Books awaken our imagination, transport us to new worlds, inspire and challenge us - not just as children but throughout our lives. Today, on the occasion of World Book Day - a day dedicated to celebrating the wonders of storytelling and getting lost in a good book, we thought its time to give our thanks to the humble bookcase too.
Going by the recent social media trends, bookcase styling is becoming an increasingly popular home interiors focus. Pinterest trends show searches for “styling bookshelves” has risen by over 47% this year alone. The “bookshelf” hashtag on TikTok received humungous 946,500,000 views, proving bookcase styling is here to stay.
Keeping this in mind, interior designer experts at Furniturebox took to social media to analyse the most popular and eye-catching ways of styling your bookcases.
1. It’s all about the stack
How you stack and display your books is the foundation of your bookcase styling. Do you want all your books to stand vertically or do you want to mix in some books laying down? Will you lean your books up against a feature ornament or do you want your covers organised in height order, tallest to smallest?
All of these book stacking options have their stylistic benefits. For example, if you’re a fan of clean lines and order, stacking your books in height order or a pattern might suit your space the best. Alternatively, if you opt for a more fluid interior style then leaning some stacks of books could help bring some added movement and flow into the styling.
2. Minimalism
A great design hack for minimalist bookshelf styling is to choose a narrow bookcase. A skinny bookcase naturally lends itself to not becoming overstuffed, so you should hopefully avoid the bookshelves looking overbearing for your simple space.
Another great hack is to opt for more industrial style bookcases, which often use minimal materials. This will help complement your minimalist interiors as the eye will have one strong line to follow.
3. Maximalism
If you’re a “more is more” kind of person then styling your bookcase is a fantastic source of oomph for your living space. From colourful stacking options to audacious ornaments, bookcase positioning to bold colour choices, you can make your bookcase an impactful feature rather than something you need to workaround.
A great way to show off your bookcase is to build it around an entryway or door. The full surround of bookshelves will allow you to create a bold feature wall that celebrates your unique reading list.
4. Home library
Every book worm dreams of having their own home library, and this dream might be more achievable than you first thought. Wall-to-ceiling bookcases are not for the faint-hearted, but they are a fantastic interior choice for readers who plough through lots of books.
If you’re looking to create a home library then it’s best to opt for a neutral colour background, painting your shelves a monochrome or natural shade which fits the rest of the room. This will allow the spines of your book collection to shine and do the talking.
For an extra nod to library styling, add in a rolling library ladder or perhaps go on the hunt for a vintage stool or painters ladder for something unique.
5. Floating shelves
If you’re a fan of interior illusions, then we can think of nothing better than the floating shelf. Still popular across social media platforms, floating shelves can be installed throughout your home (with incredible ease) to give your books an eye-catching quality.
Floating shelves are also a great option if you’ve not got a lot of space to play around with, taking your book collection to the wall is a great way to efficiently make a design feature in your home while creating some much-needed storage for your books and ornaments.
6. Reading nook
The perfect book collection and bookcase is never complete without the perfect place to sit and turn the pages.
Building bespoke shelving or a bookcase unit around a seating area is a fantastic way to connect the reading of your favourite books with where they’re homed and displayed to the world.
7. Read the rainbow
Ordering your bookshelf by the colour of the book’s spines will turn your bookcase from a haphazard collection of books to a feature in the room, instantly capturing people's attention while also showing off your literature collection.
Commenting on bookcase styling for World Book Day, Laura Rich, Product Developer at Furniturebox, said: “Held annually in the United Kingdom, World Book Day is a charity event providing every child in the UK with the opportunity to lose themselves in a good book. Styled in the right way our bookshelves can be a focal point of the home, as well as inspire little ones to start reading.
“Start with a good clear-up to remove any dust build-up, then start mixing up the book placement until you find a combination that pleases the eye. I’ve found playing around with verticals and horizontals yields some fantastic results.
“When placing the books, remember to leave some space for houseplants or maybe even a striking piece of artwork. Having some interesting shapes and pops of colour can bring the bookshelf to life.”
