How to Style a Shelving Unit

I’ve had a little shelfie makeover!

This has been a labour of love, but I’m so happy to finally reveal my shelving unit makeover. I first wrote about my shelfie styling last year, but I was never 100% in love with it. I knew from the moment we brought it, I was going to spray paint it. So in reality, I was just not sure which way to take it. It was in desperate need of a shelf styling and I could not see the wood through the trees.

So I decided to leave it until our budget was in a better position and my mind was a little clearer so that I could tackle this project head-on. From there, it was so easy and I was on a roll.

THE INITIAL MAKEOVER.

Firstly, let’s talk about the shelving unit in case you missed my previous post. I purchased the Vittsjo Shelving Unit knowing I was going to do an Ikea hack on. The main question was whether or not I wanted to go white or brass. In the end, I knew that painting it white meant I could do pops of brass to give it more interest.

Now, let’s move onto the spray paint. I used the Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch spray paint in White Satin. I wanted an almost matt white but also with a little sheen so that it would be a little more hardwearing. In total, I went through four cans of spray paint, mainly because my technic wasn’t the best. But also, I focused too much on the parts that no one was ever going to see. So if you are going to see it from a 360-degree angle, yes you need a lot of sprays. However if you focus on the sides that you’ll only be able to see, then two cans will be fine.

So now that the DIY was completed, here are my top tips on how to style your shelves…

 

 

STRIP IT BACK.

The first thing to do when you are shelf styling/ making over your already styled shelves is to strip it back completely. Take everything off and start over again. Give it a good clean and go from there. By taking everything off, you’ll be able to see it with fresh eyes and it will be so much easier to style up.

While you are taking everything off, start grouping your objects together (e.g all the books, all the flowers/ plants, etc). That way you’ll have an idea of what you have and you can go from there.

WORK WITH HEIGHT.

When I’m finally organised, I like to think about the foundations of the shelf styling. For me, this is my trays and most importantly, my coffee table books and magazine collection. I like to stack my coffee table books where possible in odd numbers, odd is the magic number! For my magazine, I’m currently stacking them by year and come 2020, I’ll move 2018 upstairs into storage. I truly believe that once you’ve added height, everything starts to come together.

Once you have your stack, you can add extra items onto them. Think faux plants, candles, trinket boxes, whatever adds character.

STICK TO A SIMILAR TONAL COLOUR RANGE.

I love a good tonal story. I like to think that my home is slowly becoming the same tonal palette, so each room flows into one another. When shelf styling, it’s vital to keep the same colour palette so everything has a cohesive feel to it. I’ve gone with beige and creams, with a touch of pinks, brass and mint. And of course, touch greenery from the faux florals and plants.

 

DISPLAY SOME PERSONAL ITEMS FOR THE WORLD TO SEE.

To take your shelving unit from show home to a person who lives here, it’s important to display some personal items for everyone who walks through the door to see. For me, that’s adding our vinyl record player along with our new radio on display. I’ve been dying to listen to more music (translation, any music. Our house is very silent at times) so this was the perfect way to bring that element into the room. Also on display is this little box filled with corks from memorable dates. I’ve also added decor items such as our giraffe that was a bargain and looks perfect on this shelf.

DON’T FORGET FRAGRANCE.

Not only are candles great for decorating and adding height, but an aroma is a great accent to add when styling. With all the candles on there, it the shelving unit corner smells amazing! I would love to get a diffuser over there also, but I have one particular one in mind and I’m saving up for it. You can never have too many candles so have them on display for all to see!

What are your tips for open shelf styling?

 

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