Lux Tip: Arrange Bookshelves by Color

by Annie Scott (RSS feed)
Oct 18th 2008 at 4:02PM

A simple way to brighten your living room is to clean up the look of your bookshelves.

First, have a look at where in the room they are. If you have valuable books, you want to avoid direct exposure to sunlight. Also, look at the lines the shelves create. Would the room look wider if the shelves were opposite the entrance instead of along the side walls? Could you arrange them around a corner with a chair to create a reading nook?

Once you're sure they're in the best possible place, dust them. Dust them like crazy. Dust them for real; take the books off the shelves and rag-dust.

Look at the books on the table or floor, wherever you've put them. Do you need all those? There's probably a stack you haven't touched in years. Is it an attractive stack of books? Unattractive books you don't ever use should go into storage.

Once you've got clean shelves and only the books you need, try arranging them by color. You can create all kinds of patterns; a rainbow, alternating chunks of reds and blues, lights and darks. Play around with stacking, as well. Lay some books horizontally in stacks to create bookends, or in the middle of a shelf, top a stack with a trinket.

You have nothing to lose; this is one of those rare decorating choices which is completely reversible. Why not try it?

It's just another easy way to make life more lux for cheap or free.

Tags: bookshelves, decorating, lux tips

Filed under: Decor, Lux Tips

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Michele Oct 18th 2008 4:40PM

no offense, but you guys must be hurting for content, because some of the posts are definitely NOT about luxury. This is one of them. Sheeeesh.

Dianne Oct 18th 2008 6:02PM

"Unattractive books should go into storage"

I guess the concept of actually reading the books, or having good books regardless of their looks is a stupid concept.

This has to be one of the dumbest entries I've ever read.

My entire library is sorted by (as unfashionable as this might sound) the Dewey Decimal System. By COLOR? That's perfectly logical, trying to remember the color of the spine? Where is that book on Kepler? Oh, I think it's *brown*...

shieldsbrown Oct 19th 2008 3:55PM

How about donating books you no longer want to the public library? They are sold to raise funds that are genuinely needed by the library.

jrt Oct 20th 2008 11:27AM

Wow, way to report last year's design trend.

John Sims Dec 26th 2008 9:31AM

This is a great article! It is in fact luxury to have you're home look nice. I've often looked at my sheleves and wondered what I can do to clean it up. Anyone who has to use the dewey decimal system, has way too many books, or needs a whole room devoted to being a library.I remember everything in pictures, so this system of storage will work great and at the same time clean up the presentation of the room I spend most of my time in. Thank you, great tip!