Brandon Baker It creates a very pleasant, curated sense to your treasures." A group of white pottery as well as other light-toned objects looks magnificent on dark wood or brightly colored painted shelves, by way of example, while an assemblage of bowls, boxes or spheres adds instant emphasis that is lacking when they stand alone.

It creates a very pleasant, curated sense to your treasures." A group of white pottery as well as other light-toned objects looks magnificent on dark wood or brightly colored painted shelves, by way of example, while an assemblage of bowls, boxes or spheres adds instant emphasis that is lacking when they stand alone.

Show Off Your Collections Whether you collect birdcages or buttons, either sculpture or shells, transferware or teacups, any collection you enjoy deserves pride of place in your home. Additionally, there's power in numbers: "Anything seems better as a set," states Mary Carol. "The various sizes curtain wall repair . shapes and colors play off each other, and category a collection together gives it emphasis." Collect your treasures up around the home and mass them for a gorgeous display.



Put Your Passions on Screen Not certain what to showcase on shelves? To begin with, consider what you love. Your interests and hobbies should come through on your accessory decisions, says Debbie Wiener, an interior designer in Silver Spring, Md., that helps homeowners create spaces reflective of their regular lives. "Kids' styled artwork, books, decorative plates, baseball cards or boomerang collections. Your home needs to look like you," Debbie says. Take inventory of vacation mementos, crafts and items you're attracted to again and when assembling accessories for a shelf arrangement. Design by Emily Henderson.



Group Like With Like Unite your shelf displays by grouping items by theme, colour, shape, texture or material. "Like things together give the biggest bang," states Megan Samuels, ASID, an interior designer in Manhattan Beach, Calif. "It creates a very pleasant, curated sense to your treasures." A group of white pottery as well as other light-toned objects looks magnificent on dark wood or brightly colored painted shelves, by way of example, while an assemblage of bowls, boxes or spheres adds instant emphasis that is lacking when they stand alone. Design by Sarah Richardson.



Make It Functional You can unify a shelf screen by function, also. Mary Carol Garrity, writer of Feather Your Nest: It's All in the Details along with the proprietor of Nell Hill's, an accessories emporium at Atchison, Kan., likes to flip a shelf to a bar or a serving station. "Take out the shelf above to create more room, then top a tray with pretty cut-crystal decanters and glassware," she suggests. Layout by Emily Henderson.



Move Big and Bold Many tiny tchotchkes on a plate is only going to collect dust and seem like jumbled clutter. Instead, choose. Select tall vases (if there is no shelf above, fill them with giant flowering or autumn branches for a stunning display); large balls of knotted rope, large pottery and large art books; collect whatever strikes your fancy, as long as you can see it from across the room. Give smaller things more visual presence by collecting them in a container: "I love an old jar filled with antique photographs, seashells gathered at the beach or even colorful crayons and marbles," says Megan. Design by Judith Balis.



Forget Symmetry and Be Odd Rather than a fitting pair of mirroring items, go for asymmetrical arrangements of three, five or seven objects, putting them off-center to put in a subtle element of shock. "Odd numbers are usually the very intriguing," says designer Megan. Instead of symmetry, what you're aiming for is equilibrium. "Even in the event that you have two matching items, like a pair of beautiful urns, put them on the diagonal," rather than directly opposite each other, then she suggests. Layout by Christopher Grubb.



Change the Shelf Height Another tip to help in your asymmetry efforts: Unless your shelves have been fixed at a built-in or alternative shelving unit, "vary shelf heights in order that they do not all line up exactly," suggests Nancy Barsotti, ASID fellow and interior designer in New York City and Pittsburgh. You will have the ability to use bigger pieces and break out of the "lined-up soldiers" look that has boring so quickly.



Vary Accessory Height A big shelf decorating do not is lining up items of the exact same height. Their uniform dimensions may seem flat and dull. Instead, "mix unique heights by comparing high and low to keep the eye traveling," says Mary Carol. When gathering bits to decorate shelves, be sure to have a combination of short, medium and tall objects. Layout by Erinn Valencich.



Stack Books 1 trick for boosting an item's stature, literally and figuratively, is risers. "These come in useful for varying the elevation of the things in your shelf composition and draw attention to a certain piece," she clarifies. Use books piled on their hands as programs, wood or lacquer boxes like pedestals and compotes, cake stands and other risers to assist stagger heights and bring your accessory setup to snuff. Design by Emily Henderson.



Add Sparkle and Shine Glass, crystal and silver objects make shelf structures literally shine. A mirror placed at the back or bottom of a shelf will double the visual impact of these items placed in front or on top, says Nancy. As opposed to concealing the family silver in a dining cabinet, Mary Carol recommends to pull out it, shine it up and display it on open shelves: either as a set or by utilizing individual pieces paired with rougher objects for contrast and interest. "I love the glow of silver beside a more primitive bit," she says.



Create Layers on Shelves Besides height, consider thickness when decorating shelves. "Stand up trays, fairly plates and pieces of artwork to use as the backdrop for your arrangement (and) then work your way from there," says Mary Carol. When you have put the largest, tallest items as anchors in the back of the plate, "coating smaller, shorter objects in front of these," says Nancy. The subsequent assemblage will encourage viewers to linger a while, discovering new layers from the decorative diorama with every glance.



Maintain It Spare and Simple While layering accessories works well in traditional or eclectic settings, a streamlined strategy is fitting for contemporary and contemporary spaces. "Follow the manner of your home when accessorizing," says Nancy. In case your decorating style leans toward rigorous minimalism or you merely favor an uncluttered appearance, your cosmetic shelves ought to reflect that. Says Megan: "There's something so serene about three cubes of wood attached to a spartan white wall using a simple, carefully put object on each"



Arrange Books by Shade In case you have a massive assortment of books, consider organizing them by colour for immediate bookshelf pizazz. The rainbow-hued display can be very dramatic, even though it can also make hunting down a specific tome a small chore. "Library earnings are a great way to pick up collections of coloured novels fast," Megan suggests. Consider removing the dust coats on your hardbacks, also, particularly for vintage books with intriguing spines or luxe cover substance.



Vary Book Displays "Display some books down and up and others put on their side," says Nancy. "And group books by topic -- mass all the photograph books together, for instance -- or by size, which immediately creates a feeling of order." As for those tatty paperbacks, get rid of them or hide them in fine boxes or baskets tucked in to your bookshelves. Layout by Emily Henderson.



Mix Art in With Books Do not relegate photos and art to walls only. Shelves are great display spots, also, and they make it a cinch to rotate fresh pieces into your home gallery. "I love framed artwork set casually among books, or even hung or leaned in front of a group of books," Megan says. Other ideas: Hang diminutive pieces on the wall supporting open shelves or put them on the rear of closed shelves in order that they become a part of the vignette. Design by Luis Caicedo.



Display Art in Creative Ways You might even create a shelf display of nothing but artwork or photographs: Rather than a exact arrangement, lean your collection casually on the shelves, overlapping edges and mixing frame dimensions, shapes and styles to keep the eye interest. "Juxtaposing elaborate, antique frames with plainer frames works well" in this context, Nancy states. Layout by Robin Callan.



Look Up and Lock Down Do not forget the tops of bookshelves or kitchen cabinets when scouting stains to accessorize. Placing objects there can emphasize tall ceilings or simply offer space to exhibit large, dramatic pieces that will not fit on the shelves below. Another great way to add height to decorative shelves is with big posters or art. Tip: If you reside in earthquake country or in case your bookshelves rattle ominously if the kids run past, be sure to ensure the shelves to the wall using L-brackets or even hook-and-eye latches. Additionally, museum or earthquake putty (available in most hardware stores) is handy for ensuring that little objects stay put.



Let There Be Light As a finishing touch, light your shelves to highlight the arrangements you've created there. The options for shelf light abound: Add track lighting into the ceiling and focus a few spots on shelf screens; mount an image light over a shelf or a string of picture lights over a string of shelves; combine small puck lights to the underside of a single shelf to underline the contents of the shelf beneath or discreetly tuck tiny up-lights behind a vase or other object to backlight the arrangement. Design by Luis Caicedo.