Before: living room shelves 2010 (check out more before pics here).
Recently I started to feel that my living room shelves needed a new look -with more colour. So for the past week I have been busy making some new art pieces (more on that here and here) for that top shelf. Once I was done I played around with how to display it all, adding a sculptural container and a small green painting I made several years ago to the vignette! Next I stacked all of our books, by colour, on the middle shelf and added a tiny house plant and a little framed reproduction by artist Robert Genn (which I just scored for $5 at Nova). The bottom shelf I chose to leave a little more airy but I’m still not sure if I am completely happy with it yet. It may still get more tweaking -but I figure with the holidays around the corner that bottom shelf might end up being the perfect spot to add some Christmas decor!
After: living room shelves / Fall 2012
Styling or decorating shelves can be so difficult, but here are a couple of tips which always help me get started:
Tip #1: Shop your house!
Before buying anything new, rummage through cupboards and shop other rooms of your home. Swap our art, accessories, frames and books.
TIP #2: Layer, layer, layer!
Having everything spaced evenly and facing out might be the way to start, but as you continue tweaking, try adding smaller or larger accessories (such as decorative objects, picture frames, vases, candles, plants) in front of others to add visual interest, texture and depth!
Leaning art, rather than hanging it lends a more relaxed feeling to a room.
Don’t let those shelves intimidate you any longer! Take your time and experiment, play and keep re-arranging – Good Luck!
Julie Loves Home 