6 Tips for Styling a Bookcase (and keeping your sanity while doing it)

So, if you guys follow me on Instagram, you noticed I had the urge to makeover my whole bookcase the other day. I never actually took the time to style it the way I wanted it to be. I just sort of threw all my stuff in there and it bothered me every time I walked by. The whole thought of styling all those shelves in a way that made sense just overwhelmed me and I kept putting it off. I was talking to a friend the other day about how “bookcases” these days aren’t even really to “store” your books and knick knacks anymore. Now they need to be pretty and styled and organized…thanks Joanna Gaines;). Well, once I started the process it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought so I wanted to share a few tips I picked up to make this task less stressful and more fun. This thing is such a focal point, I didn’t want to have to hate it every time I walked by…and you shouldn’t either!

1. Take every single thing off the shelves & place them all on the floor where you can see them next to each other. It’s so much easier to start from scratch, with a nice fresh slate.
2.  Look for a color or texture theme with all your “stuff.” I noticed a lot of mixed woods, mixed metals with my frames, greenery & some pops of blue.
3. You don’t need to use every thing. Pick what you noticed either matched each other or has the most sentimental value and save the rest for a different space. I noticed my grey block letters didn’t really go with anything else so I took those out. I also noticed I liked the mixed metal theme with my frames so I took out the ones that didn’t match the rest. You can always switch the pictures out if you need to. 
4. Don’t be scared to move the shelves! Most bookcase shelves are adjustable and they are pretty easy to make higher or lower to fit your needs. I realized I’m way happier with the shelves being more symmetrical so I made the ones on the right hand side higher to match the ones on the left. Also, keep in mind what is going in the shelf and adjust the shelf accordingly. You don’t need a ton of space if all that’s going in there is a little picture frame and a plant. 
5. Ask a friend. After staring at the same shelves for 20 minutes, I felt stuck. I still didn’t love it but wasn’t sure what to change. I texted a few pictures to my friends asking for any input. One friend mentioned maybe breaking up the milk glass collection would help everything blend. I tried it, and she was right! Sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes:)
6. Break the rules. I’ve heard the whole “things look better in groups of 3” design rule. Which in most cases may be right, but I just kind of tweaked as I went and was happy with my little groupings…even the ones in even pairs;) Just play around and see what fits your style and makes you happy to look at.        Hey, I’m no interior designer but I’m kind of loving how this turned out…and most importantly, I don’t hate walking by it anymore! Mission accomplished!  I hope this inspires you to tackle styling a bookcase or shelf in your home that you’ve been avoiding like I was.  Thanks for stopping by!  xoxo Layla