Magazines display perfectly organized shelves that give a sense of calm and serenity. Usually you will see a lot of white objects and simple photo frames. When organizing a house, it’s important to spend a little extra special time on the display shelves since, like art, they add an important aesthetic to the room. Should shelves be for display only or can they offer functionality as well?
Both of course. Everything in your house can have a function. How do you make sure your shelves give off serene vibes? Keep them minimal. If you keep adding knick knacks, it will become cluttered and unruly. Here are some secrets to keeping your shelves functional and decorative.
Collections: Shelves are the perfect place to display collections. Meaningful items or collections can jog nice memories and give personality to your shelves. If you have a collection that’s meaningful, try displaying your treasures instead of hiding them in cabinets.
Color Theme: Stick to a color theme. I like to remain simple with living room shelves and more playful in kids or playrooms. You might want to arrange “rainbow” books in a playroom, but living room shelves are different. They can set the tone of the room. Sometimes I go for cool colors like blue and white tones and other times the contrast of black and white and neutral which can be dramatic, yet clean. Books are the perfect way to add functionality and decoration by keeping to the decided colors.
Boxes and Baskets: Boxes and baskets are a good way to divide your shelves from a sea of books or a sea of photo frames. They are the perfect way to add function to your shelves. They can be filled with favorite photos or sentimental objects. As long as they are labeled!
Photo Frames: Keep photos in similar frames. Whether you decide to use all white, all silver, all black or all antique frames- keep it in the same genre. Or you can mix two different types. But stay away from a million different frames. It is confusing to the eye.
Balance: Try to balance your shelves by using an imaginary center vertical line. If you add books to the right side, make sure to add books to the left side. It’s okay to be on another shelf as long as it’s balanced on each side. Then add boxes to the right side and boxes to the left. Add sculptures or decorative objects, photo frames, and so forth. This will make your shelves look purposeful.