How to Decorate a Shelf Like a Pro: 10 Easy Ideas

Shelf styling can feel tricky sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be! Check out these easy tips and some of the best shelf decor ideas you can use in your own home, along with favorite decorative objects that make a shelf display so much easier!

Is there any area or spot in your home that always feels tricky to decorate and style? Every time I ask about this, one of the most popular styling requests I get is how to decorate a shelf. I love asking this question for two reasons.

I genuinely love to know and see how I can maybe help out a bit!
It is always interesting to see how many of those “tricky spots” are the same for so many people!

Whether it is open shelving in a kitchen or wooden shelves in a home office or open shelves that are part of a wall of built-ins, to decorate a shelf can be harder than it looks!

To be honest, I have tricky spots in my home too…including how to decorate a shelf and open shelves! However, in all of my experimenting and playing around with decorative items in my own home, I’ve figured out a few go-to styling hacks and tricks that always help me out.

Maybe these shelf styling tips can help you a little too. At the same time, if you’ve got shelf styling all figured out, maybe you’ll find a fresh little idea that you want to try with your favorite items!

What is the rule of thumb for decorating shelves?

First of all, I have to say that, in general, I’m a fan of throwing any fast rule about home decor out the window. Our homes are a reflection of personal style and no two should look the same.

That being said, there are some general guidelines that can be helpful if you feel stuck with your decor. To me, these guidelines are a perfect place to start and then add in your own personal touch.

Consider functional needs and storage space before determining the display items.
Start with just one shelf.
Place the larger items first.
Group items in odd numbers.
Incorporate decorative items with different sizes and different heights.
Create balance between texture, color, and decorative style.
Repeat those elements on another shelf.
Add a touch of the unexpected, including natural materials.
Incorporate simple touches of greenery.
Don’t be afraid of white space.

beautiful white apothecary with a white vintage sign

Shelf Styling 101: Easy Hacks You Need to Know for Beautiful Shelves

How to Decorate a Shelf #1: Create Balance Between Texture, Color, and Style

How to decorate shelves without looking cluttered?

I think this tip is maybe the most important one of all. Moreover, it sets the stage for all of the other shelf styling hacks I have! When considering your shelf styling, I suggest choosing 3 elements. Even if you’re going to decorate a shelf with a large set of built-in bookshelves or long, open kitchen shelves, stick to 3 elements for a curated look.

Pro Tip: For an uncluttered, cohesive look, these elements to decorate a shelf should include your color palette, finishes/texture and materials of favorite decorative objects, and general decor style.

I think it is easier to see visual examples, so let’s take a look at my dining room cabinet and shelf decor items. For example, on these apothecary shelves, I chose elements of white, terra cotta, and wood.

Once you’ve chosen your elements, gather everything you think you might use. I like to spread it all out on my dining room table. It makes a mess, but hey! At least it is a cohesive, pretty mess!

Pro Tip: If you have elements that do not fit within those 3, don’t worry. Keep them on the table and we will get to them on idea #4! Once your shelf styling is complete, you can go back and add a couple of “extra” items. For example, I added the head planter and vintage cottage rental sign.

gathered decor elements including terracotta pots, plants, and mortar and pestles

How to Decorate a Shelf #2: Start With Just One Shelf

How do you decorate shelves nicely?

It can feel overwhelming to look at an entire shelving unit and feel like the pieces of shelf styling come together easily. You’ll already have the big picture in mind by choosing your 3 elements. After that, though, I can get stuck on where to start.

My simple hack?

Start with just one shelf. Just decorate a shelf.

First, I begin with a blank slate. Taking off every single piece of decor and giving the shelves a good deep cleaning is a great place to start when you’re ready to decorate a shelf.

Then, I start my shelf styling by decorating just one shelf and playing around with it until I love it. Most often, this shelf will include at least a touch of all 3 elements, however, it doesn’t have to. Also, just pretend that shelf is the only one you have to do and make it amazing. I learned that trying to “save” decorative items for another spot just led to frustration and indecision.

Next, I find that the other shelves start to take shape with an easy process once I get just that first shelf styled with a fresh new look. Styling the first shelf creates a guide I can follow….which leads to the next tip!

chippy white mirror styled on a white apothecary shelf with antique bottles, mortar and pestles, and greenery

How to Decorate a Shelf #3: Place the Larger Items First

A great way to decorate shelves is with a mix of larger items and small decorative accents. However, in general, it is a lot easier if you place your larger items first when you start to decorate a shelf.

First of all, you are likely going to want to build the shelf styling around the larger items and that way you know how much space you have for other decorative pieces. Secondly, as you will see in tips #4 and #5, using different sizes of items is a perfect way to build a curated look for your shelf decor.

How to Decorate a Shelf #4: Group Items in Odd Numbers

What is the rule of 3 for shelf styling?

In general, I group decorative items in odd numbers when I decorate a shelf. Most typically, a group of 3 can make the perfect vignette for a coffee table, side table, or even a kitchen island. However, one is also an odd number and sometimes the most beautiful and simple decor is a single decorative item on a shelf as a focal piece. The best way is to mix up the shelves with groupings of odd numbers in vignettes and single items that are a focal point.

Let’s take a look at these same dining room shelves styled for summer. Three shelves have groupings of 3 mortar and pestle collections, filled with sea glass and coral fragments for a coastal cottage style. Another shelf features a shell collection while two other shelves have glass bottles incorporate with natural elements like the sea glass and coral. Over all, the items on the shelves are grouped in either one or three items.

You can see the repeated elements of white, clear glass, and the light wooden tone on wood and rattan decor.

Pro Tip: You can add layers to decorate a shelf for more visual interest. For example, an easy way to add layers is to lean artwork, an old mirror, picture frames, or a pretty platter against the back of the shelf. Then, you can add small objects in your color scheme layered in front.

How to Decorate a Shelf #5: Incorporate Decorative Items with Different Heights and Different Sizes

How do you decorate shelves aesthetically?

In general, each vignette that is part of your shelf decor will follow the rule of 3’s, which is a tall, medium, and smaller item grouped in a triangular fashion.

For example, if you have 3 glass bottles of different heights, you may not want to line them up from shortest to tallest when you decorate a shelf. Rather, put the tallest in the middle and the medium and shortest on each side.

The time to disregard this rule is when you are featuring a particular item to decorate a shelf. Let’s look back at those summer shelf styling ideas. The conch shells make a bolder statement by being lined up rather than scattered throughout the shelving unit. However, they also have a lot of texture and interest, which allows me to get away with lining them up like that! It is fun to include items that have such different shapes, as they can add a lot of visual interest.

Pro Tip: If you need to vary the heights of decorative items, try using small stacks of books to give different heights! I keep a collection of old books with all different colors of the book spine, different sizes, and even seasonally-themed titles on the book spine. Thrifted, old books can be your best friend in vignette styling!

How to Decorate a Shelf #6: Repeat Elements on Another Shelf

The next thing I do to decorate a shelf is to take that first shelf and re-create it on another shelf, typically on the opposite side, though it doesn’t have to be. For the size of shelving unit that I have in my dining room, I usually do that 3 times.

None of the shelves look exactly the same. However, if you study it closely, you can see the repetition of style, color, and texture on the shelves. You won’t be literally making the shelves exactly the same, but rather re-creating the overall look with repetition of your three main elements.

Pro Tip: When you “re-create” the shelf, try to mix it up a little by using similar items and styling but not making it identical. This helps you get a designed-over-time, curated look that is perfect for the vintage home!

base of a column with a glass cloche on top and another cloche next to it with tiny ironstone dishes

How to Decorate a Shelf #7: Add a Touch of the Unexpected

Once you have decorated all of your shelves, repeating the color, texture, and style with your 3 chosen elements, you may find (like I do) that it’s become a tad too predictable and feels too staged.

This fourth step calls you to go back to my tip on #1 and pull out whatever item(s) that didn’t fit in your final 3. Adding a couple of unexpected elements to decorate a shelf will break up the pattern and provide character and visual interest to your shelf styling.

On my dining room shelves, for example, I added the head planter and a vintage sign. Those become statement pieces and create the perfect balance since they stand out from the simple backdrop created with my 3 chosen elements of white, terra cotta, and wood.

Remember to add layers! If you have smaller items that you want to feature but they don’t fit within your three elements, try placing it on top of a stack of books to give it more significance.

Pro Tip: To avoid a cluttered look when you decorate a shelf, stick to the “3 element rule”. However, then the next step is to add just a couple of extra items so that the shelf decor doesn’t all look the same. It doesn’t take a lot of extra items to break up the pattern so that your decor doesn’t feel overly staged or too perfect!

concrete head bust planter with a faux plant in it

How to Decorate a Shelf #8: Add Greenery

You knew I was going to say this, didn’t you?! I don’t think I have any wall shelves or cabinets in our home that doesn’t have just a touch of greenery. Whether fresh or faux, greenery breaks up the lines of the decor, softens the edges, and adds a whimsical, fresh feel to your shelf styling vignettes. Greenery is a perfect accent to decorate a shelf.

Pothos plants are my go-to for live plants since they are so hardy and seem to be the ones I can keep alive the best! In the spring and summer, I usually buy just a few different kinds of baby plants to sprinkle throughout my decor. I love the Walmart garden center for really inexpensive small plants! Even if they don’t last for years, I can usually enjoy them for the season and they are super budget-friendly!

However, I am also a big fan of quality faux plants to decorate a shelf. Even though I am extremely picky about my faux plants and flowers, I have worked hard to find some gorgeous faux options that you can incorporate easily into your home decor.

Pro Tip: I often mix fresh and faux greenery! It is okay to use both in the same shelf styling.

Here are a few favorite options for faux greenery to decorate a shelf:

small plant in a terra cotta pot next to an ironstone dish

Here are some favorite decorative items that are great for shelf decor:

picture f\rames for family photos
coffee table books
favorite books for decorating ideas (that also look pretty out on your shelves!)
small sculpture items, like this coral
wood beads or garlands to add a variety of shape
this bulky vase for texture and size
place large baskets on the bottom shelf for practical (and pretty) storage

There you have it! Shelf styling made easy, or at least what helps me! Hopefully it will help you, as well, by giving you a starting point.

Sometimes in decorating, just getting started is the hard part. I find that once I get started and that creative part of my brain starts rolling, it is all a lot more fun and falls together a lot more easily too!

What are your favorite elements to use in shelf styling? I’d love to hear in the comments!