How To Style A Bookcase | Nicholas Engert Interiors

There are interior decorating opportunities wherever you cast your eye at home and it’s certainly possible to make sure that everything you have in your house is attractive, no matter what it is or what function it serves.

As William Morris once famously said, “have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful”... and there’s certainly no reason why these two ideas can’t be brought together throughout your entire home, ensuring that every nook and cranny is stylish, as well as functional.

Just take a look at your bookcase as a shining example of what can be achieved in this regard.

Of course, books themselves can be incredibly attractive, especially large hardback tomes that really stand out on the shelf, so your bookshelf or case no doubt already looks inviting - especially if you’re an avid bookworm and love nothing more than curling up at the end of a long day with your favourite read.

But that’s not to say that improvements cannot be made, so try to be critical when looking at your bookcase and see if there are any little stylish design touches you could make here and there that could make this part of the house even more welcoming than it already is.

Shelf styling is already a big trend online, so if you’re wondering where to begin, head to your social media channels and look out for hashtags like #shelfstyling, #shelfie, #shelfdecor and so on to get an idea of what other people are doing in this regard.

Depending on the size of the case you have to work with, you could easily incorporate pieces of art here and there so you can add little pockets of interest in between your precious books.

You could even find prints relating to your favourite books and hang these up or place them on shelves to really build up a picture of your literary interests, one that’s immediately identifiable. Placing your works of art towards the back of deep-set shelving means you can then position other items in the forefront, creating even more layers of design interest.

Another way to bring your bookcase to life is to stack your books both vertically and horizontally, as well as aligning some to the left, right and centre of the shelves. Play around with this idea until you think your different alignments complement each other. Standing well back from the bookcase will help you see the overall effect more easily.

Bookshelves offer the perfect opportunity to introduce a further layer of lighting into your room. Tiny LED strips can be incorporated into the joinery or in some cases retrofitted to existing shelves. Using warm LEDs will enhance the books and any objects within the shelves.

Do you need any inspiration for luxury home decoration at the moment? Have a browse of our site to see if there are any design ideas you might find of interest.