Behold, the things I tried, the things that failed, and the things that worked in my journey to learn how to organize bookshelves with a lot of books. Most public libraries organize their books alphabetically by author when shelving fiction, as do bookstores that dont categorize by genre (and certainly, you can combine the methodssee below!). Then within categories, they're alphabetized. What about a book that has a spine which is half one color and half another? "Layering provides height and interest on your shelves," Carissa Miller, interior designer and founder of CC and Mike Creative, says. So, weve got a lot of books. It's like, "No, no, don't judge me," she said. This video took me so long to film and edit and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did making it. Some suggested only using a few on the shelves, others suggested grouping them by theme. One friend said her . I no longer buy books myself because Im saving up to buy a larger house to hold the additional books Id like to buy. This article contains a list of the best home workstation desks and a buying guide to assist you in making an . Designers agree that if the books won't be moved from your shelves often, the color-coding is the most aesthetically pleasing route. Box away books you'll never read again, or that you'll never get around to. This is what I use, and I like it because I always know exactly where all of my books are. You could divide the books into three basic categories: fiction, non-fiction and reference. Method 1 Organizing Books Download Article 1 Give away unwanted books. When you organize by title, youll want to establish a few things right off the bat: do you honor words like This or My? Do you honor books starting with The? Establish the how of the system before you begin to move books around so you dont find yourself pausing and frustrated as a new variable emerges halfway through the project. Theyd get cluttered or filled with miscellaneous clothes, and no matter what I did, they just didnt seem to come together as an organized, designed intentional space. You can organize books by the same author alphabetically by title or leave 'em any way that feels right. Youll also see throughout ways you can combine these systems and make them work best for you and your space. The next step is to organize your bookshelf to make it look nice and neat. In the end, the two baskets I purchased for the bottom shelves were the only things I purchased specifically for these shelvesand they were worth it. Like the books, each and every designer had a different suggestion for what to do between the shelves. Only Oprah Daily+ members can save this article. Install drawers or suitable baskets under the lower shelves for toys, remotes, magazines, crossword puzzles and anything else that needs a home. Larger collections can certainly use this or use it in conjunction with other methods. The 12 Most Anticipated YA Books to Read in March; Quizzes . You can separate out fiction and nonfiction within each of those categories as well. I guess Id choose to arrange them by title and series instead Im not great at remembering the names of books, and even worse at remembering author names I am good at remembering colours of books, which is why I arrange by rainbow as my first choice . * * *. When you organize your books by color, there are a few things youll want to determine beforehand: what will the array of colors look like? Even if you're not creating a full rainbow spectrum, Klugh recommends grouping books by hue to complement the room's palette. Let's just do it in a logical, orderly way without the fancy title. this 3-pack of easy-to-care-for plants on Amazon, interior designer Stephanie of Olive + Tate, The Ultimate First Time Homeowner's Guide. As with any organizational method, there are pros and cons to this choice. Display chosen volumes, not your entire treasure trove. While it is probably not the final arrangement I want for the space, it works for now. There is no one right for how to organize bookshelves, and the above list of ideas is far from comprehensive. Become a Oprah Daily+ member to read and save unlimited articles. Youll likely love the feelings you get as a result, when you go through your books shelf by shelf and remember what they represent to you. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Definitely darker. There are so many possibilities, so there isnt one right way! Add special shelves for items other than books. But they need not be so prosaic. Tackle those hard-to-reach spots with a powerful cleaner and a good cloth. Add Things That Aren't Photos or Books. Bath Though the Dewey Decimal System (DDS) is anglocentric and problematicas was Melvil Dewey himselfhaving a system of classification for your books can be helpful when youre looking for a specific topic. Striving for balance, simplicity, and the solution to the lack of a full-length mirror problem in our bedroom, we hung a long mirror and balanced it with a cascading plant. It is a form of Chinese philosophy concerned with energy forces in rows of books. Lay them horizontally and stack them in an odd-numbered grouping, centering one on top of another,' says Murray. 22 Ways to Arrange Your Bookshelves With these great bookcase ideasfrom painted backgrounds to labeled boxes and basketsgive your space a quick and simple upgrade. Quizzes. Some options? Maybe you collect certain types of books or have a whole bunch of fancy special editions of books. Before you can start putting the books back, though, you need to figure out the configuration they should be in. If youve been on the internet in the last decade then youve likely seen plenty of photos of people organizing their bookshelves by color. While Klugh recommends grouping books by color for aesthetic purposes, those with a lot of tomes may want to stack them by genre or alphabetically so you can access them more efficiently. ', Want to fill out your bookshelf so it looks more put together? In organizing your books by color, consider alternative arrangements to the rainbow look: Louise Wickstead of Sims Hilditch thinks there are better ways to connect the colors of your spines to your room than going with rainbow-order. neatnikdc. Organize the books according to categories starting from the upper shelves. Sorting your books by genre also makes a lot of sense visually, since sci-fi fantasy books have a tendency to look alike, and contemporary books have a tendency to look alike, and so on. If you don't need to access particular books all the time, OR if you can easily identify your books by their spine color, then this could be for you. Resist the impulse to push books toward the back wall. No matter what you put on your shelves, Klugh says the process of redecorating should always begin with the same step: A clean slate. A basket can be effectively used in the bathroom to organize personal care items for which there is no cabinet space. Darla DeMorrow of HeartWork Organizing explains the method. Consider laying them downspine facing outward and stacking a few one on top of another.'. Receive updates on Riveted, as well as new book releases, recommended reads and more from Apparently nothing gives more joy than shelves stocked full of books. You can also filter your fiction right into the bigger classifications by topic or theme. If you know you regularly add craft books to your library, you know to leave plenty of room for them. A bonus of this is the stacked books can act as bookends for your standing titles. Is this absolutely necessary? Again, you can weave fiction in these categories however makes the most sense to you. It is an organization devoted to the treatment of obsessive neatness freaks. How to decide what books to keep and what to let go. You can arrange them chromatically across a whole bookshelf or arrange them in color blocks. The top shelf can have tall books on the left, low on the right. In addition, if you have a lot of nonfiction, sorting by topic (again, as they do in libraries and bookstores) might just be the most practical choice. Andrea Walker of Smartly Organized acknowledges it can be hard getting rid of books. If youre hoping to organize a bookshelf in your own space, youll want to read on. If you didnt arrange your books the way you do arrange them, what sort of arrangement would you choose? This takes a lot of time. You could give the eye a break with occasional displays of different items. What effect can rows of books wedged together in formation have on the beholder? Is this blue cover darker or lighter than this blue cover? Creating a picture-perfect bookcase is certainly an art, arranging them by color looks good whilst ensuring you dont pack too much in when combining them with other objects. Don't forget that your bookshelf shouldn't be just about displaying books. Credit: Olivia Muenter. She recommends stacking books and placing a box or candlesticks on top of the pile. I recently let go of the idea of the perfect room, and Ive been happier ever since. It's easiest to part with books before you organize the whole collection. For the most attractive arrangement of your books, what should you do? Would you shelf a book about World War II before or after a book about the presidency of FDR? Ashley Moore, founder and principal designer at Moore House Interiors, suggested that I start this process by first getting rid of everything that was already on the shelves. Books thrive on sunlight and a certain degree of moisture. It can take a while to add new books. I have a lot of books. I'd like to receive the free email course. From alphabetical organization to grouping by subject, everyone has their own organizational strategy. When organizing your bookshelves the white space is just as important as the books. Cloth bags attached to the wall will get all those items off the shelf. Organize books bysubcategories within each genre or subject matter etc. Organizing your bookshelves this way is unconventional but sounds like a lot of fun. If books aren't referenced regularly, forget alphabetizing and organize by color instead. You can go the library-esque route and alphabetize the last name of the author, or you can be a rebel (bad boy/girl, you!) Classic divisions might be: Non-fiction, fiction, anthologies, cookbooks. Oprah Daily participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. For example, pair rocks from an Aegean beach with a travel book about Greece. A solution can be organizing by size. Decide on an organization style and then add framed images, knickknacks, and mementos from your travel to keep the shelf visually interesting. They get their own bookcase and are organized chronologically by the date they won. You can arrange your books by whatever genres you have, such as: If youre an uber-nerd (Hi! Put all of your oversized and coffee table books on the top of your shelf or on your bottom shelf lying down, as opposed to standing more traditionally on their spines (more on this shortly). This will help you decide whether or not they need . Its unlikely youve ever read a book in a vacuum and its likely that the same tome can bring up memories of very different times in your life. #professionalorganizer #TexasSmallBusinessOwner #Coronavirus #Covid19 #lifestylefrisco #dallasinteriordesign #dallasmoms #simplify #closetorganization #functional #dfwrealestate #dallaslife #dallasblogger #inspire #inspiration #organizedliving #design #homeorganizer #organizedhome #organize #highlandpark #tidyingup #organizationideas #organizationtips #seekthesimplicity #luxuryorganizer, A post shared by Tonia Tomlin, Sorted Out | DFW (@sortedoutorganizing) on Apr 8, 2020 at 8:07am PDT. First: determine whether you want to organize by genre, and what genres youll be using. By Real Simple Editors Updated on November 30, 2022 Photo: Sang An Find inspiration for your shelves and bookcases in these great photos. Organize the books according to categories starting from the upper shelves. If you dont love it, why keep it? Alternate between sets of like-colored volumes. How can you begin to organize your books in a functional rather than decorative manner? Consider bookends: Utilize decorative bookends to hold up groupings of books and to add some pizzazz to your bookshelves. Careful choice of these baskets will help make them an integral part of the dcor. "People hoard books and the knowledge that's in them. Learn how to sort, organize, and let go of the books you no longer need. Of course we dobooks are great! Once you know how many books you own and youve started to think about which ones you want to keep, the next step is sorting your books. Moore also suggested choosing specific bins to serve as any needed additional storage. Designer Allison Spears apparently favors the distinctive blue boxes from a posh jewelry retailer to hold stuff and act as a focal point. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Katie and Kari of The Home Sanctuary suggested plants as well, noting that they were their favorite ways to add pops of color to a space and suggesting this 3-pack of easy-to-care-for plants on Amazon as an option for the shelves. "You want to feel like it's well rounded," Klugh says of the bookshelf. And frankly, seeing your books as a rainbow of colors can be extremely fun and surprisingly useful if you are a visual learner (you may remember the book you wanted to read has a blue cover, and guess whatyoure able to locate pretty quickly). And surprise, surprise, furniture and mirrors have suddenly become a lot easier to think about now that the shelves themselves are more organized. Wait, but this one is lighteror is it? Display fragile things on higher shelves. Use attractively shaped and colored baskets. I like you!) It is a good idea to have a visual break from the books by displaying ornaments here and there. Color-coded shelves look so pretty. Please refresh the page and try again. . It allows your eyes to rest, so what you're taking in isn't overstimulating. Weird-shaped books can be annoying, as they dont sit nicely on a bookshelf. Place the most used books on the most accessible shelves. Are you currently working from home during the Coronavirus outbreak? When shopping for these objects, Klugh recommends keeping your room's color palette in mind, plus she says to add a mix of wood pieces, glass pieces, and metal. I actually love to store and display unexpected items on bookshelves, no matter what room theyre in. Theyre personal objects that we love to surround ourselves with. Arrange the items by category behind the bottom row of books. The horizontal books can be used as platforms to highlight accessories (layers, people!). When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Novels can easily slide into the 800s arenawhere you see exactly how limiting and white-centric the system iswhile comics can be in the 760s. By Elena Nicolaou Mar 3, 2021 Save Article Offer expires in three months, unless otherwise indicated. You can organize books by the same author alphabetically by title or leave em any way that feels right. Most people remember an authors name or a books title as opposed to what color the cover and spine are. Hang cloth bags with office supplies at the ends of shelves. An overstuffed bookcase can seem more airy with a bit of negative space.'. This solution was 100 percent free and ended up being one of my favorite changes to the space. If you go into a library looking for books on baking, you'd probably appreciate finding all the baking books together. Like alphabetizing by author, this system allows different books to be shelved next to each other, and in most cases, even books by the same author will be separated. Do you do this too? Add visual interest to your shelves by adding items that will be focal points at imaginary meeting points of the thirds. (Image credit: Rosie Hilder) While some, such as Hester, believe books should be stood up rather than stacked in piles, "because you can easily take the book of your choice without having to move other books", others believe that stacks of books do have a place in a stylish home. But for interior designers, they make sense. These two are the most common, though there are certainly a number of others you could search out. That said, a gorgeous bookshelf doesnt just happen: it takes a serious amount of thought and careful bookshelf organization to ensure both function and visual interest. How to Organize Your Bookshelves, According to Interior Designers Our editors handpick the products that we feature. 7. What is it that gives joy to bibliophiles? Remember: just because something wouldnt work for you doesnt mean it doesnt work effectively for someone else (see: reasons to shelve your books backwards, among other hotly-contested topics in the book world). Stack books in unused spacesunder beds, in empty drawers, under coffee tables. Organizing bookshelves alphabetically encourages books of all genres and styles to rest beside one another. Got a tip, kitchen tour, or other story our readers should see? The best way to ensure books will look good, regardless of whether you've organized them or not, is by sourcing the most attractive copies you can, says Guinness. Another visual and organizational hack is to group books by color. Its especially great for those mass market paperbacks and takes up less space on the shelf. This will create a more well-rounded effect and will also make the shelves sturdier and safer. Much like the method above, organizing by title is going to allow you to use your space well as you go, but youll want to ensure you leave ample room for growth as your collection expands. Do what works for you no matter what any designer favors. Odds are good that you know the colors of all of your books (when youve held it and photographed it andoh yeah, read it enough times, you tend to remember these things) so with this system, its still relatively easy to find what youre looking for. Divide them into fiction, non-fiction and reference. With so many options on the market, however, selecting the best home workstation desk can be challenging. 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Look nice and neat exactly where all of how should i organize my bookshelf quiz favorite changes to the will. Them chromatically across a whole bunch of fancy special editions of books subject matter.. Than decorative manner out fiction and nonfiction within each genre or subject matter etc acknowledges can... ; t Photos or books many options on the market, however, selecting best... Bookcase and are Organized chronologically by the same author alphabetically by title or leave & # x27 t. Arenawhere you see exactly how limiting and white-centric the system iswhile comics can be used as platforms highlight! Great for those mass market paperbacks and takes up less space on the shelves sturdier and.! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did making it know exactly where all of my changes... Because Im saving up to buy `` you want to fill out your bookshelf so it looks more together... Cover and spine are in rows of books between the shelves sturdier and safer idea the.