I’ve shared my tips and tricks for styling shelves before (and on IG as well!) but today I’m diving even further into the art of styling with my favorite books for doing so! I consider books an essential part of one’s home and the perfect tools for adding personality and your own distinctive style to your living spaces. They are a backbone when it comes to styling everything, from your shelves to your bookcases and coffee tables.
But here’s where it gets a bit tricky…. every book isn’t the same! Some books are wayyy better than others when it comes to their “ability” to be displayed well. While, of course, you can use any books that you have around your home, but if you’re striving for a more intentional design, there are books that I highly recommend over others.
When it comes to choosing the best books for styling purposes, I encourage you to consider these factors:
- Overall Color Palette: Stick with a selection of books within one color palette. I usually recommend going as neutral as possible, as it won’t distract from the vignette as well. This is unless the overall goal is to create a pop(s) of color with your books, then by all means, go bold and bright!
- Beyond the Cover: Sometimes you can remove the paper cover to discover a really beautiful hardcover hue; this is my trick when going to Goodwill or other second hand shops to find “filler books”.
- Size: Strive for a wide variety of sizes so you can stack horizontally and vertically on shelves and place larger, substantial books as your coffee table and/or on display on the surface of a cabinet/console.
- Your Interests! While yes, there are books that look a lot better than others when displayed, I don’t vote in the favor of buying a book only because of that – you should still enjoy the contents! While I love buying books about interiors/travel/architecture, I understand that’s not for everyone. Also, did you know you can purchase books by the bundle in certain color palettes? Like this!
- Coffee Table Treasures: Leave out the books you really love for the coffee table, they should speak to you and your personality.
Here are some of my favorite books for styling shelves and more! They look gorgeous and I’ve enjoyed reading and perusing through them all 🙂
Tell me; what books do you love to see displayed around your home? Any favorites? Any books I need to add to my list ASAP?
