- hang a curtain in front (actually, probably better to velcro on some panels nice and tight) and forget about it.

- Or at least do that just for the bottom half so you can hide your change jars and such.

- or paint or paper the back of the squares, to lesson the contrast between the wood and wall, and to tie it in with the rest of your decor. Hang things on the wall with hooks inside some of the squares instead of lining everything up on the bottom and leaving the top 2/3 of each emtpy.

I'd love to have built in shelves of any kind in my place- embrace it!

Since its a rental and you won't be able to change the shelves, the only thing you can do is better accessorizing. It will be a challenge since the shelves are so narrow. Try to find some thin baskets that you can hide any utilitarian items in such as the money jar or keys. Find objects you like such as baskets or pottery being careful not to make it look knick knacky. Enlist a friend with an artisitic eye to group things in a pleasing way.

also- I've seen a lot of 'pictures hung in front of bookshelves' lately in magazines. Wether you cover the shelves or not, remember you are not limited to putting stuff IN them- you could hang a large picture or mirror on the front edge, in FRONT of them.

There is actually quite a lot that you could do. Larger sized vases or pottery pieces would help fill in some of the white space. You could paint the back of the wall behind the book case for a pop of unexpected color. You could unify your photos by purchasing different but similar frames of various sizes and bunch them together. A small potted plant is always a nice touch. I can't tell if the shelf is very wide, but books are always a beautiful and obvious choice. Hope this helps. Good luck and have fun!

I like the idea of painting pieces of foam core different colors and fitting them inside the compartments - sort of a Mondrian painting effect. With a few decorative items in front of some of them.

Although, they do remind me of some shelves I had built behind a door in my kitchen. They were exactly wide enough to store canned goods/dvds/ cds. If you need storage for those things, it woudl be perfect and you could just cover it with a curtain.

What if you blew up some of your favorite photos and sized them to just fit the squares formed by the shelves. You could mount them on shallow boxes attached to the wall so that they filled 1/2 to 3/4 of the depth. Each picture space would become a shadow box of sorts and you could accessorize the remaining spaces to make a large piece of assemblage art a' la Louise Nevelson.

My vote is fun prints for the back of the shelves. Even scrapbook paper with double-sided tape would transform the entire shelf and it's less maintenance for a renter than wallpaper.

Vertical plants! A Wall of green would be wonderful and should thrive in the natural lighting.

The shelves are so shallow that I'd think they were built for paperbacks if they weren't so high. Considering what you said about the light, their original purpose may have been to hold viney plants like pothos, much like a trellis would do. That could work better with garden twine as additional support. I've seen that done to make shelves pretty, plus it could improve air quality.

i like the idea of larger pictures filling up the space - i would even hang them if you could. or if you could paint the shelves, that would be awesome - either white to blend in - or if you could paint the wall behind the shelves (i second using patterned paper or solid paper) to give it some color and interest. also - larger accessories - i agree w/ vertical plants, higher vases or sculptures. or small accessory boxes to hold things in.

Ooh, I just noticed little side holes that indicate that the shelves may be adjustible. If so, the options are greatly increased.

Whatever you decide to do - adjust the shelf on the bottom left so that it is the same height as the rest of the shelves along the bottom. Symmetry is your friend!

what would make it look better if it were all of the same size. Start by removing the adjustable shelves at the lower part of the system.
Also, you could cut out foam boards that fit the size of each of the cubbies. Re-cover them with colorful paper. Now this can be used as a mat for pictures. The shelves and the verticals would mimic frames. Based on the picture you put up, you can arrange a small vignette. Not in all shelves, but a few. Some can have books etc.
This would create and effect similar to http://images.younghouselove.com.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/03/prog-din-room-office.jpg
and by using colored paper you can get a look similar to this http://images.younghouselove.com.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/03/living-room-detail-prog.jpg

You could also put up cork boards and pin up pictures and messages

All the best
Rashmi
Hyderabad , India

I second the Mondrian-esque idea. Otherwise, consider the scale of the items you put in there if you decide to leave the shelving open. I think rather than filling it up with tiny things you need to fill the individual cubbies a little more (back to the large vases and pictures and such). Look at it as a challenge and not an eyesore!

I like Laeka's idea. Adjust the shelves to create symmetrical blocks, then use each one to highlight a single large item or photo. I'd clear out the clutter of many little items.

Lots of good ideas here!
I suggest the simplest way to fix it would just be to carefully select the items to go in. Get a mix of large items (framed art, vases, baskets, etc) to fill in some of the white space, a potted plant to hang down and over some of the space.
I think for that one long shelf where you have a ton of framed photos at the moment, I'd have a row of candles and nothing else. Keep it simple and clean.

I love the mondrian/blown-up-pictures ideas! Also, are you absolutely sure you can't paint? My landlord doesn't care if I make small changes that improve the space...and I decided long ago that I would gladly forfeit the security deposit to be comfortable in my temporary home.

I second the "Hang a large piece of art in front of the shelves" idea.

I would love to have those shelves. Where's the books?
Place books in several of the sections, standing up and lying down. Mix in some of your framed photos, as bookends or sitting on top of the books. Don't line up your framed photos the way they are now.
Place artwork in some of the sections or hang directly from the center beam of a section. Remove that galvanized container.
Also intermix some of your collectible and do not feel like you have ti fill each shelf. If you have one nice coffee table book, stand it up and place just that on a shelf. Or just 1 cool piece of pottery or maybe a musical instrument from high school or the flee market (like a cool horn/trumpet.)
The ideas are endless!...

I think it's great you have a lot of family photos on display, but the way they are displayed is making the shelves look cluttered. Use larger frames/photos with mattes. You can hang centered in the back of each shelf or from the front edges of the shelves.

Think about using larger objects with purpose, instead of smaller items that look like they were tossed temporarily on the shelves. If you want to display a vase in one of the nooks, for instance, make sure the vase is almost as tall as the space, instead of half the height of the space.

my idea: paint the backs and fix the scale of the displayed objects. you have too many tiny things, when few big things would work better.
maybe take the pictures from the frames and do one big frame with lots, like a colage, and hang on the walls of the cubbies, with the backs painted a contrasting color so it really pops. and if your landlord grouses about paint, you can always paint it back. that is custom here in brazil: as long as you keep the place in good conditions and deliver as you found, no problem. just dont make any changes that cant be taken back, like painting the wood.
besides, paint is cheap. just go back to the original color before you leave.

If it weren't so sunny, I would suggest storing your liquor bottles in a portion of it. Appears just deep enough.

Add books and plants! I also thought of adjusting the shelves to make a larger open space where you could lean or hang a big framed piece of art

It would make an amazing pantry if you focused on beautiful storage jars. Or, if you want to close it up, you can mount one or two piano hinges along one side of it and put one or two framed canvases on the hinges to act as lightweight doors. If you want to keep it open, for decorative display, I'd cover thin board (can even be heavy cardstock) with fabric for each square and then put a theme collection in the boxes: nature objects, items collected from travels, family photos.

The main thing you need to do is to fill them up more. Use larger scaled items. Look for pictures of shelves you like and follow suit. Here are some potentially inspiring photos:

Since they are next to the kitchen, you could use them for kitchen storage:
http://pinterest.com/pin/14743949/
http://pinterest.com/pin/13536842/

Or a more living room style:
http://pinterest.com/pin/13982091/
http://pinterest.com/pin/13776771/
http://pinterest.com/pin/13505314/
http://pinterest.com/pin/13505026/
http://pinterest.com/pin/13505235/
http://pinterest.com/pin/12163316/
http://pinterest.com/pin/3906817/

As you can see, these pictures also demonstrate ideas like a painted or wallpapered back.

I'm sorry to say that I think you're use of the shelves is more an eyesore than the shelves themselves. Scour AT and the internet for images of shelves with stuff on them that you do like. Lonny has a page dedicated to styled shelves.

http://www.lonnymag.com/decorate/bookshelves

Try to recreate a look you like with objects/books/art in your home.

Here's a quick 101 on creating Vignettes that may or may not be useful.

http://jacquelinezinn.com/chicago-interior-design/the-art-of-vignette-styling-2/

Ugghhh. your, not you're.

If at all possible (not always with a rental), I would paint them the same color as the wall color. It would make them less notable to begin with - then I would cover them in things you love - pictures, clocks, candles... whatever suits your fancy. Whatever adjustable shelves you aren't using, just remove them!

I am with Dulcibella. I would not use them as shelves at all, but as a decorative wall installation.

Dulcibella suggests painting foam core different colors, but I would say that it would look nicer if you ordered custom cut plexiglass, painted the back of each piece of plexi, and then mounted them to the wall using 3M removable mounting strips.

The advantage of back painted plexi is that the glossy face would reflect back the light from the window during the day, brightening the room. And your "Mondrian" effect doesn't necessarily have to be in the classic primary colors. You could create the same idea in subtle creams, whites, and grays if you wanted a more subdued result.

I order custom cut plexi from here:

http://www.professionalplastics.com/PLEXIGLASS-ACRYLICSHEET-EXTRUDED?gclid=CJfoiLqYsagCFRNrgwodgBLrHg

Just use the custom cut calculator at the bottom of the page to estimate your cost.

Here is an example of shelves done in bold Mondrian:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28955208@N05/5644954288/

and here is the same idea done in Benjamin Moore neutrals:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28955208@N05/5644388593/