A beautiful bookcase can anchor any room and easily become the focal point. In a glance it can set the whole vibe of your space – in a great way or not so much. Resist the temptation to start piling your books and random tchotchkes into those welcoming empty shelves. If you take a few minutes to plan and organize the look, you will end up with a glorious stylized bookcase (floating shelves, console table, whatever) worthy of the most critical #shelfie!

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Where to begin?

Consider your vibe. What color scheme are you working with, and what’s your style goal? Are you looking for more of a coastal farmhouse look, or maybe something more modern? Think about what works with your existing decor. Do you already have existing pieces that you want to display?

For example, let’s work with a coastal style. I’m thinking soft blues and neutrals, with hints of organic texture. An empty bookcase can be so overwhelming. The possibilities are all over the place and it’s tempting to start piling everything on. Slow down and take your time – let’s attack this challenge step by step.

I would start by picking some key elements that I love, looking for different shapes and proportions. For example I’ll use these frosted bottles (I’m a sucker for anything sea glass related), Octopus Bookends (how great are they!) and some pieces to incorporate wood (wooden circle sculpture; branches in frame). From here I’ll begin the layout, being careful to spread out styles and colors (balance is super important). It might turn out like this:

Once you’ve laid out your key pieces, you will have plenty of gaps. Don’t be tempted to fill in every itty bitty inch – white space is your friend. On the shelf with the framed branches, I will probably leave it as is, simple and uncluttered.

Pro tip: Embrace the power of 3’s. Groupings of 3 are asthetically pleasing and somehow more interesting to the human brain. I know I just said “balance is key”, and what I mean by that is you should spread out your elements so you don’t have all wood objects, or everything blue, on the same shelf. Balance by weight and shape is important, and when working with groupings or multiples, 3 is often the best choice (and other odd numbers work well too).

So with that said, do I need 3 things on each shelf? Absolutely not! But if I decide to “group” or “bundle” things I will probably use the magic rule of 3. Those frosted bottles are a perfect example. Imagine if we only had 2 of them. That would probably feel “off”.

One way to incorporate a group of three is on the shelf with the bottles. We can consider the 3 bottles as one item, then add a stack of books (another item), and top it off with a small sculpture (item #3). It’s kind of like a double set of 3’s, which works out great and feels balanced and styled. To take it a step further, you could use 2 decorative items on top of the books like this (with the white coral bowl).

Did you know you can buy decorative books (by color)? It’s a great shelf styling hack. Check these out on Wayfair – so cool, right?

Now what to do with the top and bottom shelves? I think they both need something short-ish, and maybe wider? Some more color would be nice too. I found this pretty recycled glass bowl that fits nicely in the bottom corner. I think the delicate feel of the glass is a nice contrast to the heavy bookends, and the color works well. Between the bookend and the bowl I nestled in a little white coral sculpture, which has a nice texture and reflects the vibe of the coral bowl a few shelves up.

For the top shelf, I played with different options but it kept feeling forced and too cluttered. I moved the existing wood sculpture to the middle and ended up liking the look. I would just keep it as is – no need to fill in all the spaces. What do you think? It’s nice and symmetrical, with a little pop of color.

If I found complimentary planters for succulents I would possibly tuck them in somewhere. Air plants would be nice too. I always love live plants, but in this scenario I couldn’t find the right way to work them in. A cute hanging succulent would look great on top of the stack of books, or maybe flanking the wooden sculpture on the top shelf.

The most important tip I can offer is to have fun with it. Style your shelves they way YOU like. There is no right or wrong, and my advice is simply to help you get started if you are overwhelmed by empty shelves. You do you – always!

[And by the way – this beautiful bookcase can be found here.]

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