Shelf Styling Tips

A couple weeks ago I asked on Instagram if you are interested in seeing some shelf styling tips on the blog. I got great feedback and you all couldn't have been more excited about the idea, so I'm sharing my tips and tricks that I use when arranging my shelves and bookcases. Thank you for your input and enthusiasm! It's so exciting knowing how eager y'all are to learn.

When I moved into my apartment in August, I kind of just threw everything on my bookcase without much thought. It was the last of my worries at that point, so I figured I would come back to it and do some actual styling. While I did go back and arrange my shelves a little, I wasn't completely happy with the result, but I had other things to worry about so I just left it as is. Well, over the last several months I managed to accumulate more things, and while I'm happy to have some new jewelry, cute bowls, and clutches, my tiny apartment just doesn't have room to store everything. My bookcase became the catchall for a lot of trinkets and things and it started to get a little crowded.

Here is the before picture. There is clearly too much stuff and a lot of color going on, without any real organization or thought behind it.

Here's the after! While it might not look that different, in person it looks way more thought out and organized, so I'm happy. I kept most of the items I had before, but removed some extras and exchanged a few for items I had laying around my apartment. One thing to remember when styling is that it takes time! I did not whip this up in ten minutes. Honestly it probably took me over an hour. You have to be patient and play with it for a while before finding the "right" design you like. I arranged and rearranged many times before deciding on this.

The two bins are full of DIY craft supplies, so I placed them on top so you can't see the messy stuff inside. If I really want to be picky, I would have painted the pink storage bin white, but I decided not to bother and save time. Also, try grouping similar items. I stacked all of my white books together and kept my jewelry together for the most part. Paying attention to the little details goes a long way. I stuck to only magazines with white binding for a clean look. Just like anything else, as you experiment and practice you'll keep getting better and better.

Were these tips helpful? Do you have any other tips you use when styling? Questions?

Now go test your styling skills and tag me @amandarisius on social media so I can see your awesome job!