Tips for Perfect Shelves

Styling open shelves or a bookcase can look simple, but creating a balanced arrangement takes some thought. Interior designers Ana Herrero and Dulce Cattaneo recommend using repetition, varied heights, coordinated materials, and meaningful objects to build a display with personality.

Ana Herrero’s Tips

• For a large bookcase, begin with the central shelves and work outward. You can adjust individual objects once the overall arrangement is in place.
• Display family photographs in frames with a consistent color and style. Frames can lean against the wall and overlap slightly for a modern presentation.
• Use the power of repetition. Repeating a color, material, shape, or type of object creates visual unity and helps define sections.
• Place antiques or collections inside furniture with modern lines. The contrast can make older pieces more striking.
• Alternate books with decorative objects. Try placing an object on top of a horizontal stack instead of arranging every book vertically.
• In a bookcase with several compartments, vary the arrangement from one section to another.
• Avoid spreading objects too far apart unless the composition specifically benefits from generous empty space.

Dulce Cattaneo’s Tips

• Choose a shared color or material language for the objects on display. They do not need to be identical or serve the same purpose.
• Combine accessible pieces such as a wooden bowl, found driftwood, a pale-covered book, a nature image, or a woven basket.
• Begin with an object that has personal meaning—a sepia photograph, inherited cup, glass container, or treasured collection—and add complementary pieces around it.
• Vary object heights to give the display movement. Wooden blocks, marble pieces, or attractive books can serve as improvised bases and draw attention to special objects.

Five Rules to Remember

1. Showcase collections.
2. Group objects by color.
3. Incorporate art objects.
4. Arrange books both vertically and horizontally.
5. Add something natural.

The strongest shelf arrangements feel coordinated without looking rigid. Use a clear visual thread, vary scale and height, and leave enough breathing room for meaningful objects to stand out.