Your home reflects your truest nature, and when you fill your space with items you treasure, joy takes up residence. Don’t hide your stuff in a cabinet: Put it out for the world to see. Personalize a shelf with a neat display of some of your favorite things and you’ve got a decorating trend known as the shelfie (a cute play on the selfie phenomenon).
Home Is Where the Hearth Is
A fireplace mantel is a natural place to showcase a few prized possessions. Consider the things you cherish — books, vases, souvenirs, knick-knacks — and choose a few with similar colors and varying heights to group together. Add a small plant to amp up the natural beauty. (Notice how there are three groups of elements on the shelf? Odd numbers of items are more visually appealing and memorable than even numbers of items. It’s just how our brains work.)
Never Grow Up
Is your living room essentially a gigantic toy box? A whimsical toy shelfie gets playthings off the floor and gives them a home within easy reach of your child. A collection of blocks, books, and cars doesn’t have to look messy if arranged just right on kid-height shelves. Again, keep items with similar colors together if you can.
Now We’re Cooking
It is often said the kitchen is the heart of the home. Show off not just your love of food but the things that are close to your own heart with a kitchen shelfie. Start with a display of your cookbooks arranged by color. Maybe use ceramic fruit for a bookend and add a favorite photo. A cute cutting board doubles as decoration, and a bouquet of flowers lends a wonderful pop of color. (Notice once more that each shelf here has three types of things.)
Play the Frame Game
Framed artwork — whether an inexpensive print, a flea market painting, or even a child’s drawing — can be a wonderful centerpiece for a shelf display. Branches or feathers picked up on a hike look great in an earthy vase. A small collection of dolls with varying heights rounds out this collection, but you can use any kind of bric-a-brac. Throw in a candle for extra warmth.
See? You don’t have to be a designer to create a pleasing — and personal — display.