Shelf Styling Ideas

It’s the stuff that many Pinterest board dreams are made of. Shelf styling is a big business now that open shelving is a current hot trend. Any lovers of interior design trends will be well aware that having open shelving in your living room or kitchen is currently massively fashionable.

Open shelving is a look that anyone can pull off, no matter the style of their home, be it classic or contemporary. It’s all a matter of knowing what to display on your shelves without it looking messy or not thought out. Read on to find out our special United Furnishings top tips for styling your open shelving. When you are styling your open shelving, it is all a matter of thinking through and planning the look of your shelf. You can, of course, just randomly place your items on your shelf and hope for the best. However, thinking about a few factors beforehand will help to pull the look of your shelf together, making it a far more polished and stylish affair.

Complimentary Colours

2021’s colour palette is “all built around a natural, earthy colour palette. Packed with rusts, warm greens, deep reds and slubby browns, it’s comforting, welcoming … and just what we need for 2021.” Whether your room fits into this colour palette or not, you can nod towards this trend with the items on your shelf. We particularly love our Set of Two Ceramic Vases (now £58) when they are placed on open shelving or mantle pieces. You’ll read more about the importance of height, structure and form later, but they are the ideal pieces to add some height to your display, particularly as you can fill them with real or artificial flowers and foliage.

Choosing items (including flowers and foliage) that compliment your room’s colour scheme will help to pull the whole look of your room and your open shelving together. What’s more, you can fill them with flowers, foliage or feathers that fit in with this year’s colour palette of rusts, dark greens, deep reds and slubby browns.

Interior Themes

Once you have considered the colour scheme of the space, or even season if you are rearranging your shelving for a big calendar event like Christmas or Easter, you can move on to the theme of your home/room.

Here at United Furnishings & Home Accessories, we have a wide range of stock which has been carefully selected to meet the latest interior design themes. In 2021, the big interior design trends will all be taking their inspiration from nature. “Cottagecore and some of the other [big] styles that connect us to the outside world and nature are increasing in popularity” says Country Living magazine.

Structure and form

When placing items to create a perfect display, think about the height, structure and form of your arrangement. Make “sure that the objects vary in height for a larger visual impact. Whether you choose to display a tall, unique piece of art, of a sleek, contemporary vase, add something that draws your eye upward”. Further complete the aesthetic of your display by “mix[ing] and match[ing] bigger and smaller pieces to create a layered look".

Our Set of Two Black and Antique Gold Geometric Trays (£75) look great when stood upright in an open shelving display. They add height and shape as well as a little opulence with the luxe note of the antique gold edge.

Personal Items that You Love

Your shelves can “represent you and your family by displaying inherited knick-knacks, eclectic collections and photos you treasure. A display of personal objects will bring warmth and interest into the room”. This means carefully considering which of your items to display, or to pop away for another time or move to another room, so it’s actually a great way of decluttering your space. You can create fabulous open shelving in any room with all sorts of items, not just photographs, books and ornaments; even antique kitchen equipment looks incredible when arranged with thought.

https://pixabay.com/photos/shelf-kitchen-antique-cooking-3044042/

Creating the right ambience

It’s all a matter of creating the right ambience. Depending on the room that your shelf is in, you might want to strike a particular tone. If your open shelving is in your living room and you want it to be a very relaxing, zen environment then you might want to display items that fit within that calming theme. Our beautiful Enamel Bowl – Lime Green from our Enamel collection is currently on our New Year sale (now £19.99). It is the perfect centrepiece for open shelving with a peaceful, restorative vibe. Fill it with healing crystals or potpourri, or leave it empty - its sweeping curved sides add height and drama to a shelf arrangement. If it’s a room in which you’ll be doing lots of reading, then “use your favourite reads as display pieces for shelving that looks effortlessly put together”.

Here at United Furnishings, we have currently got a huge sale on at the moment, with a large collection of ornaments and finishing touches that are ideal to personalise your living spaces.

Explore our sale here and feel free to get in touch for any more interior design advice.

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