• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

South End Style

Exploring all things travel and interiors

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Travel
  • Design
  • Gift Guides
  • Guest Post
October 20, 2014

Bookshelf Basics.

Bookshelves

When I went to visit my friend KC’s new house down in Jacksonville, FL a few months ago, one of the first things I noticed upon touring her beautiful (and I mean beautiful!) home was her fabulous built-in bookshelves. They are focal point in the living room and they are styled absolutely P-E-R-F-E-C-T-L-Y. The girl’s got a serious eye for design & I left totally inspired! This got me thinking about bookshelves and how much of a total “hit or miss” these can be. Here are few tips I’ve learned when it comes to making you you end up in the “hit” category:

1. Mix & Match: books, baskets & accessories:

Mix match collage

2. Stack books both vertical & horizontal:

stacked collage

 3. Add plants:

plants collage

4. Keep (mainly) to one color palette:

color collage

5. Layer, layer, layer:

layered collage

Unfortunately, my apartment doesn’t have any built-ins, but I’ve only got floating white shelves (came with the apt), so I made the best of them!! Here’s how I used my tips above to style my own:

my shelves

What’s your best trick to styling built-ins?!

Image Sources

Mix & Match 1 & 2 / Stack Books 1 & 2 / Plants 1 & 2 / Color Palette: 1 & 2 / Layering: 1 & 2

You might also like

  • Coffee Tables + Coffee Table Books

  • The Power of Built Ins

  • Top 5 Ikea Hacks.

WANT MORE DESIGN AND TRAVEL TIPS?

Subscribe to receive my newsletter

Reader Interactions

17 Comments

  1. footnotes and finds says

    October 20, 2014 at 7:39 am

    great post! we just renovated and are in the process of styling our shelves!

    http://www.footnotesandfinds.com

    Reply
    • Alexis says

      October 28, 2014 at 2:16 pm

      Would love to see before/afters!

      Reply
  2. ahealthysliceoflife says

    October 20, 2014 at 3:07 pm

    Love this! Makes me want to go home and rearrange my shelves. Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Alexis says

      October 28, 2014 at 2:15 pm

      we can have a facetime session & do a virtual bookshelf design!

      Reply
  3. Rachel says

    October 20, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    I’ve found adding in glass pieces help add depth… Especially if the back of the shelves are painted…you can see right through the glass without feeling like you’re hiding the goods!

    Reply
    • Alexis says

      October 28, 2014 at 2:15 pm

      good tip Rach- I wish mine were built-ins so I could paint the back. Love that look- especially like a dark navy. Love!

      Reply
  4. Found This Painted That says

    October 20, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    I think it’s my favourite thing to do! And I do like to repeat items depending on what they are of course – I find people tend to use too many vases….your pics are all beautiful!

    Reply
    • Alexis says

      October 28, 2014 at 2:14 pm

      Thank you! And totally agree with the vases!

      Reply
  5. KC says

    October 20, 2014 at 10:53 pm

    Your friend, KC, must be a badass. People should start hiring her for design services 😉

    Reply
  6. Arielle says

    February 11, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    I love your blog, your posts are all so beautiful! I just followed you, it would be great if we can support each other 🙂 I am so glad I got to discover you <3

    Reply
    • Alexis says

      February 11, 2015 at 4:16 pm

      Thank you Arielle!! I will definitely check yours out as well. Appreciate the support!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Friday Favorites says:
    October 24, 2014 at 11:50 am

    […] Design. My friend Alexis just started a blog and posted recently about how to style book shelves. I get the feeling it was aimed directly at me and my lack of style sense, but she did offer some […]

    Reply
  2. Top 5 Ikea Hacks. | SouthEndStyle says:
    February 3, 2015 at 7:53 am

    […] 1. These bookshelves are an absolute MUST- they can be sprayed any color, although I’m impartial to this gold hack (white would be great also). For bookshelf styling tips, see my previous post here. […]

    Reply
  3. Decorating a Small Space. | SouthEndStyle says:
    March 2, 2015 at 7:24 am

    […] is the best, and easiest, way to maximize your space. Think bookshelves (decorating tips found here), floating shelves, tall dressers, curtains hung high, etc. Here are a few great examples of key […]

    Reply
  4. 2015 Roundup | SouthEndStyle says:
    December 31, 2015 at 4:09 pm

    […] Bookshelf Basics […]

    Reply
  5. Best of 2016 & Plans for 2017 – SouthEndStyle says:
    December 30, 2016 at 2:22 pm

    […] Fireplaces came in a close second & Bookshelf Basics in third…so, more posts with inspirational spaces + real life ways to get […]

    Reply
  6. How to Style a Vignette - South End Style says:
    January 19, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    […] asking what should be on their coffee tables, how much should be displayed on their nightstands and how to style bookshelves to be functional but aesthetically pleasing. I linked a few oldie but goodie posts there; over the […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hi! My name is Alexis and I am the author of South End Style. I first started this blog as a way to document my move to Boston but it has evolved over the years to truly encompasses my two passions – interior design and travel! The people I’ve met, the places I’ve traveled and the spaces I’ve designed are all a result of this blog and its followers. So I want thank you for stopping by and spending your time here. I hope you leave inspired!

Recent Posts

  • 3 Months with Duke
  • Weekend Likes + Links
  • Our Most Used Newborn Items
  • Weekend Likes + Links
  • Duke’s Baptism Celebration

Categories

  • Collaborations (70)
    • Gift Guides (33)
    • Sponsored (38)
  • Health (32)
    • Beauty (6)
    • Fitness (5)
    • Recipes (15)
    • Skin Care (7)
  • Interior Design (304)
    • Art (11)
    • Bathroom (17)
    • Bedroom (39)
    • Bookshelves (4)
    • Design Plan (58)
    • design portfolio (30)
    • Dining Room (8)
    • E-design (31)
    • Kitchen (17)
    • Laundry room (3)
    • Living Space (47)
    • Nursery (8)
    • Office (12)
    • Outdoor Space (18)
    • Renovation (1)
    • Styling (33)
  • Life (412)
    • Engagement (12)
    • Family (9)
    • Fashion (14)
    • Friends (5)
    • Holidays (64)
    • Hosting (18)
    • Marriage (4)
    • Motherhood (4)
    • Pregnancy (13)
    • The Happiness Project (7)
    • Weddings (19)
  • Shop (22)
    • Home Products (18)
    • Travel Products (3)
  • Travel (177)
    • Africa (21)
    • Amsterdam (1)
    • Arizona (3)
    • Bali (11)
    • Beach (13)
    • Boston (15)
    • California (8)
    • Canada (1)
    • Cape Cod (2)
    • Caribbean (9)
    • Copenhagen (5)
    • Essex (1)
    • Europe (18)
    • Franschhoek (1)
    • Germany (1)
    • Gloucester (1)
    • Grand Canyon (1)
    • Greece (1)
    • Hong Kong (1)
    • Iceland (6)
    • Ireland (9)
    • Italy (5)
    • Jackson (2)
    • London (4)
    • New York (4)
    • Paris (3)
    • South Africa (11)
    • Switzerland (3)
    • Tanzania (6)
    • Texas (1)
    • Tips (40)
    • Travel Guide (118)
    • Vacation (120)
    • Vermont (2)
  • Uncategorized (9)

Archives

  • Home
  • Guest Post

South End Style © 2025