How to Style Bookcases Like a Pro

Do you ever see these beautifully styled bookcases in magazines and on social media and think “I wish I could do that”?

Yeah, me too. I studied lots and lots of photos for a while and realized there is a pattern or formula to it. And once you know what pattern you want to focus on, you can style bookcases like a pro. 

My eye is always drawn to blue and white pieces and green glass. I love it!  Maybe it reminds me of home and my time at the ocean both on vacations with my family as a kid and then with Doug and the kids when we lived in Hawaii. So, over the years I’ve developed quite a collection of blue and white dishes and green glass, and you will find it sprinkled all over my house.

I knew for my bookshelves, I wanted to focus on my blue and white pieces and green glass. When you have a color theme, it’s best to keep the eye moving across the shelves. What do I mean by that?  Balance the colors!  Keep reading for the magical shape that works every single time!  But first, let’s gather some things to style those shelves.

When styling your bookshelves, you will want a few key elements: 

1. Books:  Of course, you want your bookshelves to have books!  As you can see on my bookshelves, I kept the books to a minimum.  I wanted to focus on items that I love but I still wanted to display some of my favorite books here.  They are great to add texture, color and to use them for elevating your treasures. And a secret tip: if the color doesn’t fit the vibe of your shelves, turn the spine around and display the page side of the books. 

2. Trays:  I think trays are such a great way to group items on your bookcases. Think of it as you are anchoring a small collection with a tray and so you can place a few items on it a little closer together and it functions as a large piece. 

3. Picture frames:   I love having a few of my favorite family pictures framed on my shelves.  I also have a few frames that have yet to be filled.  I stuck with natural and gold woven rattan frames that I had on hand, but I think black frames with white mattes would also look great.   

4. Vases or Ginger Jars:  I love using my ginger jar collection as vases.  This is where I brought in a lot of my blue and white pieces. I have some faux green stems in one ginger jar and some hydrangeas that I dried in the other ginger jar.  

5. Vintage Pieces:  I love throwing in a few vintage pieces. It adds so much character and warmth to a room. On my shelves, my vintage pieces are the little silver mirror, the blue and white trinket box, the pottery pieces and my green glass.   

6. Plants:  I would love to add some live plants to my shelves, but for now the faux green stems and the dried hydrangeas are bringing in that natural element that keeps the bookshelves looking lively. 

7. Lamps and Candles:  Since my bookshelves also serve as nightstands when the Murphy bed is being used, I wanted to add lamps to my shelves. I love having the extra light in my office on dreary days. You can also add candles for a cozy glow. 

8. Decorative Boxes:  There are so many beautiful decorative boxes out there. I just happened to have a few on hand - a wooden photo box a dear friend gave me in Hawaii and a green one that my sweet sister gave me with old family photos inside. These boxes are both meaningful and add an opportunity to elevate a blue and white trinket dish and balance out the wood piece on the other bookshelf. 

9. Sculptural Pieces:  My sculptural elements are my pottery, green glass and a lovely piece of wood that my brother finished from my parents’ property.  He even wrote a poem in the shape of a tree and it is a cherished, sentimental piece of art for my bookshelves.  

As you can see there is some overlap in these categories and how my collection falls within those categories.  I hope this encourages you to think outside the box a little bit and that it gets your wheels turning.

In my bookcases I used a triangle pattern to sprinkle the blue and white pieces on each shelf but not in the exact same position. Since my blue and white ginger jars were my largest pieces, I placed those first.  I knew my lamps had to be next to the Murphy bed so our guests could reach them when the bed is open.  So, those pieces were easy to figure out.  Once I had the large pieces in place, I placed several stacks of large books on the center shelves. I then added a tray so I could group a few items.  Next came the picture frames.  Once the picture frames were in place, I began adding my green glass pieces and anything else that needed to be elevated.  Since I had two shelves to style, I tried to achieve balance on both sides, so I used the opposite triangle shape for the other side.  See the example below.   

When I styled my bookshelves, I gathered all the things that I wanted to use, and I kept placing them in different configurations until I had a design that I loved. That meant that I spent a lot of time editing. I’ve seen bookshelves a lot more filled than mine are right now.  I may add more pieces as time goes by but for now, I love them just the way they are! 🥰

I’ve even spent some time gathering similar pieces for you to check out below: