Your shelves can do a lot more than just stash clutter! In fact, with the right styling, your shelves can actually become the design focus of an entire room! Whether you’re putting together a home entirely from scratch, you’re updating a room or you simply cannot look at the eye sore that is your shelving any longer, these styling tips are going to help you to refine your space and create a fresh focal point for your shelves and storage. Follow these perfect pointers for an organised, clean and beautifully designed storage scene, in any room of your home…
Start from Scratch
First things first, you’re going to want to completely clear the shelves in question. This goes whether it’s a display cabinet, bookcase, stand alone shelves, a TV unit or even a coffee able with a few storage display compartments. Whether you’re styling your bedroom, kitchen, home office, hallway or living room storage pieces, you are absolutely going to need a nice clean, clear empty space to work with. This will help you to understand how much space you have to play with and what you realistically can, or not importantly cannot, accomodate on your shelving.
Image source: 1825 Interiors
Refine your Selection
Speaking of what pieces you can and can’t house in your furniture storage! Try and refine the pieces that you’re storing on your shelving before you add any stylish design accents or extra items. Think about what you absolutely need to have up there. Purging and downsizing is pretty much always a good idea, no design aesthetic favours a clambering, cluttered shelf, that’s a guarantee.
Curate a Colour Palette
Now that you’ve downsized and cleaned, you can start on the more enjoyable playful side of things! Finally! All that hard work pays off. A great tip for making even the most functional of spots in your home look sleek and professionally put together is by creating a colour palette for yourself. Now this is going to largely depend on the design type that you’re either going for or that you’ve already worked hard to establish in your household. Look around your house of your design ideas and pick three colours, two neutrals or as close to neutral as you’re willing to veer and one brighter, bolder or richer pop tone. Use these curated tones as a direction for your accessory, item or display selection.
Mix Mediums
Don’t be afraid of mixing different materials, shapes, sizes and even styles if you’re feeling particularly brave! Creating a styling scene that’s textured and varied will make your storage effortlessly eye catching. Try adding elements of glass, woven accents, ceramics, colourful resin, greenery or dried flowers. This can be as bold or as minimal as you like depending on your particular tastes and preferences. Try to add just one or two airy, unexpected materials to your styling and you’ll see an impactful difference immediately.
Light Layers
Whether you’re styling a minimalist floating shelf or a whole rustic boho bookcase, you’re going to want to keep your layers light. This means lightweight material, airy colours and plenty of negative space. Lighter layering will lead you to a thoughtfully curated and strikingly simplistic storage scene, as opposed to an overcrowded mess.
Keep it Personal
Lastly, always keep in mind that your storage can also be an opportunity for you to express your own or your family’s personality. Every inch of your home should feel homely and just like you, so ensure that you’re got some pieces up there that really mean something to you.
Are you ready to transform your home storage?
