Every house I've been in has some kind of open shelving. Built ins, dining room hutches,  or free standing book shelves. The reason every house has them is because they are convenient, beautiful, and are a great focal point for the room that brings your eyes to the height of ceiling.

Believe it or not, most of the bookshelves I encounter are in major need of some HELP! 

There are 3 kinds of book shelvers ... The 'book shelves are for books' person, who has every square centimeter or the shelving stuffed with books. It looks something like this..

Photo from http://www.friscoquiltguild.org

The 'over decorator', who is pretty sure they need to put lots and lots of things on their bookshelf so that it looks full. and eclectic. and cluttered. See below for more detail.

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

And the 'practical shelvers', whom take it upon themselves to keep practical items on their shelving, books, eyeglasses, diapers.. computers, cell phone chargers, dog treats... I could go on and on. You can probably imagine what this looks like.. 

The truth is, your shelving units should be a true balance of books, shelving and 'less is more'. Bookshelves will look great when there is a true color scheme throughout. Yes to books, yes to accessories. Maybe no to practical items... sorry practical shelvers! If for spacial reasons you need to store practical things on your shelving, baskets are a great option.

Here are some shelves I have done for clients. This built in office shelving was my favorite! We painted the room Peppercorn by Sherwin Williams, we did new lighting from Restoration Hardware, and redid the bookshelves. The books are from flea markets! They are gorgeous antique books and we wanted a warm color scheme to go well with the walls. The hurricanes are a steal from Ashley Furniture, tray is from Target, picture frame, book ends, and moss balls were current items.

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

These shelves are a great balance of decorated but still clean. There is a clear color scheme and aesthetically pleasing spacial planning. 

Here is another shelf I did for a client. This built in was overstuffed with books and TONS of accessories. The plan for this house was to declutter. We took well over half of the items off of this book shelf and bought NOTHING new to add. Using items a client has can be great but also challenging. It works because it usually keeps with the flow of the home, but can also be hard because you have to work with what you have and sometimes you don't have what you need. This shelving unit is amazing and it would be hard for it not to look beautiful! 

Photo by Brittney Kassel of Kassel Home

Here are some great items to have when you get ready to redo your shelves are :

1) Books, lots of books.. but pretty books. You will usually need more than you think.

2) Book ends

3) Picture frames. Not too many, but enough. sets are great too.

4) Initial blocks - in our family we use 'K'

5) Candle sticks or holders with or without candles, guess what - you're not going to light them.

6) Accessories! These can be seasonal or items you'd use all year, just be sure you follow a scheme.


If you have any questions or would like help with you shelving contact me today and we will get you on the calendar! Email me at brittneykassel@gmail.com .

XO and Happy Halloween!

Brittney