my aunts but I love the way it turned out.

Here are my tips for making your bookshelves pop.
1. If you are going to store things such as CDs on your shelves, put them in cute baskets. Baskets will keep that clutter away from the eye but still allow the things you want close to be at your fingertips.

2. If you want your bookshelves to be super classy, it is time to put some of those knick-knacks away. As cute as the Mickey Ninja was in the top photo, his days on the bookshelf were over.

3.Always include a natural element. A large shell, a plant (even if it is a fake one), flowers. Something that will bring a little life to the shelf.

4. Don’t use straight, matching sets straight across every shelf. The matching books in the top corner flow well because the older books in the other corners are mismatched. Offset  your similar books by gathering your old, eclectic looking books.

5. Add some small photos that make the shelves feel like your own. Old pictures work really well on bookshelves. It gives your library or space that full of knowledge feel.

6. If you have several bookcases in a row, it is OK to fill a couple of them with minimal styling and then style the middle one to bring your eye to the center.

7. Don’t be afraid of blank space. It can be your friend. If you completely fill your bookshelf, there may be so much to look at that nothing gets looked at.

8. Remember this is your space, not the IKEA catalog. If the style doesn’t work for you. Change it up.