Aesthetically Pleasing Bookshelf Inspo for an Organized Space
This article is all about bookshelf inspo.
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Are you a BookTok enthusiast, an English major, or just an avid reader in general?
Has your to-read pile been proliferating out of control on top of your desk or bedside table for the past couple of months?
Are your bookshelves so disorganized that you can never find the book you’re looking for when you need it?
Are you looking for a new and exciting way to refresh your bedroom or living space without spending too much money?
You’ve come to the right place! We’ve rounded up our favorite aesthetically pleasing bookshelf inspo, giving you plenty of ideas to get organized, show off your book collection, and express your love of literature through your bookshelves!
Aesthetically Pleasing Bookshelf inspo
“Bookshelf Wealth” Trend
The “bookshelf wealth” interior decor trend has been taking TikTok by storm lately.
If you’ve never heard of it, it’s basically just a rejection of the minimalist bookshelf aesthetic that was hot a couple of years ago, in favor of a more personalized, artfully cluttered, and lived-in-looking bookshelf that reflects your literary tastes and personal style.
We love this trend because it’s all about arranging your bookshelves so that they show off the books, photos, artwork, and trinkets that you love the most!
Color Coded
One of our favorite easy and inexpensive ways to transform your bookshelf (and lowkey, your whole room) is to rearrange your books so that they’re color coded.
A vibrant rainbow gradient of spines is the perfect way to introduce a pop of color to your room and make your bookshelf look more cohesive and intentional.
If rainbow isn’t your vibe, you can also try color blocking and placing contrasting groups of books together, like greens with reds, oranges with blues, or blacks with whites.
Vintage-Inspired Pieces
Whether you’re a bona fide rare book collector or just an antiquing fan looking for a few accent pieces to make your bookshelf look more classy, you can’t deny that vintage-inspired, leather bound books just have that certain je ne sais quoi.
Our favorite thing about this bookshelf styling trend is that it’s super easy to source inexpensive vintage books from your local thrift store, antique mall, or vintage store.
Who knows? While you’re on the hunt, you might even stumble across a rare edition of your favorite classic!
Dark Academia Inspiration
Nothing screams “dark academia” like some well-loved, well-organized, and aesthetic bookshelves.
We love the neutral tones of the spines on this bookshelf, which give an especially ~scholarly~ air when paired with accents like vintage film cameras, mini bust figurines, and a scented candle or two!
This is one of our favorite bookshelf inspiration pics for people who have a largely monochromatic book collection (we’re looking at you, Penguin Classics enthusiasts)!
Ethereal Fairy Lights
If you want your bookshelf area to look absolutely magical, you have to try this ethereal fairy lights bookshelf styling idea.
All you need to do is drape a bunch of twinkling fairy lights and homemade paper garlands all around your bookshelf to create a breathtaking, yet cozy effect.
This idea is relatively inexpensive and totally DIY-able, but the effect is one of the most stunning and eye-catching bookshelves on our list!
Bookshelf Cart
If your apartment or dorm room is short on space, but your book collection just keeps growing, this is one of our favorite bookshelf organization hacks.
You can easily repurpose a bar cart or other rolling cart into a portable bookshelf cart.
You can even rotate out which books you store on the bookshelf cart each month or each season, so the most pressing titles on your to-read list will always be close at hand!
Cozy Reading Nook
Whenever we picture our dream home, a cozy reading nook is one of the features we fantasize the most about.
If you’re anything like us, you can easily make your dreams a reality with this easy DIY cozy reading nook.
Located next to a sunny window, we love the simplicity of this reading nook—it’s just a cozy chair piled high with throw pillows and blankets, plus a pair of small wall-mounted shelves to store your favorite books!
Small Apartment Bookshelf
Even if you don’t have a built-in bookshelf or a giant floor-to-ceiling shelf in your apartment, you can still have a set of super aesthetic bookshelves by taking inspiration from this photo!
We love the combo of vertical and horizontal stacking on the shelves of this small bookshelf, perfect for a small or studio apartment without a ton of storage space.
We also love that the top of the bookshelf is reserved for artwork and knick knacks like a fresh bouquet of flowers or a quirky lamp.
Bookshelf with Plants
If you have a green thumb, why not show it off by combining your love of plants with your love of reading?
This gorgeous bookshelf is festooned with lush houseplants, adding a gorgeous pop of greenery that makes the shelf look even more lively.
Showing Off Special Editions
If you’re a serious book collector, you already know that many authors and publishing houses release special editions of their most beloved titles, often with really gorgeous spines or printing on the pages.
If you’re lucky enough to have a couple of special editions of your favorite books in your collection, why not show them off?
We love the way this bookshelf shows off the unique designs stamped on the pages of these gorgeous books—it’s like they’ve become a work of visual art in addition to a work of literary art!
Displaying Trinkets
One of the easiest ways to add a little personality and flair to your bookshelf is by decorating it with a few personal trinkets that show off your style and interests.
If you’ve been looking for a place to put your favorite scented candle, kitschy mug, Funko Pop, or framed family photo, why not find a place of honor for your beloved trinkets on your bookshelf?
You can even switch your trinkets around every couple of months, so when a new season rolls around, it’s almost like you have a whole new bookshelf!
Wicker Bookshelf
Wicker is definitely one of our favorite interior design trends of all time.
If you’re furnishing your room from scratch and don’t already have bookshelves on hand, why not search your local thrift or antique stores for some old school wicker bookshelves?
They add a whimsical, playful vibe to any book collection.
Unique Table/Bookshelf
A combination table/bookshelf is another of our favorite bookshelf organization hacks for people with small living spaces who might not have room for a full-scale bookshelf.
The little built-in bookshelf in this table is small, but as you can see, it holds a surprisingly large number of books!
Another great option is looking for aesthetic desks that have built-in hutches or bookshelves, which also do double duty as two different types of furniture!
Antique Aesthetic Bookshelf
For some people, bookshelves are a functional storage solution, but for others, they’re purely decorative.
If you fall into the latter group, no judgement! We’re obsessed with the vibes of this antique aesthetic bookshelf, filled with vintage leather bound spines, bronzed mini figurines, and adorable animal-shaped ceramics.
You might not be reading every single book on this shelf from cover to cover, but you can’t deny that this bookshelf is absolutely stunning.
Space Saving Wall Mounted Bookshelf
These wall mounted bookshelves are another excellent storage solution for people with big book collections, but not a lot of free storage space.
By keeping your books stored up high, you might even free up some space in your home for a cozy reading nook, like this one!
Obviously, you can also store other things up there, like trinkets, out of season clothes, or of course, Squishmallows.
People always say that reading can make you smarter, healthier, and more empathetic, but they never tell you that once you start accumulating books, it can be hard to stop, and even harder to find a place to store all your treasures!
If you’ve been struggling to keep your bookshelves organized and aesthetically pleasing, any one of these bookshelf inspo ideas is sure to help you reorganize your collection and help it fit your overall interior decor vibe.
Happy reading!
