Flipping through a home décor magazine, I’m sure you’ve seen gorgeous built-in shelves with the most inviting décor. It seems as if the pieces layered inside of those shelves were made for them, right? Getting those sophisticated layers inside of your shelving is not only doable, it’s easier than you might think. Check out some tips below from our designers at Autumn Rose Interiors.

Getting warm and inviting shelving is all about balance. That’s really what the whole picture entails.

Typically you enjoy those spaces with nicely filled shelves because of one of two things: The shelves are not super-full, but the room is flowing with bigger pieces or the room is not super-full but your shelves are well balanced. Take a look at the room you want to style. Is it dense and fancy? Or is it more airy with some heavy staples?

Check out this kitchen we recently designed!

The built in shelves in this kitchen surround the oven range hood. This shelving has 3 shelves on each side and a counter top. That means lots of cozy décor can fill the nooks and crannies of this space. This will work well for the space because it is an open concept area with light and airy design details.

We styled these shelves with earth toned pieces, greenery, and some soft metals. Things that represented the client and family, and made the space feel warm. Since the flooring was of the same wood tone as the shelves, it helps the space feel balanced and carries your eye from top to bottom of the room. It also helps to showcase the details of this home. There’s a nice contrast with the white walls and our deeper toned décor.

The easiest way to achieve that well-balanced feel is to do a “zig zag” test. Take your finger on either the left or right side of the this photo, where the shelves start. Draw a “zig zag” with your finger from one shelf to the next. Are the items similar is color, materials and size? Yes! You can do this test on your own shelves to see if it is balanced. You’ll see from the top down the shelves are alternating with glass jars, white vases, wood and greenery. Ok— are you ready to try yourself?

Here is a photo of the other side. Can you do the “zig zag” test?

Did you try it? Yay! In addition to looking to see if the shelves are individually layered, if you step back and look at the shelves as a whole you will see they are both also balanced and reflective of one another. For example, candlesticks on both sides, glass jars on both sides, and some slate gray pieces as well.

If you are layering your shelves and feel like it might be missing something try adding either pops of color throughout the shelves or greenery. Little pops of greenery make the space super cozy. We love the green glass pitcher and the green limes placed in jars. Your shelves most definitely don’t have to be ” just” décor. Functionality with beauty is what makes for a happy kitchen. Clear jars all lined up on a shelf holding sugar, chocolate chips, pasta, or rice for example, are ways to have beautiful displays that also serve a purpose.

This also isn’t the only way to style shelves. Have fun playing around with your items until it feels right. It is fun to change things up every so often and refresh the space.

We are so thrilled with how this kitchen space turned out and are so happy for the clients and their newly renovated home. Hopefully you learned a thing or two with Super Simple Shelf Styling. Happy decorating!

Autumnrose.com