Up Your #Shelfie Game

by Andrea Doxey March 11, 2018

Shelf Styling Envy?

It's a thing. With Pinterest and Instagram acting as a constant source of inspiration, we should all be able to master shelf styling, right? Wrong. If you've ever tried it, you'll probably notice it's not as easy as it looks for things to look collected, balanced and still have a level of practicality for stashing away all of life's bits and bobs. Fear not! We have come up with tips and a list of 5 essential elements for making this tricky task a breeze.

Process

Start by removing everything you've currently got on your shelves to give your eye a chance to rest.
Then, determine the colour palette you'd like to use. As a general rule, we always pull from the colour palette in the room, add natural textures and add one dominant metal.
From there, remember to always decorate in groupings of odd numbers (1, 3 or 5). Odd numbers make for more visual interest and add a depth and dimension to any space, including shelves.
Another tip is to alternate what you do on each shelf. For example, if you put one large item on the top shelf, don't repeat that same single item until a few shelves down, if at all.
The most common "don’t" out there that we see are too many SMALL items on a shelf. This results in looking like a dusty chakha-shop – no one wants that.

Useful Styling Elements

There is no right collection of things you need to style your shelves, but in our Saturday morning shelf styling marathons, we have found the elements below add depth and texture to an otherwise blank slate.

Baskets are your friend

Pick one that is large enough to fill one of the shelves entirely or large enough to fill up one side of a shelf (stuff your unwanted do-dads inside!)
They are great for adding texture, but you can also do this in other ways. For example, you can use a wooden memento from a trip, a beautiful glass bowl, a decorative bone box or a brass object to add a touch of sparkle.

When in doubt add books

Books can be stacked, or styled side-by-side. They are the best thing for showcasing your favourite reads.
No "bookshelf" is complete without them in our opinion!

Life

Adding a touch of life to your shelf will give it an insta-fresh look, and this can be easily achieved with a touch of plant life (real or faux)
Placing a cascading plant or a small fern atop some stacked books is one of our favourite ways to add that hint of life.

Art & Photography

Add some personality to your styling with a colourful print or a piece of black and white photography
Prints can be arranged side-by-side, leaning up against the back of a shelf or layered with a piece of artwork on the front of your shelf if you are feeling bold!
We tend to stick to gold, black or white frames as these neutral frames will allow you to switch up your colour palette and overall look without having to buy new frames all the time

That's it guys! Now go off and get your #shelfie styling on! We love refreshing our décor seasonally, so stepping back and taking a look at your shelves on that same timeline in mind will keep your space fresh and exciting (even if it's just for your own viewing pleasure!). Take a crack at it and show us your skills on Instagram with the hashtag #rainsfordlove.

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