Design Tip Tuesday: Arranging Bookshelves
I received an email from Emily asking to help in arranging her bookshelves. “I have a long row of bookshelves, but not enough books to fill the space. How do I mix books with art and other artful objects to make it look right?” I’m so glad Emily asked this question because I love arranging thing on bookshelves.
There are no hard and fast rules. There are a lot of different ways to arrange things that can help you fill up the space, number one being to start reading faster. All joking aside, here are some tips with visuals to help you on your way. Take these tips and then just let yourself go. Play around with things. You’ll know when it looks right.
Here’s a room that sounds similar to Emily’s project. The owners didn’t have enough books, so we went shopping in her house for accessories to fill the space. I also asked her to buy some large art books. This is an easy and relatively inexpensive thing to do, because they’re so often on sale at major bookstores. I like some large books in an arrangement because you can stack them. Then, top them with a decorative box, or a small collection of objet d’arte.
I arrange most books with their spines out. Some get stacked. I’ll also leave a space bookless and hang or prop a painting on one shelf. The key is to avoid symmetry, but maintain the balance.
