People with an extensive home library will find it useful to learn how to successfully place books on open shelves so that they look beautiful and neat. The more books of different formats and sizes, the greater the likelihood that they will look randomly on open shelves. Nevertheless, there are tricks to avoid this.
Things to consider when arranging books on a shelf
The following recommendations will help give the interior of the room completeness and style, even if the landlord does not have design abilities.
Height distribution
Surely all books will have different heights. To make it look neat, copies of different sizes should be alternated so that groups of books form triangles. It does not matter if the corner is formed by the largest or smallest books, the main thing is symmetry.
Combination of books and decor elements
If you put all the books in rows, it will look boring and messy (except when absolutely all of them belong to the same series, which is unlikely). It is better to alternate the arrangement in a row and folding. This will visually smooth out the fact that all publications have a different appearance. You can also dilute the picture with various figurines and other decorative elements, if you correctly place them among groups of books.
Symmetry and Compatibility
It is not necessary to display all books in accordance with color, size, series. It is enough to make several reference points that will create the illusion of order as a whole. For example, you can distribute books of certain series along the edges, and those that are not included in any of them can be placed neatly between them.
Color, size, subject
Particular attention should be paid to paired items: they should be kept nearby. It is also a reference point, and the more of them there are, the less noticeable will be bad places (books that are not included in any group and look randomly).
Also to this point applies the rule according to which the heavy should be at the bottom, and the light at the top. The lower shelves should be filled with encyclopedias, multi-volume thick editions and other heavy books. At eye level and above, thin books should be left that even seem visually light. It’s better to leave more free space above, while below it’s better to fill everything up close. In general, a rack so designed will look organic and correct than when this rule is not respected.
REFERENCE! Cover colors are the most obvious sign that books can be combined. It is necessary to distribute them into several groups, each of which it is desirable to further form in accordance with the size. It is better to put on the edges those color groups in which there are most elements, and in the center leave the smallest ones. It’s best not to leave more than three different colors on the same shelf, unless it is neutral or completely matching in color.
Free space
If space permits, then do not put all the books close to each other. It is better to distribute from to groups, between which there will be empty spaces. This will not allow the rack to merge into a single spot.
Free space should not be abused. If there is too much of it, then the effect will be the opposite, therefore, in such cases, decorative elements should be added to the picture. In this capacity, statuettes, decorative flowers in pots or artificial bouquets, photo frames, curly candles, lamps and much more that can stand on a shelf for many months without regular use can act.
Layered Compositions
You can create whole compositions from books and other objects. For example, when there is free space in front of small books, you can fill it with a figurine. Or you can put a large book at the far wall of the rack, and put a stack of smaller ones in front of it. Thus, on a horizontal surface there will be several layers that go deep into the shelf, so that the bookshelves will not look like a storage, but like a large decorative composition that contributes to the overall interior of the room.
Order
Keeping bookshelves in order is a simple task, but many neglect it. But any created composition will collapse if its elements are gradually interchanged, mindlessly added new ones, something removed.
IMPORTANT! After reading the book, it is necessary to put it in place, otherwise the careful creation of an aesthetically attractive order on the shelf will lose its meaning.
There is no need to talk about regular dusting, which accumulates especially densely near books. It should be brushed off not only from shelves, but also from covers and other decorative elements.
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