My delightful neighbor, Karen, suggested that I write a blog post about her current design dilemma - styling her large bookshelf wall. I’m on it!

A quick note: my goal is not to suggest ways to get an Instagram-worthy bookshelf (although of course, we all want it to be pretty). I want to offer ideas that are attractive AND functional AND create interiors that are reflective of their owners.

This wall is in the Great Room, but also very close to the Kitchen. Karen is a very talented woman who loves to entertain. If we filled her shelves with color coded books—

or some other trendy nonsense—this would be a useless blog post.

Instead, I’ll use what I know about Karen and her family in my suggestions to help create a beautiful wall of shelves that are personal to them. You can tweak the ideas to make them personal to you.

The shelves are made out of Virginia Black Walnut - how nice is that?! The only kinda/sorta problem is that the shelves aren’t adjustable. While adjustable shelves would make this less challenging, it means that those crazy rows of holes aren’t going up and down each side. There’s always a trade-off. In this case, it’s no holes, so no easy adjustability.

Here’s a picture of her bookshelf wall:

Like so many of you, I’m a visual person. My first step is always to draw it out. I prefer to “draw” right on top of a photo, using Powerpoint. Then I delete the photo so I’ve got the bones to look at.

My next step would usually be to ask my client what kind of feeling she/he wants this area to have. I always start every design project, big or small, with a little homework. Clients are asked to choose 3 words describing the look and/or feeling they would like to have in the end. The words CANNOT be “warm, comfortable and inviting.”

C’mon, everyone wants rooms that are warm, comfortable and inviting. By digging a little deeper to find words that are more personal, the end result is always better.

For the purpose of this post, I’m not asking Karen for her words. Instead. we’ll end up with guidance for 2 options. One will be for those who want a very serene look on this wall. The other will be for those who want a vibrant look.

Here’s an example of what I would call a serene bookshelf:

And here’s a vibrant bookshelf:

Both styles are beautiful. The nice thing about styling bookshelves is that you can have both - just not at the same time. Go with the vibrant vibe until you tire of it, then do a purge and go serene or vice versa.

Once a preferred style is chosen, the next step is to look for ideas on Pinterest and Houzz.

Houzz used to be my favorite place for inspiration. Well, after magazines, that is. I love flicking the pages of a good home magazine. But with online inspiration, you can save photos to a folder and kind of make your own magazine.

Lately, however, I’ve gotten the hang of how to focus while scrolling through Pinterest (setting a timer really helps), so I find myself on that platform more and more. Just be sure to make those folders (Ideabooks, Boards, etc.) to save photos when you see them. Don’t reinvent the wheel every time you go online - that quickly becomes tiresome.

But, before I looked on Pinterest, I Googled the address in hopes of finding a real estate listing photo of the wall. Karen and her Hub bought this home recently, so I thought there might be a nice photo from the previous owners.

Voila! Here it is:

It looks pretty good and this obviously worked for them. But I’ve definitely got some suggestions to kick it up a notch.

I’ll certainly use their idea of hanging a large piece of art in the space above the short shelves. Notice that it’s large and colorful, but it’s not loud. I’d even say that it’s serene.

Ok, next I finally headed over to Pinterest. What follows are some inspo pictures for a serene bookshelf wall:

Very minimalist. This is a restful display of sculptural elements. You could collect local art over the years (there’s no rush in completing this project - good things come to those who wait). The view out Karen’s windows is mountains, trees and fields, so this would compliment it nicely.

However, a long wall of this might feel unfinished. Let’s add more.

Still pretty minimal, but more to look at. An important design element here is the use of contrast. A lot of pale colors are used, but they’re framed in black or have other features to make them stand out. I LOVE artwork on the shelves. Not tiny art though-keep the proportions on the large side so they can be seen. I also LOVE it when plants are mixed in. It doesn’t matter if they’re real or fake, as long as they look real.

You know, just because you’ve got a LOT of shelves to fill, doesn’t mean every shelf NEEDS to be filled. Something could be put in front of some of the shelves - temporarily and attractively- to block them out. You’d have to be a talented DIYer who really pays attention to details to pull this off, but I know there are a lot of you out there!

The picture above is showing the trend of putting books on the shelves with their spines facing the back. While I like it for a photoshoot, how would I ever find a book?

Ok, those are my Serene Inspo pictures. You can easily copy any of these shelves. Let’s identify a couple of design touches that made them beautiful:

• Contrast is important - dark frames against light bookshelves or light frames against dark bookshelves.

• Books on their sides can fill a shelf while still providing function. Those books are often used as a way to lift up smaller pieces.

• Placing plants here and there can add a lot to the overall scheme, regardless of the preferred design style.

• A Serene vibe has to be uncluttered. Don’t add too much!

• Change up the position or placement of your items on the shelves. Don’t put books on the left all the way down the rows. The simplest method is to zigzag your placement, but just move things about in a way that pleases your eye.

• Remember that we’re not going for Instagram fame here. We’re aiming for an overall look that makes YOU smile! Personal style is always the goal.

  
  

Moving on to Vibrant bookshelves, which is what I think Karen’s family might prefer. Here’s a photo of a beautifully arranged bookshelf that’s not vibrant in the way that the green shelves were a couple of pictures up from here, but it’s got a lot of interesting things worked onto the shelves:

This arrangement uses contrast heavily. The shelves are dark, the backs are white or maybe light gray, and they’ve got many shapes mixed in - plus some sparkle here and there. I just love this one and might use it as an inspiration point for my own bookshelf makeover. More about that another day. You know we ALL have bookshelves that need the occasional refresh.

The bookshelf above uses a lot of elements, but they limited their color palette. That makes it vibrant, but not chaotic. Notice the lamps on two of the shelves. This is a brilliant idea-no pun intended. You can add lamps by installing outlets OR by using a lamp or two from one of my favorite vendors - Modern Lantern.

Karen is definitely a vibrant woman. She’s well-traveled, has many interests and talents. She and her handsome and equally brilliant husband are raising 3 beautiful, creative daughters. I think they would enjoy a bookshelf wall that incorporates their interests and includes a good amount of function. Let’s start at the low end of the wall.

These lower shelves are close to the Kitchen. You can see that Karen has already stashed glasses and and some beverages on the shelves. I love that. Let’s make this area the bar! Then I’m going to use many of the ideas I’ve already shown in this post. Let’s see if I can “draw” them out to show you:

I put a more vibrant piece of art above the shelves. On the shelves themselves, I added more of everything she already had there. Wine glasses, sodas, alcoholic beverages and mixes, towels, dishes, bowls, coffee cups, trays, etc. On the top, I placed bar equipment on a tray. This signals that they’re going to play bartender right there.

We need to be kind to the walnut, so a long tray or marble slab could sit next to the equipment to provide a spill-proof surface.

What will we do with the rest of the wall? That’s a long wall.

Let’s tackle it!

First, an explanation. Powerpoint is my visualization tool of choice - I’ve used it for a long time, it’s simple and I can move right along. It still takes quite a bit of time, but at least I know how to do it.

Right before I finished this one, the software started to struggle, so I had to get out, snap a screenshot and wave goodbye to the whole presentation. Today it told me that I have to upgrade to a newer version. I’ll do that soon. For now, I’m using the screenshot.

Sooooo, to review, what I’m showing you above is an example of a vibrant bookshelf. We’re never going to paint gorgeous Virginia Black Walnut - and we can’t adjust the shelves in any way. But we can do a lot of other things. Such as:

• Add a large piece of art over the low end - we’re going vibrant here, so the picture can be as colorful as. you want. It’s setting the tone for the whole wall.

• Add wireless sconces that mimic the style of other lighting in the room. In this room, there are pendant lights hanging from the ceiling that are very MCM looking - I’ll show them to you below. These fun Emerson wall sconces from Modern Lantern coordinate well with the existing pendants. Cordless sconces means no wiring and easy-to -recharge LED bulbs.

• As seen in one of the serene bookshelf examples, I used the idea of blocking off some of the shelves. That will take a bit of custom work, but I think it’s a DIY project. Do a nice, careful job and stain or paint these faux fronts carefully to match or coordinate closely with the existing finish.

• Scatter books throughout the shelves. Some are vertical and some are horizontal.

• Add live or good-quality faux plants in a couple of places. If they’re real, please water and mist twice a week. Dead plants are never a good look!

• Mix framed art of any kind in the shelves. Pay attention to the element of contrast. It’s a dark background, so we need light matting and/or light frames.

• Add other kinds of art: sculpture, pottery, etc. It can be those interesting shapes the kids made in art class in 5th grade (I call those Heart Melters).

• My favorite addition for warmth at night or gloomy days - little lamps, perched on a shelf or two. Modern Lantern has some mini lamps and even a handmade ceramic lamp. Yes, I’m a big fan of Modern Lantern. They’re nice people with a great product.

• The youngest in Karen’s family is growing up fast, but still needs easy access to a couple of beloved toys. I reserved 2 shelves on the very bottom for Barbie’s dream car and a couple of other favorites. Even when this young lady outgrows them, younger children will be among their visitors and they’ll be happy to see some toys within easy reach.

  
  

Here’s the picture again so you don’t have to keep going up to see each element. It’s killing me that the picture is a bit fuzzy, but that’s what software, just before it crashes, can do. I’m lucky it’s still readable. I’d say it’s “2020 quality,” but 2021 is feeling a little out of focus too. We’re all loving blaming the years on anything that goes wrong, aren’t we? LOL!

And here’s a shot of one of the existing pendant lights that I mentioned when talking about adding wireless sconces:

One more idea in case the idea of blocking off some of the shelves with a faux front isn’t appealing. I’d add a solid row of books on at least one of them. A line of books is a comforting visual to me - and to most readers. If that’s not you, how about filling those shelves with a strong collection of something? An example would be your collection of pottery vases or carved duck decoys?

I hope this is helpful, to Karen and to you. If you use any of these ideas on your bookshelf refresh, or have any questions, please let me know!

With sparkle and texture,

Anne