Bookshelf Styling

if you saw yesterday's post, then you know that i'm focusing on accessories and styling this week on the bloggy blog. this is definitely a top question that people ask me - how do i style my shelves? or where do i get stuff to style my shelves? pinterest has made this way more possible since it's easy to find images and then replicate what you see. but it's weird to buy a bunch of random crap and then place it around your house. using photos makes it feel more personal but often a lot of the stuff has little meaning to you.

my approach is to layer, layer, layer and then take away. need to work on this last part more - i definitely have a more "cluttered" (for lack of a better word) feel to my shelves but i'm also very drawn to simple, less is more, looks. here is a snippet of one of my shelves in our family room that i shared on instagram.

and here are a bunch that i've pinned over the years.

my go-to places to find shelf fillers are homegoods, west elm, and target. plus i save just about every issue of the home decor magazines that i subscribe to and then use some to stack up like in some of the images above. my advice is to find things you like and don't think about whether they "go together" or "match" - often the more eclectic the better. although i will say i tried to stick to a wood, white, and blue palette on my shelves which happens to be what i'm mainly drawn to anyway! oh and a pop of greenery - faux or real - always warms up a space.

up next: mantles!