If your books are gathering dust in boxes or uninspired piles, you’re sleeping on one of the easiest ways to revamp your home decor (or Zoom backdrop). Rearranging your books can liven up a shelf, corner or entire room in no time, whether you have 10 or 100.
And there’s no room for book snobbery here — award-winning prose, dishy celebrity memoirs and all those unread coffee table editions you saw on social media are all invited.
Here are 10 fun ways to show off your book collection:
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Group by color
If you prefer a monochrome look, consider displaying all the books you have of one particular color together. You can go bright or choose all white volumes for maximum impact.
Go for the entire rainbow
Why choose one color when you can have them all? Line your books up according to Roy G. Biv for a bold look that pops on a white shelf or bookcase. Perfect for a kid’s room, too.
Create multilevel displays
Use your books to showcase some of your other favorite items. Arrange stacks on coffee or end tables and other furniture at different heights and top with candles, photo frames or small catchall trays and bowls.
Turn them around
A controversial option for diehard bibliophiles, but turning your books spine-in definitely makes an impact on a shelf. Not recommended for books you plan to go back to any time soon, but the perfect solution for all of those guilty pleasure reads.
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Make them float
Invisible wall-mounted shelves give the appearance your books are floating on your walls. Clear acrylic bookends can also hold your books upright on top of a sideboard or cabinet.
Trick the eye
Shopping for a bookcase or shelves doesn’t have to be boring. There are all sorts of cool options out there with unique angles or designs that allow for more artful displays.
Turn your tomes into furniture
Go full bohemian and use a stack of books in place of an end table or a nightstand. You can place a tray on top to protect the top book from drinks or other messes.
Choose unexpected storage spots
If your shelves are full or you just want to change things up, look around your home for other nooks and crannies. A non-functional fireplace, a ledge or windowsill will all work.
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Look down
Another perhaps controversial option is to pile your books on the floor. Maybe not the best idea for homes with pets, but artfully stacking some of your heavier, hardcover books makes a cool, eclectic statement.
Consider a cart
Remember those creaky carts librarians push around? Make your books mobile with a bar or utility cart that can move throughout your home or stay tucked into a corner with a vase of flowers.
What is your favorite way to display your books? Would you ever display your books by color?
