How to: Style a bookshelf

Shelf styling, or shelfie styling as it’s more commonly known, is only gaining popularity as a way of decorating our homes. Bookshelves aren’t just for books — they’re an opportunity to showcase your personality and style. This month, I’m proud to partner with Gioia on my curated art collection, and one of my favourite ways to use art is to style it as a focal point on a shelf.

Until 31 July, enjoy 20% off my curated art collection from Gioia using code ‘STYLECURATOR20’ at checkout.

Whether you’re refreshing your living room, home office or hallway, here are my go-to tricks from years of styling bookshelves for homes and magazines. Time to take your shelfie game from average to amazing!

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1. Start with larger items first

Style your shelf as you would an outfit. Begin with your largest pieces, except instead of jeans or a coat, think stacks of books and baskets. Then layer in your everyday essentials but in lieu of a classic T-shirt reach for ceramic objects, sculptures, photo frames and other mid-sized decor. Every great outfit is finished with accessories, and your bookshelf is no different, add metallic accents or crystals for a hint of bling.

Mixing heights and shapes creates depth and visual flow, which is what makes a shelf feel styled — not stacked. This will help you get the scale and balance right and give you a basic layout.

2. Odd numbers create balance

It sounds weird, but grouping your objects in threes or fives creates visual balance. It’s a classic styling rule that makes arrangements feel more relaxed and less rigid. Use a mix of books, vases, bowls, and art for the perfect balance.

If an arrangement isn’t working for you, consider changing the height or scale of some pieces. Perhaps everything is too same-same or perhaps the items are too large or small?

Tip: rather than placing items next to each other, look for ways you can use the depth and height of shelves. You’ll instantly achieve a more confident and sophisticated look when you layer objects. One of my favourite ways to do this is by placing items on top of stacks. For example, placing a decorative object like a crystal or trinket box on top of a stack of books. You can use this tip in any space of the home. For example, in the bathroom you may place a soap and body brush on a stack of stylish towels. It’s a neat trick you can apply to any styling you do.

3. Mix materials

Bring in a variety of textures. If everything is the same material, your bookshelf will feel flat. Play with objects made from glass, metal, wood, jute, ceramics and so on. Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to add quirky or unexpected objects that tell a story.

The decorative objects you add could be anything from pieces you’ve collected on your travels to treasured family heirlooms or latest season homewares. Depending on your style, you could use almost anything as decorative accents. People who embrace the eclectic style will often scope out op-shops for something like an old typewriter, whereas Scandi-lovers will lean towards concrete décor.

4. Use negative space

Sometimes the best thing you can do to achieve a stylist-worthy bookshelf is to add nothing. Yep, leaving gaps between objects allows your eye to rest and makes each item or arrangement shine. This is what takes a shelf from cluttered to curated.

5. Add art

I mentioned this in the beginning, but artwork makes a great focal point in any bookshelf. Prop a small, framed piece or canvas at the back of the shelf and layer shorter objects in front. I often use pieces from my Gioia art collection to create a mini gallery moment on a shelf.

Another affordable idea is to pick up a poster frame and make your own poster prints. These could be anything from large-scale printed photographs or graphic quotes you’ve made.

6. Embrace plants

Plants add life to your bookshelf, literally! A trailing plant like Pothos is my favourite, but you could add any indoor plant to give life and movement to your shelf. It’s the finishing touch that softens the look and brings the outdoors in.

I love that there’s a bigger range than ever before of stylish and affordable pots that you can place your plants in — it’s an easy way to add more materials and dimension to your shelf styling.

If you don’t have a green thumb, you can use artificial plants for the same visual impact or you may like to check out our top 20 hard to kill plants here.

7. Books are essential

Of course — it wouldn’t be a bookshelf without books! The trick to styling books well is to mix up their orientation. Create a stack of 3-5 books horizontally and off-set these with a stack of 5-9 books vertically. Scatter these across your bookshelf to create rhythm. If you want, you could add structure by sorting books by colour or size. 

Remember, styling isn’t about perfection. Move things around, trust your eye, and have fun with it. The best shelves look like they came together naturally — even if it took a few re-shuffles to get there. Happy styling!

Check out more styling ideas