Decorating
9 Bookshelf Ideas That are Anything But Boring
Take your bookshelves from bland to beautiful with these fun and easy ways to inject colour and personality
While practicality might be its most important attribute, a bookshelf needn’t be dull. Make yours a talking point with these simple and inexpensive ideas – most of which can be done in under an hour. From upcycling to colour coding, and even defying gravity, there’s a bookshelf opportunity for every room in the house.
2. Display your treasured items
Bookshelves aren’t just for books. If you’re short on surface space to display your special trinkets, look to your bookshelf to put your favourite pieces on show. Cull books you don’t really love to create some extra display space if necessary.
Bookshelves aren’t just for books. If you’re short on surface space to display your special trinkets, look to your bookshelf to put your favourite pieces on show. Cull books you don’t really love to create some extra display space if necessary.
Ceramics, exotic ornaments and photographs will look right at home among your books and will break up the monotony – heavier items may even come in handy as bookends.
3. Improvise with upcycling
No bookshelf? No worries! There are myriad ways to store your books and many of them may already be sitting around your home – with a little bit of creativity and repurposing, there are plenty of DIY alternatives.
No bookshelf? No worries! There are myriad ways to store your books and many of them may already be sitting around your home – with a little bit of creativity and repurposing, there are plenty of DIY alternatives.
Ladders and wooden crates are two easy and inexpensive options – simply sand back, add a lick of paint or use as is for a rustic and resourceful bookshelf. Try stacking several crates on top of one another to achieve the desired size, customising your shelves to suit trickier areas of your home such as under the stairs.
To hold magazines and a few favourite night-time reads, try placing several concrete blocks next to your bed – voila! A clever industrial bedside table.
4. Colour code your books
Sorting your books into colour-coded sections not only looks fun and playful, it can also help a room feel bigger as it appears more orderly and organised. This technique works well if you have a large collection of books, which tends to look messy and chaotic if it hasn’t been sorted properly.
Sorting your books into colour-coded sections not only looks fun and playful, it can also help a room feel bigger as it appears more orderly and organised. This technique works well if you have a large collection of books, which tends to look messy and chaotic if it hasn’t been sorted properly.
While practicality may not be the first reason to stack your books by colour, it can actually be a very clever way to quickly find the book you’re looking for. Much like when you wander the library looking for a certain book only to identify it by colour rather than the author’s name, it is often the hue that we remember of our favourite reads.
The case for a colour-coded home
The case for a colour-coded home
5. Feature your favourites
To borrow an idea from your most beloved bookstore, turning books to face outwards can be a great way to display colourful covers. This is a fantastic idea if you have beautiful cookbooks or coffee table reads that are too pretty to pack away, and also works well to help little ones see their favourite stories on lower shelves.
To borrow an idea from your most beloved bookstore, turning books to face outwards can be a great way to display colourful covers. This is a fantastic idea if you have beautiful cookbooks or coffee table reads that are too pretty to pack away, and also works well to help little ones see their favourite stories on lower shelves.
6. Think outside the square
There’s no reason your bookshelf needs to be straight up and down – think triangular, non-symmetrical, floating … anything other than traditional.
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There’s no reason your bookshelf needs to be straight up and down – think triangular, non-symmetrical, floating … anything other than traditional.
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A swirly, gravity-defying shelf twisting along your wall is sure to a be a talking point among visitors. Unconventional shelving can also add a fresh and contemporary update to an otherwise bland space.
7. Add some foliage
A little greenery brings colour and life to any space, and your bookshelf is an easy place to pop some pots. Tuck some plants among your books to add a relaxed touch to your library collection – try some succulents in a range of shapes and sizes, an elegant orchid or a string of pearls for a whimsical touch.
A little greenery brings colour and life to any space, and your bookshelf is an easy place to pop some pots. Tuck some plants among your books to add a relaxed touch to your library collection – try some succulents in a range of shapes and sizes, an elegant orchid or a string of pearls for a whimsical touch.
8. Leave some room
Just because the space is there doesn’t mean you need to fill every bit of it. Like a piece of artwork on a wall, the white space surrounding your items is just as important in making a visual impact. For a stylish shelf, display only the pieces you cherish and store the rest inside a cupboard or drawer, or find them a new home.
Keeping some room free and not overloading every shelf not only looks tidier, it also allows the books and objects that are on display to really stand out.
Just because the space is there doesn’t mean you need to fill every bit of it. Like a piece of artwork on a wall, the white space surrounding your items is just as important in making a visual impact. For a stylish shelf, display only the pieces you cherish and store the rest inside a cupboard or drawer, or find them a new home.
Keeping some room free and not overloading every shelf not only looks tidier, it also allows the books and objects that are on display to really stand out.
9. Wall-to-wall shelves
If your library collection leans toward the larger end of the scale, built-in storage that extends along the length of a room can make a striking visual impact as a feature wall – not to mention being very convenient.
If your library collection leans toward the larger end of the scale, built-in storage that extends along the length of a room can make a striking visual impact as a feature wall – not to mention being very convenient.
Keep the shelves long and lean to maintain a streamlined look, and stick to all-white for floor-to-ceiling storage as this will help to maintain a clean and tidy appearance.
YOUR SAY
What’s great about your bookshelves? Share your ideas or an image or two in the Comments below.
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See more spaces designed for booklovers
YOUR SAY
What’s great about your bookshelves? Share your ideas or an image or two in the Comments below.
MORE
See more spaces designed for booklovers
Painting the inside walls of your bookshelf can have a bigger impact than you might think, especially if you use a variety of colours. Keeping hues muted in pretty pastel shades softens the effect, while still making a strong visual statement.