5 Simple Tips for Styling Floating Shelves

Do you love floating shelves, but aren’t quite sure how to style them? This post is for you! Floating shelves are a great way to store practical items, keep plants in the light, and display meaningful pieces. Let’s jump into 5 simple tips for styling shelves.

Tip One: Start Fresh

To begin styling your shelves, you’ll actually start by taking everything off. By giving yourself a fresh start, you’ll be able to incorporate new items more easily and achieve a styled look rather than trying to work with what’s already on the shelves.

Tip Two: Shop Your Home

Before going out and buying new decor for your shelves, first shop your own home. Using everyday items like mugs, books, or plants not only makes your shelves practical, but allows you to display items that have personal significance and reflect your style.

Tip Three: Lay Everything Out

Once you know the items you want to incorporate from your home, you can decide if you want to purchase a few new items to incorporate. A few decor pieces that work well for floating shelves include baskets, vases, plants, and frames. After purchasing those items, lay everything out including the items you “shopped” from your home.

Seeing everything laid out allows you to see what you have to work with and determine the items you want to use. The goal is not to completely fill the shelves, but give the shelves a balanced look with room to breath.

Tip Four: Variety is Key

Mixing shapes, heights, and textures gives a layered look. In this home office, we used a variety of shapes like the round vases next to the rectangular frame and camera. The books and book ends are different heights and pair well next to the organic shape of the plant and sand hourglass. You can play around with color or keep a more neutral palette like this space.

Tip Five: Step Back

Every so often, take a step back to look at your shelves and ask yourself a few questions. Do the shelves feel overly full? Is too much of the same color in one area? Switch it up and move things around. Don’t worry about getting it perfect right away! Reworking the shelves is all part of the process and also part of the fun. Keep adjusting until the overall look feels balanced and reflects the style you want.