Styling ideas for living room shelves….
After putting together a few styling idea boards recently I thought it might be a good thing to bring to the blog. I know that before studying interior design I really struggled with styling my home. I always knew the look that I wanted but I didn’t know how to create that look. I would go to the shop, pick up things I liked, only to get home and realise that they didn’t go in my home and they didn’t sit well together. I would constantly do the classic, shuffling of objects from room to room to find the perfect place for it, which would usually end up being the room we used the least!
There is a formula for creating a perfectly styled shelf (I am working on a guide at the moment so watch this space) which if used properly, will create a pleasingly balanced and harmonious scheme. It’s so important that you know the look you are going for before you begin. Think about the materials and colours you need to use and the feel that you want the styling to create in order to produce a cohesive look. Once you know what you want, you should then look for the items first and put them together on a digital styling board before buying them. This will ensure that you don’t just go out shopping blind and ending up with a lot of unwanted items to add to the list of things to dust!
When choosing items, you need to ensure that you create varying heights, this can be done with items such as books, trays, tall candles and vases. You also need to ensure that you are choosing items that are of varying shapes and diameters so that the shelves don’t look too flat or as though that there is too much on them. You want to have just enough items that it looks full, but with enough white space so that your your eye is able to rest when looking at them.
Grouping items in to 3 is a great tip for adding interest and making items stand out, again when grouping you need to ensure that you are using items that vary in height, shape and colour to add depth and interest.
These are just a few tips, I could go on for ages about this subject but I’ll leave it there for now. Below I’ve created a styling board for a living room shelf. The feel I wanted to create here was a calming shelf with neutral colours and natural materials. As you can see there are varying heights and shapes here and although the colours are mostly neutral, there are pops of colour from the greenery and the beautiful agate on the brass stand.
This is a service I currently offer as part of the full design package where I put together a styling board and give lots of styling options to complement and finish the design. If you’d like to know more then do let me know, you can email me at interiorstories@gmail.com or find me on instagram @aninteriorstory
I love doing these so I’m sure they’ll be lots more on here in the future!
Lots of Love
Jade x
Potted faux plant | Sedum Succulent - Neptune £18
White Vase | Alba white vase - Hudson Home £16.50
Agate ornament | Agate piece decoration - Shabby Store £37
Rattan Tray | Ashcroft Rattan Tray - Neptune £46
Styling Book | For the love of White - The White Company £30
Wood and Glass Lantern | Eluru Lantern - Nkuku £39.95