Shelves are a great way to create extra storage in even the smallest or trickiest space in your home.
Layer Up The Storage
Baskets and boxes are a great way to keep the clutter hidden. They make your shelves even more functional by creating a storage solution all of their own. Choose a style and colour that fits with your colour scheme for a pulled together look. For the super-organised you can even label each storage basket so you know exactly what’s in there, eliminating the guess work!
House Plants
Add some tranquil greenery to your shelves and immediately they make the space feel more inviting and relaxed. If you think you’re going to forget to water them choose artificial flowers and plants instead.
Pick A Theme
If your shelving needs to work extra hard for you and be a really functional space, pick a storage theme and run with it. These pantry shelves in the corner of the room are providing space with baking goods and spices. This space could look really cluttered, but by choosing one style of storage containers and racks to use on the shelves it looks stylish, organised and practical.
Lighting
Set the mood in a room with the simple addition of LED lighting strips to transform alcove shelves, casting shadows and highlighting key accessories on the shelves.
Play With Height
Even the smallest of shelves can look fabulous, just like these kitchen shelves that are being used to store dried goods. By choosing different heights of kilner jar and positioning them in size order the shelves look balanced and organised, but interesting at the same time.
Coordinate Your Colours
Pick a colour theme and run with it. We love how the pink tiles are coordinated with the warm colour of the wooden shelves, and then accentuated with matching styling. Copper accessories like the copper piping wine glass holder and wine bottle holder, as well as the rose gold cutlery and pale pink tumbler, complete the look.
Balance
Symmetry doesn’t always work, sometimes it can be too matchy matchy. But in the case of shelves with brackets, choosing brackets that are a statement all of their own, and then creating symmetry with them adds interest. Simple styling with house plants and diffusers creates a small useful space on an otherwise blank wall.
Layering
More is more when it comes to layering on floating shelves. Shelves offer a real opportunity to display treasured possessions as well as keeping essentials close at hand. And these shelves do both, showcasing artwork and photo frames, as well as storing well-thumbed books. When it comes to layering, think about positioning things in front and behind each other, stacking items, and playing with height, so there’s constant variation of shape, style and height across the shelf.
Why don't you find out where the best places to put shelves are in your home? (2 minute read)
For more inspiration and ideas on how to use floating shelves around your home, take a look at our gallery of real homes.
