When designing your living room furniture, it’s a great idea to include a bookcase. Whether you’re a bookworm or just like to have the odd coffee table book to pull out on special occasions, a bookcase can be an exciting addition to a living room. There is so much potential for a bookcase to flourish in a space, if styled well. In this article we’ll teach you some helpful homeware hacks to style your bookcase just like the pros.

Arrange Books by Colour 

This first hack may come as a shock to those who cherish proper library-style alphabetical organisation, but from an interior design perspective arranging by colour always looks super effective. We wouldn’t be telling you about it if it didn’t! This is especially great if you have a vibrant collection of books as it makes them stand out even more in their space. The idea of a bookcase is to have your favourite things on show, so this is a great way to ensure they look their best.

Design Quirky Collections 

If you’re the kind of person who likes to categorise, this hack can be a great way to make sure your books are divided up into their categories while being styled well at the same time. The idea is that you divide books into groups of about 5 to 10, and turn your bookcase into a whole lot of smaller collections of books. You can do this with the whole bookcase, or just choose a couple of stand-out collections to separate from the rest of your books.

 Make these collections stand out by giving them their own bookends or placing some objects to separate them from the rest of your books. They can even be separated by placing them in a horizontal pile among all your vertical standing books. This can be a great way to showcase your favourite series or a few books you love. The books can be the same size, colour or all completely different, depending on what style you are after. Experiment with collections and you’ll be sure to come out with something amazing.

Curate Beautiful Things

Bookcases aren’t just for books! Don’t forget this, as it is an incredibly freeing statement when you’re trying to style a bookcase. If you love to collect knick-knacks, sculptures, crockery or any sort of small items, bookcases can be the perfect place to showcase them. It is a great place to show off gifts that people give you, as small homewares such as candles or ornaments seem to be popular gift ideas. If you have a natural space, plants can be an effective accent on your bookcase.

An eclectic bookcase may have books in bunches scattered throughout, with spaces for a lovely curation of your own collection throughout it. It pays to have a combination of the types of items you display if you are aiming for this look. Try to incorporate some different textures and colours. You can cluster similar items together as well, to create smaller collections inside the overall collection.

 If you want to include beautiful items without an eclectic look, a really sleek way to do this is to find a single colour or texture and find a whole collection of items that match. These can be tinted glass for a mid-century, retro look, or you could paint a series of items all the same, bold colour. This can give the whole bookcase a real pop-art style and be an excellent stand-out piece in any living room.

Leave Some Room to Breathe

This is extremely important if you are adding a lot of things to your bookcase. An overflowing bookcase won’t look properly styled no matter how hard you try to squeeze everything in. If you have objects that aren’t books on your bookcase, it’s important to leave white space around each item or cluster so that they can effectively stand out. If you don’t leave enough space, it may look like the objects are being overwhelmed by books or the case may look crowded and frustrated.

Don’t Forget About the Shelf Itself

The kind of shelf you buy has as much importance as anything you put on it. The shelf should act as a blank canvas and so you want it to be as neutral as possible. Even so, you want it to lend in well with the surrounding furniture in the room. If you have a wood grain textured shelf, make sure the wood is the same as other wooden textures in the room. Painting shelves the same colour or a complimentary tone to the walls around it can be effective.

Once the items on your shelf have room to breathe, you’ll find you can see a lot more of the back of the shelf. This is a good time to consider the wall or backing that your shelves sit against. It can be really effective to add a textured wallpaper in the same colour along the back of the shelf to elevate it from the rest of the walls.

 

All Your Homeware Needs in One Place

Finding the right items to style your bookcase with can be difficult. Luckily, Allium Interiors has a great online homeware store that is filled with anything and everything you need to style your bookcase with. Shop online today.