BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Lay out everything you might want to display, including useful items like storage boxes, decorative bowls, vases or pictures. Aim for a mix of shapes and textures.

Shelf styling is an opportunity to dust off mementoes, souvenirs, and items that you might have been storing under the bed or in the back of a cupboard and give them pride of place.

Next, think about your colour scheme and pick out the pieces that fit it. For example, you may go for earthy tones or balance neutrals with one or two accent colours or one colour with metallics.

ARRANGING YOUR DISPLAY
Start with the larger items, keeping them lower down to avoid a top-heavy look, and make sure the functional items you will want to use regularly are accessible. Then, take a step back, observe the blank spots and fill these in with the smaller pieces.

BLOCK YOUR BOOKS
Arrange books in stacks, some horizontal, others vertical, aligning them to create visual interest. Hold vertical stacks in place with an interesting bookend or, if placed horizontally, top with a small decorative object.

You may also wish to arrange books according to the colour of their spines for a more cohesive look, or if the colours clash, turn the spines inwards, so the white pages are on show.  

ADD SOME ART
Arrange favourite prints, pictures, or photographs in empty spaces or add diverse shapes in the form of sculptures, vases, bowls, or other decorative pieces that speak to your personality. 

LEAVE A BLANK
You do not need to fill the shelves. Instead, put any unsightly items away (that is what closed cabinets are for) and leave white space in your display. This space will help break up the scene and let key pieces stand out. 

EMBRACE ODD NUMBERS
When choosing how much to display, go for odd numbers and cluster similar items in groups of one, three or five for a freer, less symmetrical look. 

CONTAIN THE SMALL
Use ceramic, glass, or wooden bowls or dishes as vessels for smaller items such as shells, beads, or stones, so as to be visible but contained. 

GO FOR GREEN
Whether real or artificial, plants inject life into the picture you build. Frilly ferns, trailing vines, or dried flowers in vases all add colour and an organic, natural element to the picture. If it is a kitchen shelf you are styling, this is the perfect spot for pots of herbs. 

TRIANGULATE ACCENT COLOURS
If you are using an accent colour, avoid using it on every shelf. Instead, place your pops of colour diagonally opposite each other, as three points of a triangle, for a more pulled-together look. 

You want a good mix of textures, structures, shapes, and materials, but not so much that the eye does not know where to rest. Once you have styled your shelves, stand back and assess. Then edit. Think of shelf styling as creating little vignettes that reflect your style and personality.