Decorating a new house is fun, but it doesn’t really become a home until you personalize your living space. One of the things I love about having my own apartment is that it’s just so easy to make it ‘me’, with some pieces telling you more about who lives here than others. One of those pieces, in my opinion, is a bookshelf. There are just so many things you can tell about someone from their bookshelf!
I know there’s a lot of internet hype about bookshelf ‘styling’, which I actually kind of dislike. Not that I don’t think it’s totally gorgeous when people do style their shelves (or bedrooms, or coffee tables for that matter), but I prefer to think that it all just came together unintentionally. Call me ignorant but I like to live in a world where everything just is pretty, no effort needed.
After browsing ebay and the like for weeks looking for a good secondhand bookshelf in Melbourne (why are all the furniture stores that aren’t Ikea so expensive. Can I get a Pier 1 in Australia please?), I finally found something I’m happy with. And now that it’s here, I’m trying to find things (you know, other than books) to display that will make our place feel like a home. Apparently you don’t just throw a bunch of junk on the shelf to make it pretty. I won’t tell if you don’t.
The shelves in these photos are some of my favourites from the many floating around the web. They’re not too overpacked, and I love the mix of colours and neutrals, and books with other quirky elements. I’m a big reader but I only buy my favourite books in hard copy (the others live on my iPad), and displaying those alongside fun little statues or candles is the best way to add some style to the functionality of a bookshelf. In fact, I think I’ll be ordered these owl bookends sometime in the next week, because I am obsessed. I also love the idea of framing a few photos and placing them next to my books, for one because I don’t have enough books to nearly fill my little shelf, but also because it’s just one more way to make it feel like home again.
What do you think, are you down with stylish bookshelves? Or do you prefer function over fashion, and just cram your shelves with whatever suits the mood?
