How to Style Bookshelves (When You Actually Need Them to Hold Stuff)

When we moved into our North Carolina home, I was particularly excited to see that our (very) large family room had two sets of floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Sure, I loved the architectural interest they provided; but more so, I was really thankful to have some built-in storage for toys, books, frames, etc. But therein lies the challenge, isn’t it? Bookshelves and built-ins are intended to add storage to a room, but they can easily look messy and cluttered when filled with real-life, everyday items. But you can have your storage and pretty displays too! Let me break down the tricks I used to style our bookshelves to store lots of stuff but also look good while doing it.

When You Need Your Ugly Stuff to Look Nice

There are lots (and lots and lots) of articles on how to style bookshelves. But more often than not, these articles demonstrate how to fill your shelves with decor pieces for the primary purpose of style.

Raise your hand if you’ve run out to Target or HomeGoods in search of accessories simply to FILL up empty bookshelves?!? It’s okay – I have too! 

While there is nothing wrong with filling your shelves with pretty tchotchkes, you might find yourself frustrated by these articles when you actually need your shelves to hold or store non-decorative items such as books, heirlooms, toys, craft supplies, homework supplies, electronics, musical instruments, etc. You know – real life items that may not necessarily be…well…stylish!

In our North Carolina family room, I originally planned to style our built-in bookcases more decoratively. But then I was struggling to find out-of-sight homes for a lot of our “real life stuff,” despite having two large sets of shelving available to me.

Thankfully, I ultimately determined I could store all my stuff AND have it look nice too. Here’s how I did it!

Top Tips for “Real Life” Bookshelf Styling

Tip #1 – Color-Code Your Books

Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve been color-sorting my books long before The Home Edit made it popular. Why? Because by grouping like colors together, you significantly reduce visual chaos. By creating larger “blocks” of colors on your shelves, your eye is given a place to rest which can help the entire display look less cluttered.

Further, not all books need to stand up-right! Horizontal stacks can create even more visual interest than just a solid row of standing books.

Tip #2 – Rotate Your Books

While color-sorting your books can reduce the busyness on a shelf, a big splash of strong color (i.e., red, yellow) may not work with your room’s color palette. In these instances, consider rotating the pile of books so that the white/neutral pages face outward and the colorful spines face inward (so you can still read them). You can see how I did this with my red and yellow stacks of books below.

Tip #3 – Contain Small/Loose Items

Open shelving can quickly look cluttered when filled up with lots of small items (decorative or otherwise). As such, consider containing similar small items, in particular things that won’t nicely stack or can easily topple/spread.

We have a nice collection of National Park travel guides. Instead of stacking or standing these smaller, slipperier pamphlets, I corralled them into a gold file basket. This basket keeps these looser items all together (and is easier to grab) while providing a visual change across the top shelf.

Tip #4 – Pick Decorative Containers

When you need to corral smaller items (e.g., small toys, remote controls, chargers, keys), use decorative vessels. In this way, bowls, dishes, trays, and other containers become decor while serving very functional purposes.

Tip #5 – Conceal The Ugly Stuff

If you do have unsightly or larger items that must be stored on your shelves (e.g., toys, craft supplies, home school supplies, etc), try to conceal them. Put these items behind cabinet doors or inside (matching) decorative baskets to minimize the visual mess as much as possible.

Tip #6 – Follow Common Styling Practices

Whether you are styling your shelves with decorative items only, books, household items, toys, or a combination of it all, there should still be a method to the madness. The “formulas” outlined in this post are an easy and foolproof way to layer the items on your shelves for an intentional look, regardless of what kinds of items you’re displaying.

Tip #7 – Shop Your Home

One of the best ways to make your everyday stuff appear more stylish is to add decorative items (e.g., picture frames, vases, candles, candle sticks, containers, artwork, bookends, greenery, figurines) to the functional items (baskets) and books.

But don’t feel the need to run out and purchase fancy items just to fill up your shelves. Shop your home for interesting objects that can fill in spots between the storage and add some personality to your displays. In the end, I was able to fill both of our built-in bookcases with all items I already had on hand!

Tip #8 – Add Plants

Last but not least, small green plants can go a long way in making any utilitarian display look nicer. Small pots filled with either fake or real plants will provide a refreshing dose of color and texture, even when placed amongst books and other household items.

If you need your built-in shelves (or any bookshelf for that matter) to hold real-life stuff but also look good, I hope the bookshelf styling tips I share here can help you out. With some creative arranging, camouflaging, and infusion of decorative-but-functional containers, almost any collection of stuff can look super stylish too!