Have open shelves in your kitchen or living space and don’t know how to make them look good? We’ve got you! The best news is, they are incredibly functional and can also become little reflections of you and your life. It’s a great way to take a blank slate and allow it to reflect your own tastes and creativity.
Here are some of our favorite tips for styling a great shelf vignette.
The basics: Group Together 2-3 Items
Keeping your items condensed to 2-3 meaningful pieces will keep the space looking curated, and will prevent your shelves from looking too cluttered. Depending on the length of the shelf, we suggest using 2-3 groupings of 2-3 items each.
Next: Incorporate Natural Elements
We suggest using natural materials and textures to make the space feel earthy, and not too sterile. A great way to do this is by adding greenery or dried florals (for those of us that don’t have a green thumb!). Other unique textures can include natural rocks, gemstones, or seashells that you’ve picked up during hikes or vacations, pieces that evoke joy from memories of travels.
Don’t forget: Leave Some White Space
Playing with scale is important to make sure that each item feels intentional and complements the other pieces with which they are styled. However, you also want to make sure that you leave some white space visible, so that each vignette doesn’t feel too cluttered.
Get weird: Play with Juxtaposition and Combine Disparate Items
When styling shelves, we love to group unexpected items together to add some visual interest. For example, we’ll group decorative items with functional items (glassware next to a vase or plant), and use artful books stacked to provide height and dimension.
Finally: Stay Organized (And Stylish!)
Incorporate function into your design by adding decorative trays, risers or small storage baskets to your vignette. These vessels will allow you to stay organized while still keeping your shelves aesthetically pleasing.
Have fun with it! Do you have any questions we didn’t cover? Send us an email
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