When's the last time you really freshened up your bookcase, besides try to fit a few more books on the shelf? Living in your space day in and day out, you might not have noticed your bookshelves possibly getting overstuffed or outdated: we've got the tips to freshen them up and bring them up-to-date, an easy way to give whatever room they're in a quick before and after!
Declutter: Isn't the first tip on any how-to list usually declutter? But no seriously, you aren't gonna re-read every book again; start paring down your collection to make more room for what you have now and room to grow. Good ones to throw out: Books you forgot were even on your shelf.
Mix things up: Did you implement a neat bookcase trend that has surfaced in recent years, like organizing by color, covering all the spines or flipping them over so only the pages show? Consider flipping it back to the way it used to be or moving to a new book organizing trend.
Spread out and conquer: Don't stuff the bookshelf to the gills, leave space for tiny vignettes involving stacked books and favorite accessories, quirky art or family photos. It'll add a level of sophistication and texture to a space that a bookcase full of books just can't always do.
Consider a move: Isn't taking all your books off your bookcase the perfect time to reconsider its location? Don't feel like you have to rearrange all the furnishings in a room to feel like a proper makeover; a bookcase is so substantial of a focal point that even just moving it a little bit will change the focus of a room and create a fresh feeling without all the pushing and shoving of sofas and couches.
When's the last time you revamped your bookcase? Do you have any older book organizing trends you're currently rocking that you feel could use some updating? Can you attest to the power that a little bookcase refreshing can do for a space? Let us know!
MORE BOOKCASE BRILLIANCE ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
Guide to Styling Bookshelves
Wall-Mounted Bookshelves
Bookshelf Envy: Floor to Ceiling Bookshelves
(Images: First image: Donna Griffith via of Style at Home of the home of Karen of The Art of Doing Stuff (who's up for a Homie); Adrienne Breaux; the rest credited in the above links)
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What that series of pictures really makes me want to do with my shelves is trade them in for white ones.
I reorganized my family's bookshelf a couple weeks ago. # 1 won't necessarily be easy if you live with others. I had to contend with their opinions as to what we should keep versus donate. We had a bit of a book "limbo" on our dining room table for 2 weeks so we could "think about keeping them". Let's just say, I was willing to part with a lot more stuff than them!
Wait, wait, wait we're skipping a buried lead here: What the hell is that chair, and where the hell do I find one for myself? That looks like the kind of furry nonsense I need!
This was actually already my plan for the weekend!
What about the pedestal table in the first pic, can anyone identify?
A good rule of thumb is to leave about 10% open on your shelves for expansion. When I was working in a library, that mean that on each shelf there was room to breathe. I like this rule, and it also gives you a good idea of how much to donate when it comes time to clean up the shelves again in a few months.
I also prefer stacking my books instead of having them stand upright. I find that I better use the shelf space this way, and it's actually better for the longevity of the spines (for hardcovers, anyway).
KD_MUSE, that 10% rule is a great tip. I guess it'd go up and down depending on how many new books you purchase. I have pretty much run to the end of my shelf space so I guess I'll start stacking books on the floor.
I actually just reorganized my shelves minutes ago. I love organizing my books but pretty much nothing else in life. I do it every time I purchase a new batch of books (because you can never bring just one home!).
I need to do this! maybe this weekend.
I think arranging books by color is a beautiful thing, BUT I find myself wondering if I have enough brain cells left to remember what color a book is when I want it. I generally arrange by author and genre so I can find things. Anybody have thoughts about finding their books when arranged by color? Does it work for a reader vs. a decorating strategy?
It's funny you should post this. I moved and rearranged my bookcase last night! Those are great tips.
ETUFTS: that table, or one very similar, is at horchow.com. side table. I looked for it everywhere! It's used as a bedside table on Being Erica. Love it! there are similar ones on highfashionhome.com.
EMMB -I'm very visual and always look for things based on what they look like anyway. I find I actually find my books faster now that they are arranged by color. :) That might not be the case if 80% of the books weren't mine...but being a grad student has some advantages.
so excited...i have similar bookshelves to the first photo, with the same exact ikea lights mounted to them. i'm currently in the process of drawing up layouts for my office to freshen it up, so this came at the perfect time!
Where's the chair cover from??
I adore the first room (first photo). But, why, oh why, would they cheapen it with hanging that horrible cheap plastic IKEA pendant lamp?? That's unfortunate.
SLEEK1, it just looks like a large sheepskin thrown over a chair to me.
Hi all! That first picture is my foyer from my blog The Art of Doing Stuff.
Here's a link to my post on my furry chair ... http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/before-after-how-to-recover-a-chair-in-5-minutes/
And here's a link that if I remember correctly, sources the rest of the stuff including the metal table. (which I got at HomeSense, the Canadian equivalent of HomeGoods)
http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/my-house/
Karen!
OK, I understand all this styling of bookshelves as display places, but the color-coding bit? I can't be the only person who reads the books on her shelves? I organize them by author (no, not obsessively alphabetized) or genre in a way that makes sense to me. I'd never find what I'm looking for if I used my books as design elements. That said, yah, I do shelve some vertically and others horizontally and try to leave space for decorative objects for more visual interest. Still, to me, bookshelves are first and foremost utilitarian items for the storage and retrieval of books.
I agree with Gillianne - the organization by colour of the books is weird and impractical. Anyone who keeps books around the house only for decorative purposes should think of donating them to the local library or school. Books are primarily for reading, and are simply wasting space if not being read (when there are so many people out there who would probably love to have access to them!)
Yes, organizing books by color is weird and impractical. And it's not as bad as the completely ridiculous method of turning them so only the pages show.
Some may argue, but these techniques can not really for people who read their books so much as like to look at a vignette of books. I would rather spend time reading a book rather than trying to remember if it's in black or blue or if where the heck I put it with it's spine to the back.
When I look at these pictures I see white walls and modern spaces. I think they look amazing with all the books with different colours all together. I have a extremely small space and two kids and a husband. I am trying to work lots of different elements in so that my space seems clean and not cluttered. I turn my books around so that it doesn't look messy and I read all of my books. I put different categories on different shelves so it doesn't take a long time to find them. I love my books, read them and have the pages showing so my very small space isn't messy and visually cluttered. We can't all have the luxury of having tall ceilings, big windows, modern architecture, and a minimalistic space.
If you live in earthquake territory, as I do, you're best off to have your bookshelves bolted to the wall. It's a good safety precaution, but it means "consider a move" is not a trivial thing.
The OCD neatnik in me who hates visual clutter loves the look of books organized by color, but I think it would drive me crazy to actually do it. Mine are grouped by genre and/or author with a few groupings of favorites or really special, meaningful books. I just don't think I could stand it if I switched it up. I know where everything is now, and even though I know I could still find a particular book if they were organized by color, the OCD part of me just won't let me try it. Besides, I have a lot of books whose spines are multicolored. I'd go crazy trying to figure out where to place them within the spectrum.
I'm a lifelong believer in organizing books by general subject, and within that by author. However, two years ago I decided to take the color plunge, so devoted an afternoon to dividing them into various piles, then setting them out. That lasted maybe ten minutes - back to subject, then author - it still works best for me.
Okay, and right back to the organizing by color discussion ... It's never ending, is it?
Brains work differently, okay? People have different amounts of books to keep track of and reading habits differ. Color coding isn't weird or ridiculous or impractical to some. Others may prefer alphabetical order ... It's a highly personal thing and doesn't have anything to do with being an avid reader or not. And frankly, the reproach of not using your books, I don't get that. Do you touch/pull out all your books all the time? I usually take one book out, read it (within one to four weeks usually, depends on my time and the book) and then decide wether I put it back or not (often I don't because it is simple math how many book you can reread in your life so only the really brilliant ones get to stay)
Personally I mix organizing by color, by subject, by height and by placement. Big books go on the bottom shelves and get loosely grouped by subject. I have one special interest that get's its own shelve. When it comes to fiction and normal sized non-fiction: I don't like to mix that. So I have fiction shelves and non-fiction shelves. Within those I group by color because it is soothing for the eye. I place those few color coded shelves at eye level. New books get stacked up vertically or are placed front faced (depends on the space I have) so they get my attention and get read.
i must be a weirdo because my books are arranged by height/size, but i still know exactly what color every book is and i actually find them better that way. when i have bigger and better shelves i will definitely "take the color plunge"
Hey - where can I buy the cubes like the ones in Picture 1. I have my old whitewashed shelving units from the mid-80's. Ack!!!
Um, when you arrange by color, you can still read the spines, folks.
As a librarian, I appreciate any encouragements for organizing books. I, myself, would never consider color organization, I have far too many books for that and seldom remember the spine color (which is often different from the front cover -- something I often DO remember.) Bu that's me, not you. My home library is a room, and the shelves (IKEA Billy's with the toppers that add height almost to the ceiling) were carefully fitted to the space. All the shelves are full. There will be no rearranging, but it looks great! If I get more books, something old has to go, so I pick a category that dates and offload my elderly decor and gardening books, for example. Things are loosely categorized by genre (meaning how *I* perceive them to function) and somewhat by height. I generally don't have trouble finding something, although some really skinny paperbacks elude me on occasion...
Re: color coding. I don't have my books color coded, but when I look for a book out of my (MANY) books, what I remember about it is the color and cover art. In fact, sometimes I can't remember the author OR the title, but can only remember that it is blue-green with white writing and a little line drawing in the lower right front corner.
So, yeah, I actually find my books depending on what color they are. Though I've always wondered if that would still be the case if I actually organized the books by color...would I no longer remember them if there was no contrast with the surrounding books?
Just moved into a new home and after unpacking and organizing our three bookshelves I made a small space on one shelf for a "new books" section -- so you don't have to search for them, and they can go into the org system (by author for us) after reading. Helps a lot if you buy 10 books at a time on Amazon to save on shipping.