AF Designs: Give Your Bookshelves a Facelift

I recently took a designer bookshelf styling class and learned so much. I have always wanted to have beautiful bookshelves, but for some reason always felt really blah about my shelves. We have built in bookshelves in our living room, so after taking this class I was inspired to give my shelves a little facelift if you will.

I often times ooh and ahh over bookshelves like below on pinterest.

And this. It seems so simple, but it way harder than it looks.

Let me share a few key tips I learned from taking the styling class.

Use small prints and art pieces on your shelves. It helps in achieving the layered look that make shelves look so "designed". Use an easel to display them.
Look for a variety of different objects to purchase.
Double the quantity of items you think you need because bookshelves take way more items than previously thought.
Use books!! Add a variety of book heights and sizes, but be sure not to use more than three book styles (antique books, coffee table books etc.)
Look for consistency in the color of your objects. It's best to stay in the three to four color range.

Our teacher, Amitha, demonstrating a bookshelf design. So beautiful.

Now, here is my blank slate. Right after we first moved in I painted the back of the shelves in Restoration Hardware's "slate" paint. It's a really beautiful gray.