Do it yourself: Organising a bookshelf

Whether your home is filled with hundreds of different books or you are just starting your collection, organising them into a visually appealing way adds interest to the room. 

The way you arrange your bookshelf will depend on how you intend to use it. First, go through everything on the shelf, remove and donate any books you think you will no longer read. 

Whether a bookshelf is functional, decorative, or a mix of both will affect the next steps. 

If your bookshelf is more decorative, you can organise the books by colour, mix different types of books together (fiction, non-fiction, travel, coffee table), and add different trinkets and decorative items on top or on the side of the books. 

For a more functional library, group the books by type and then organise them by alphabetical order.

Put them back by type and organise them by size, space them out, make small piles of books with your favourite decorative items on top. With larger coffee table books, you can display them beautifully stacked on one another by size and colour.

When organising a bookshelf, you should keep placement of the various books top of mind. Keep hardcover books separate from paperbacks. Bring all the books forward with just about an inch or two of the shelf showing. Make sure the edge forms a nice consistent clean line.

Keeping height in mind can also help you determine which books to place where. When placing books on a bookshelf, arrange them shortest to tallest or tallest to shortest to create a nice cascading effect. 

If you are stacking books horizontally, place the larger books on the bottom and smaller books on top. If you want to incorporate some decor onto your shelves, arrange books by spine colour or even designate a colour for each shelf.