How to Use Bookshelves as a Design Feature for the Home

We are currently building a house and I am so excited about designing it. I have the kitchen and breakfast area planned out in my mind and one of the things I wanted to do was to put a book shelf on one wall. It’s not going to be your ordinary boring book shelf, but a decorative and stylish one. Not only will it hold books but some interesting Scandinavian and vintage decor that I’ve been collecting.

I absolutely fell in love with this Stacked Shelving by Julien De Smedt for the Nordic design brand Muuto. The playful yet functional traits of this shelf completely appeals to me.

Stacked Shelving by Muulto

Some other shelf designs that caught my interest include:

I like these two shelving units from Scandinavian Retreat. Notice how the shelves go around the opening to her kitchen? The photo below also uses a doorway and utilizes it by building cabinet storage and open shelves on one side.

If you don’t like to deal with the hassle of constructing built- in shelves, you can go for free- standing ones. I love the gold metal and wood shelves from the office of Apartment 34. The black metal and wood shelf found in desire to inspire was tastefully styled by Joanna Laven a popular set design stylist..

Some tips for styling book shelves include:

1. Play with the way you stack your books. They don’t have to always be vertical and they don’t have to fill the entire shelf either. Notice how Erin Hiemstra of Apartment 34 stacked her books horizontally?

2. Include decor to your shelves. Pretty accents and pieces that strike conversation make good shelf fillers. Put them on top of large coffee books or simply use them to decorate the entire shelf.

3. Try to go for a certain color scheme or stack books of the same or complimenting colors together. The secret to a well decorated unit is to make it look uncluttered. There is a difference between a styled book shelf and one that just holds books like a library!