52 Ways To Decorate A Bookshelf In Any Room
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/2718102_PU_Gidiere2CG-EVL-LR-Full-1-2000-1b8ddf020a934b89b5be98c4dd5b957e.jpg "52 Ways To Decorate A Bookshelf In Any Room")
Bookshelves are more than simple storage for your favorite books and accessories. Whether built-in or freestanding, a shelf is the perfect place to put your personality on display with novels and coffee table books, artwork, framed photos, and unexpected treasures. There are endless ways to be creative when it comes to designing and styling a bookcase depending on your needs and space. Here are 46 pretty and functional bookshelf ideas for every room in your home.
Pick a Color Palette
LAUREY W. GLENN
Play off the room’s decor. “As a stylist, I like to have places to arrange accessories on,” says homeowner Lindsey Ellis Beatty, who chose a lively color scheme for her den, down to the books that fill the free-standing shelf.
Take it Floor-to-Ceiling
If you’re an avid reader, a cozy reading room like this one in the 2020 Idea House is calling your name. This library is outfitted with floor-to-ceiling shelves so you’ll have plenty of room to store your favorite novels as well as ample of space for new additions.
Make it Multi-Purpose
Brie Williams
For open floor plans, like this family room connected to the kitchen and dining areas, spaces often need to serve a number of needs. Here, designer Maggie Dillion focused on function with built-in bookcases that double as a bar and creative display for her glassware collection on one side with books and favorite trinkets on the other.
Layer in Fresh Touches
HECTOR MANUEL SANCHEZ; Styling by Kathleen Varner
There’s no better way to brighten up a shelf or alcove than with colorful blooms. No large-scale arrangement needed, just tuck in a few dainty bud vases for a cheerful touch.
Add a Ladder
Laurey W. Glenn; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
For ceiling height shelves, a sliding ladder not only is functional but also a fun accessory. In this Fairhope, Alabama, home the multi-purpose bookcase makes for a beautiful backdrop to the coastal living room while also housing the TV in a more design-friendly way.
Hang a Mirror
Don’t have enough to fill your shelves or don’t want to overcrowd a room? Consider hanging a mirror or piece of artwork on the frame of the bookcase. In this sitting room, designer Fran Keenan opted for an ornate Rococo mirror to add elegance.
Stain Them
Laurey Glenn
Add dimension and depth to any room in your home by contrasting built-in bookcases with the surroundings. In the 2024 Idea House family room, designer Allison Elebash opted for stained wood to pop against the creamy white walls.
Add Picture Lights
If you feel like something is missing on your bookshelf wall, it’s likely picture lights. They’re like the star on top of a Christmas tree—you can’t quite put your finger on what’s missing at first, but as soon as you add it, the magic happens.
Vary the Shelf Heights
Whether you remove a shelf to make room for taller items or design the openings with different scales in mind from the start, shelves of varying heights give more freedom for what can be put on display. In this house, the homeowner opted for three different heights.
Salvage Old Materials
Cody Ulrich
For a little extra farmhouse charm, consider salvaging vintage and antique materials for your shelving. In this mudroom entry, designer Leah Ashley Finn repurposed an 1800s pharmacy cabinet to house her china and drinkware collections.
Elevate with Art
James Ransom
Rather than adding artwork as an afterthought, pick a special piece to inspire the space. In this library, the homeowners framed a favorite silk scarf to hang center stage.
Consider Your Surroundings
Laurey W. Glenn; Stylist: Matthew Gleason
In the 2023 Idea House, ceiling-high windows lighten up the oak-paneled room, which seamlessly includes a built-in bookcase that displays treasures in natural hues—a subtle nod to the view outside the windows.
Rethink Tricky Spaces
BRIE WILLIAMS
While oddly shaped walls might not be ideal for some things, you can always convert them into bookcases. Here, interiors expert Molly Williams turned an under-utilized attic into a quaint room for her daughter and filled the shelves with baby items.
Design Your Own Border
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAUREY W. GLENN; STYLING BY KENDRA SURFACE
Add personal flair to ho-hum built-ins. In the 2022 Idea House, designer Charlotte Lucas creatively tied in the home’s coastal surroundings with a handmade shell surround for the bookshelf and a subtle ticking stripe wallpaper.
Add Interest to the Wall
Brie Williams Styling: Jennifer Berno Decleene
Rather than using paint or wallpaper to break up a solid-colored wall, add bookshelves that double as a way to add interest and storage. In this lakeside cottage, the homeowner opted to display books, art, and seashells collected on her vacations.
Strike a Balance
Black and white prints occupy the center section of these bookcases to keep the wall-to-wall shelving from feeling too cluttered. In this sitting room, designer Taylor Hill broke down the shelving into three primary sections to make the most of the small space—books, bar, and artwork, plus tucked away storage underneath.
Think About the Primary User
Hector Manuel Sanchez
Bookshelves can come in all shapes and sizes. In her son’s nursery, designer Catherine Branstetter turned a simple side table into a kid-friendly bookshelf, adding an extra row of books below.
Surround the Doorframe
BRIE WILLIAMS
Don’t let any wall space go to waste even if there’s a doorframe in the way. Design around it, like a hidden passageway, and create a cohesive feel using paint.
Bring in Texture
Upgrade your built-in bookcases with wallpaper backing. In this coastal bedroom, designer Heather Chadduck Hillegas used grasscloth wallpaper for texture and color.
Hang Artwork
DANE TASHIMA; STYLING: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER
The horizontal planks of a bookshelf aren’t the only spot to twirl up—the vertical trim can provide just as much interest. Give smaller, special pieces of artwork room to shine by hanging them on the edges.
Keep it Minimalistic
Amy Neunsinger
In this lowcountry dining room, designer Mark D. Sikes kept with the light and airy feel of the surrounding landscape by leaving plenty of breathing room on the bookshelves with simple ceramics.
Face Books Outward
Brooke Davis-Jefcoat
If the spines of your book collection don’t quite match the design of a room, try turning them around, allowing all the white- and yellow-hued pages to foster a cohesive look.
Set a Focal Point
Select a primary object, painting, or photograph to be the focus of a busy wall. A neutral painting at the center balances these colorful, packed-to-the-brim shelves (the interiors of which are painted black) with the cream painted walls of this living room.
Style with Plants
GABRIELA HERMAN; STYLING: HILTON CARTER
Rather than floral arrangements that aren’t long-lasting, tuck a hearty houseplant among your reading material. Plant expert and stylist Hilton Carter recommends those that tolerate low light and infrequent watering, like this ZZ plant or a snake plant.
Go Beyond the Living Room
Bookshelves aren’t just for the living room. In this eat-in kitchen, designer Cortney Bishop bookended the banquette with window-height shelves and lightened them up with a punchy shade of yellow-green (Farrow & Ball’s Churlish Green, No. 251).
Vary Your Book Displays
Marta Xochilt Perez; Styling: Page Mullins
To keep a shelf from feeling too dense, stack books in various ways, adding trinkets throughout to break up the spines and add more interest.
Be Bold with Color
Courtesy of Charlotte Lucas Interior Design
Punch up a cozy corner with unexpected hues. In this library designer Charlotte Lucas tied in colors from the floral wallpaper with a complementary vibrant pink paint on the wraparound bookcase.
Use Various Finishes
Laurey W. Glenn; Stylist: Matthew Gleason
Rather than keeping everything one color, use different finishes and textiles for more character. In the 2023 Idea House, designer Laura Hodges opted for stained wood shelves within the white casing, then added fabric backing behind.
Wrap Shelves Around a Corner
Don’t settle for just one wall. Whether wrapped around the room, as a lone shelf, or spaced far apart—floating shelves are a great, low-lift way to create plenty of display space and can always be added later to any room.
Add Texture with Beadboard
ALISON GOOTEE; STYLING: MATTHEW GLEASON
If you’re not planning to pack your shelves to the brim, give them a little more personality with millwork. In designer Meg Kelly’s Nashville home, she added beadboard in the back to add the just-right amount of interest to the white walls, while accessories bring in color.
Utilize Free-Standing Shelves
Give any corner, hallway, or empty wall extra pizzazz with a free-standing bookshelf. Because they can live anywhere in a home, the options are endless, from a pretty way to put out plush towels and bath salts in a powder room to showing off your favorite glassware and coffee table books near a bar cart.
Design with Arches
Marta Xochilt Perez; Styling: Page Mullins
Curved edges are known for adding an elevated feel to any room. In the 2021 Idea House, a pair of arched built-ins flank the bed, ensuring the guest room feels extra special.
Organize by Color
Organizing by color might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a great way to add a little more order to packed spaces. The cleverly designed shelves of this farmhouse create added storage below, as well as a place to display book collections and sentimental keepsakes.
Add Unique Details
From scalloped trim details to paint color selections that tie into the room’s furnishings, there are plenty of ways to add special touches to functional elements of the home.
Hide Storage in Plain Sight
Lacking cabinetry and closets? Consider adding built-in or free-standing cubes with matching baskets to hold clutter and more unsightly home essentials. In her she shed, designer Allison Allen used this concept to produce an organization system that doesn’t detract from the room’s design.
Let it Overflow
HECTOR MANUEL SANCHEZ; STYLING BY CHRISTINA WRESSELL
If you’re an avid reader and book collector, embrace it. An overflowing bookcase means you’ll always have a book to lend to a friend!
Keep it Simple
Let floating shelves blend into the wall while accessories dress it up. This lakeside cabin embraces minimalism, simplicity, and the outdoors with untreated yellow pine that wraps the interiors and uses the same wood for the shelving.
Consider new Heights
Alison Gootee; Styling: Suzonne Stirling
If you don’t have an expansive home, don’t fret. We have plenty of ideas for maxing out small spaces. In this 848-square-foot apartment it was all about saving space which made a book ledge the perfect way to use the room’s height.
Forget the Books
Just because ‘book’ is in the name doesn’t mean that is what has to be on display. In the home office of designer Liz Carroll’s home, you’ll only find a few books adorning the built-in (painted Benjamin Moore’s Sea Haze (2137-50)).
Make a Statement
MARY BRITTON SENSENEY; STYLING BY DAKOTA WILLIMON
Go all in on color. In this traditional 1923 home, the homeowner chose to punch up the living room by splashing the walls and bookcase with Farrow & Ball’s Lulworth Blue, No. 89.
Think Beyond Built-Ins
To keep a room from feeling too heavy without sacrificing sturdiness, anchor free-standing shelving to the wall. This style doubles as a bookshelf and desk.
Create Contrast
Use natural wood on your bookshelf to create a wow moment. In designer Shannon Edding’s house, she chose vibrant neutrals on the walls with colorful textile accents throughout the room.
Leave Breathing Room
Instead of filling every section with knickknacks, let some shine on their own to add variety and let the eye wander.
Repurpose Antiques
ANNA ROUTH BARZIN
If putting china on display isn’t your style, rethink how you use your hutch. The same idea can be used with many antique furniture pieces that don’t fit their original purpose in your home.
Fill in old Doorframes
ADAM FORD
Remodeling your home and have unwanted doorways you’re looking to close off? Consider this low-budget solution to fill the gap.
Create Your Own
You don’t always need fancy built-ins or floating shelves. Sometimes acrylic wall pockets, as seen in this children’s bedroom, will do the trick.
Stick to a Color Theme
These beautiful built-ins are not only painted to match the trim throughout the room, but also filled with items that pull from the dining area’s color palette. The red, orange, and blue books and trinkets tie into the hues of the window treatments.
Don’t Hold Back on Color
If a bold color isn’t in the cards for the whole room, splash the back of your bookcase with it to add spunky energy to any space.
Don’t Give it Too Much Thought
Gordon Gregory
If you’re a book-lover and collector, your bookshelves have to be put to work. In his 850-square-foot apartment, designer J.P. Horton filled his bookcases with ample reading material and vinyl records.
Get Creative in Small Spaces
Brie Williams
While turning built-in bookshelves into a closet might not be the most glamorous approach, it’s a great solution for small spaces. Here, designer Maggie Dillion created a pint-sized closet for her newborn son.
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