Do you ever wonder where to start when decorating open shelves or a bookcase? Today, I’m sharing shelf decor ideas- 8 types of items to have on hand for easy shelf styling. Plus, I’m sharing over 75 pieces perfect for your shelves!
Before we get started on our shelf decor ideas, I want to mention that if you have source questions about anything you see that isn’t linked, you can Shop My Home Here. Also, the built-in bookshelves I’m sharing today are an IKEA hack. You can find that tutorial here: IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack – Wall Of Built-ins
Let’s get to it!
the obvious one- books:
I love to use books when styling my shelves. For the most part, I use just a few home decor books stacked in groupings vertically & horizontally throughout my shelves. Most of our books are stored behind the closed cabinet doors. That being said, I have seen shelves styled beautifully full of books. Room For Tuesday has a great blog post all about that here: 10 tips for shelf styling with lots of books.
Books For Shelf Styling:
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decorative objects:
I love to use decorative objects, like the wood beads in the photo above, throughout my shelves. Decorative objects are the perfect things to use as a book end to prop up books, or place it on top of a couple of books for some added interest & height. I’ve even stacked a decorative object on top of a lidded box. A candle stacked next to an art print or on top of a stack of books is a no-fail way to add interest to your shelves.
Decorative Objects For Shelf Styling:
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vases & pots:
Vases & pots are one of my very favorite things to decorate my shelves with. I love to fill them with faux or real greenery or flowers, or style them empty. Or, a mix of both, like shown above. They are such a great item to have on hand, because they are often substantial and fill so much space. I also like the smaller ones for stacking on books.
Vases & Pots For Shelf Styling:
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artwork & family photos:
Next, let’s talk decorating shelves with artwork & personal photos. I think this is my favorite part of my shelves. I love the artwork, because I can inexpensively change out the prints each season for a completely new look! And our shelves are where we display all of our family photos, so I love adding to them each year, while keeping older photos too!
Artwork & Frames For Shelf Styling:
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boxes:
Boxes are another great way to add interest to your shelves or bookcases. I love to style them stacked on top of books, like above, or placed in front of leaning artwork or books.
Boxes For Shelf Styling:
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greenery and/or flowers:
Greenery and/or flowers is really how your shelves come to life! During the spring and summer months, I will bring fresh flowers in, but during the rest of the year, I rely solely on faux greenery! I love to place them in baskets, pots & vases. And for the smaller ones, I like to prop them up on top of books, like shown above.
Tip- place coasters inside your larger baskets for the faux plant to stand on. It will appear more substantial. The plant in the basket above is quite small, I just have it propped up on several coasters.
Faux Greenery For Shelf Styling:
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baskets:
Baskets are another fantastic item to have on hand for your shelf styling. They are great for storing items inside that you don’t want out on display, and they are also great for displaying empty, like above. And as I mentioned, they are fun for styling as a vase for your faux greenery too.
Tip- vary the sizes and shapes throughout your shelves!
Baskets For Shelf Styling:
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bowls:
The last item I love to have on hand for styling my shelves is bowls. As you can see in the above photo, I have 3 different bowls in this shot. All three are empty; however, I do like to style them with wood beads or decorative items occasionally. (At Christmas, I filled the black bowl above with ornaments.) Tip-think outside the box! The small bowl above is being used as a bookend!
Bowls For Shelf Decor:
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As always, if you have any questions about this post, feel free to leave a comment below!
To read a step-by-step on how I style my shelves, head to my blog post- How To Decorate Shelves & Bookcases
Other Related Blog Posts:
How To Decorate Shelves & Bookcases
IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack – Wall Of Built-ins
55 Of My Favorite Shelf Decor Finds
shelf decor ideas:
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