Shelf LIFE

By Dena Roché

What makes a house a home is personalization. Whether you’re a bookworm, art lover or have a collection of hand-crafted baskets you’ve collected while globetrotting, displaying your unique treasures is a way to put your personal stamp on your decor.

“Bookcases and open shelving can be used for art display, books, frames and dishes. They can also be used to divide interior spaces, instead of a wall, offering display and storage for both sides of the divider,” Amy Klosterman, owner and principal designer of AB Design Elements, says.

Designer Secrets

The key to styling a bookcase that looks like it belongs in the lobby of a five-star hotel—rather than in your old college dorm room—is applying design principles to create an aesthetically pleasing bookcase or shelving unit.

No matter what you’re planning to display, the trick to having a polished look is thinking about balance and composition, so there is flow and cohesion to the space. Gather all the items you want to include so you can see what you’re working with and how they might go together in terms of color, size and shape.

“If you’re using books, have some stacked horizontally and others placed vertically to give you different levels to start your styling,” Klosterman says. “For example, on a stack of horizontal books you can place a plant on top to add some interest.”

With decor items, Klosterman suggests varying the heights of each piece to ensure you’re using vertical space, as well as creating more visual interest. You’ll also want to vary the number of items on each shelf. Placing a single large piece on a shelf next to three smaller items will help keep the bookcase in balance and avoid an overcrowded look.

Current Trends

According to designer Bonnie Lewis, owner and principal of Bonnie J. Lewis Design, wood continues to be the most popular shelving material, but the trend is shifting from painted white wood to natural medium to dark tones.

Painted cabinetry and using wallcoverings, accent colors and ribbed textures within the bookcase openings are being used more and more to add interest and depth.

Get Creative

Often, bookcases are used for far more than housing books. In a recent project, Lewis centered her design for a multimedia room around a custom bookcase created to highlight the client’s extensive movie collection.

While open kitchen shelving isn’t a new trend, it continues to gain in popularity as designs skew more towards modern and minimalism. In a recent client design, Klosterman used smoked glass and metal to conceal dishes, as well as to provide a fresh perspective through a mixed use of materials and sheen.

People are also using bookcases to double as coffee bars or speakeasies.

“In a current project we have a steel and glass bookcase that will serve as an enclosed coffee bar, sitting within the long expanse of wood cabinetry in the kitchen—it will graphically break up the cabinetry and offer a focal point for the room,” Klosterman says. “At night, the glow from the lighting within will provide ambient light for the kitchen.”

Today, the only limit to what you want to showcase in your home and how you want to do it is your imagination.