5 Ways to Style a Shelf

Yeah, I'm a little one-track-minded right now.  If you don't want to talk flip, we probably shouldn't have a conversation until late next week.  We're listing Grover a week from TODAY and I'm in Git-r-done mode!  That being said, I'll attempt to pull my head out of the flip for just a little bit to bring you the latest installment of 5 Ways!  Since I showed you my updated and styled flip built-in on Monday, I thought we could keep with that topic: 5-ways-to-style-a-shelf

1.  Group like items to show off a collection.  For my updated built-in, I grouped these 3 not-so-real-but-not-too-fake-looking plants to add a bit of life and greenery.  Each having a different height and material makes it interesting, while the faux (sounds so much more sophisticated than fake) greenery unifies them.

built-in-close-up-3

2. Speaking of height... Make the eye travel.  High-low-high, low-high-low, high-low.... you get the idea.  If you vary the height of the items, it will help the eye travel along the shelf.  This keeps it from being stagnant and boring.  Elsie's living room shelves are a shining example of this- via A Beautiful Mess

a beautiful mess- elsies living room shelves

3. Odd numbers are more pleasing.  Don't as me why, they just are.  3 and 5 are my golden numbers usually.  Check out this styling from Centsational Girl- each shelf holds an odd number of items (i'm counting small items, like the little towers as one visually)

bookcase-styling-centsational-girl

4. Layer.  Lining up your treasures all in a row might look nice and ocd, but imagine how amazing they'd look if you overlapped them a bit.  Over lapping just a little helps to create groupings, depth, and interest without obscuring the items.  Emily Henderson is probably the queen of layering decorative objects- just look at this bookcase from her prior living room.

Emily Henderson shelf layering

5.  Break all the rules!  What??  That's right, I said it!  Styling a shelf, above all is about showing off what you love.  Do you have 4 photographs you want to display?... but that's not an odd number.  Who cares.  Do you like the way it looks?  Good.  Do it.  That's right, I have 2 gold mirrors on my bookshelf.  Gasp... an even number! I'm a rebel.

styled plant hand shelf via year of serendipity

Happy styling!!