Decorating With Books

I come from a book family and I married into a book family.

We love books, we buy books (yes, actual paper books), we gift them and we keep them.

So when Redfin reached out asking for some tips on decorating with books, I had lots to offer! The tip they chose to include in their article comes from my own living room:

“For large-scale coffee table books that you don’t often reference, try displaying books in a vertical stack. Like building blocks, start with the largest on the floor and layer on in order of size. In my own living room, a vertical stack keeps my design books where I can see them while also serving as an “architectural” element, creating a boundary in an open-plan space.”

photo: Kim Cornelison for MSP Home and Design

The stack has grown quite a bit since this photo was taken!

Because I like, read, and use my books, I feel strongly that incorporating them into décor has to make sense.

Here are my top practical tips:

Organize a large library by subject

I’m not talking the Dewey Decimal System here; just whatever makes sense to you and reflects the categories in your collection. In my home, that means Classics, Fiction, Memoir, Essays, Humor, Nonfiction by subject category, Cook books, Photography books, Real Estate books…you get the idea!

Color works, too!

One of my kids has a large collection in their room, organized in rainbow order.

Group small collections through the house based on function

Cookbooks in the kitchen is obvious, but also consider business books in the office, local travel books in a guest room, and humor books in the bathroom! (that last one will be controversial, I’m sure.)

Divide and Conquer

Use some favorite coffee table books to divide a table into quadrants. This keeps it from getting away from you when styling.

Go Vintage

Consider antique books on a subject that is meaningful to you—an especially effective use of high shelves that are difficult to reach.

Head to the Redfin blog to see what other designers had to say, and hit up my instagram stories for more tips from past projects.

Book Recommendations

And if you are looking for some good design books to read, check out Design Books for Every Occasion here on the blog, an irregular series on sharing books I am loving.