How To Decorate Your Bookshelf Like A Pro

Several years ago, I bought an open back bookshelf. I loved its style and thought of how cute it was going to look in my living room. Then we had kids and it became a mishmash of books, bins, and whatever didn’t have an actual home. Now that we’ve added some purposeful storage, it was time for my bookshelf to shine. It’s housed in the living room which is the space where we hang out when people come for dinner, or to host the various visitors that come with fostering, church, etc. Since I don’t need it to store the quantity of items it stored before, that means I get to dress it up a bit. Yay! From my husband’s perspective that means more shopping, but I look at it as stimulating the economy.

My living room is usually a kid free zone, or at least a supervised kid zone, but I still want to make sure whatever goes in is mostly kid proof. I walked around my house and found a few items I thought would look cute then made a list of things I wanted to add and went searching for it. Like many people, I don’t get many stretches of time to leave the house for shopping adventures. So I browse Amazon hoping for a good deal on a good product. I’ll link my amazon purchases and wants below. 

A few weeks back, I found a super cute gold globe candle holder on clearance at HomeGoods. Naturally I had to snag that. I found a few picture frames from who knows where and a vase I grabbed in the dollar bins at Target. They have a lot of cute things there sometimes. Bonus is if it breaks, I’m not out an exorbitant amount of money! I started setting them on the various shelves to see what looked good, what I might want to pair with it, and made a list. 

Since it’s easy to go overboard on these types of fun little projects, I made sure to give myself a budget. With the aches of inflation, I’ve tried to be more conscious about my spending habits while still allowing myself to do these types of fun little projects from time to time. It’s a good exercise in self restraint and practicing keeping a budget. Sometimes I like to involve the kids in planning these projects so they can see how budgeting works in action.

Here are list of my purchases and considerations. Some of them I didn’t end up using on the bookshelf but I did find them a home elsewhere in my space.

Assortment of Decorative Balls– Perhaps a little dated but I love the look of vases, bowls, and trays filled with pretty rattan and wicker balls. I snagged this bowl to display mine in. This one was a close contender. I know full well in this house my son will inevitably dump the contents, lose a few under the couch and over time my display will dwindle. But for the time being, I will enjoy these cute little balls. Ultimately, I decided to use these seasonally and swap them out with flowers.

Multi-Size Vases– While I did have my cute little target vase, while browsing Amazon one day, I came across this 3 pack assortment of vases. I can swap them out to freshen up the look or use them in other areas of my home. So I went ahead and grabbed a pack.

Wood Chain– I actually already had a wood chain elsewhere in the house but found a link to a similar one on Amazon. These look so cute on top of a stack of books or draped over a small bowl.

Decorative Owl-This is something I saw that was just so cute, I had to grab it. I think it’s important to add your personal flair or pieces you enjoy looking at in addition to some of the more basic filler pieces. This Gold Ferris Wheel is a piece I will probably add to my space another time.

Decorative Books- I have a few cute books lying around that work for certain aesthetics, but during my amazon search, I found a few sets that gave a cleaner look… White Modern Aesthetic, Travel Enthusiast, Neutral Modern Aesthetic.

Faux Plants– I love this 3 pack of greenery in white vases. They are small enough to group together or use on its own. They are very lightweight but look cute on the shelf.

Decorative Box -Create an elevate look by adding a decorative box or two. I repurposed some I had lying around but found something similar on Amazon.

Garland– I tried it with and without a garland and I loved it both ways. I decided to use the garland on a another piece of furniture in the same room to tie the two together.

Faux Flower Filler– To go with the cute little vases, I found this adorable mix and match leafy filler. On this particular bookshelf, I liked it better without and used these fillers on a different shelf.

Trinkets- I found a few cute filler trinkets. Geometric Orb, Sculpture Paperclip, and a Metal Sphere. Any of these would be adorable filler pieces on any shelf display.

I also added my Himalayan salt lamp because I love the color it gives off when lit and my beautiful, quality crystals from SetNStoneShop. You should check out her Instagram lives for insane gems not listed on the website. She seriously has the highest quality gems!

I also added a little tribute to my grandpa who passed a few years back. Love you grandpa!! I seriously love how my bookshelf turned out. I will swap out certain pieces depending on the season to keep it fresh and visually enticing. It may seem silly to some, but I love having a place in my home that is put together. Since most everything else in my life is not, this is a way to visually bring simplicity even when the rest of the home is in chaos.

I’d love to see what you’ve done in your spaces. Join me on Instagram to share yours and to get updates on new posts!

Sincerely,

Amanda