How to Style Cabinets & Shelves

Styling bookshelves and cabinets is a fun task. Low stakes, no nails, no electrical work or leaky plumbing. All fun. Like building a puzzle. Why is it so hard, then, to get them to look right?

Styling a shelf or cabinet is all about what you’re going for. If you’re a book collector with a million books, stacked on the floor beside your reading chair and straining at the sides of your bookshelf, or you’re a travel with trinkets, objects and sculptures to display, these four tips will work just the same for each type of person.

If this is a brand-new, empty shelf, this one isn’t for you. Take everything out of your cabinet or shelf. What you’ll want to start with first is your decorative books.

These will be the foundation of your cabinet or shelf, by using them to anchor and frame the other pieces you’d like to add from within.

Choose pieces with nice hardcovers in a similar color palette. Sad as we may be, leave those dog-eared paperbacks out if you’re struggling to pick which pieces to include while still allowing negative space.

Make sure that not all of your stacks are horizontal or vertical.

Play with the amount of books you choose for each horizontal stack, the size, and whether or not the spine of the book is facing out or not. This leaves more space for objects and sculptures, but breaks up the rhythm, creating a more organic feeling cabinet or shelf.

Not only do you want to vary the way you stack or align your books, sculptures and photos, but the size, and texture, too.

If you have dark, heavy books on one side of your shelf, break it up with a lighter textured piece like a ceramic vase. Spread these textures and sizes evenly so that your bookshelf or cabinet feels even.

One of the most important things is to let your pieces breathe. Allow some negative space, instead of cramming each shelf full with knick-knacks. As tempting as that may be it creates a cluttered look instead of purposefully curated.