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I love my bookcases in my living room. We saved up for a few years to get the ones I wanted, and it was worth it! They provide plenty of extra closed storage on the lower portion and the upper open shelves allow for books and decorative items. You can read all about our bookcases HERE.

We have two bookcases on each side of the fireplace. When I decorate them I treat them as pairs and try to balance each side with the other as well as the two shelves that make up each side. 

I will first say that there are many ways to style bookcases and open shelving. Ultimately, I always say to do what you love!!! It is your home after all. Today I will share how I style mine. 

I try to do a mix of a few things: a metal tone, wood tones, a main color, artwork (or family photos) and greenery.

My metal tone is an antique brass. My wood tones are in the mid range color. I have a neutral color palate and mix in pops of greenery for extra color.

For the items I add, I do a mix of books, artwork or photos, decorative boxes, bowls, vases, trays, and greenery.

I have a roundup of the items I have used or similar ones divided into categories listed here: 

I work in triangles and try to do a variation of the number of items on each shelf. For example, I have four shelves per bookcase – 8 total per side. On a single bookcase, on the first shelf I may have one item (like a piece of artwork), shelf two I will do a combo of 3 items (ie, books, a decorative box, links), on the third shelf I will do 2 items then a single item on the bottom. As seen here:

You can see here, on this side… I have a mix of items so that no shelf adjacent has the same number. 

I do the same technique for dispersing the metal and wood tones. 

I hope these tips have helped you as you style your bookcases and open shelving. 

I hope you’ll come back soon for more decor tips, projects and all the in between.