Recently I re-styled my bookcases. Every six months or so I take a look at my bookcases and think “When did they become this cluttered?” It happens in day to day life; things get put back in haphazardly or if you have little kids you find all sorts of things there that aren’t meant to be there at all! (Think toy spiders and an old granola bar). When this happens I like to completely redo them, and if they are particularly cluttered I like to sort them by color for an extra dose of orderliness! There is a rhyme and reason to this process, so below I’ve outlined some tips and tricks to styling your shelves.

To begin, especially if you’re organizing your books by color, take everything out. Yes, everything! Wipe down your shelves and start grouping your books. In this case, I sorted mine by color. Go through, book by book and put them in stacks based on the color of the spine. I even chose to sort my accessories by color.

Then, start to fill your shelves. If you’re styling by color, I like to organize in the following way: black, gray, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, purple, pink, then white. As I’m putting the books back in I like to stand some upright, lay down small stacks, and lean some against each other. On some of your stacks you can place accessories like bowls, vases, sculptural items and picture frames.

As you work through your bookcases pause every now and then to take a look at your progress. Make sure that your proportions look right, that the books and accessories are evenly dispersed and that everything looks balanced. If you’re low on books or accessories, look around your house or visit your thrift store. And, don’t be afraid to hang pictures on your bookcases! Gather things over the years to fill the shelves that will bring you happy memories. Have fun as you find new items to fill them, empty them and fill them again!