How to Style a Bookcase

So, apparently for people with lots of extra time on their hands, there are special ways to style a bookcase. Who the F knew? Not me, that's for certain. Firstly, my major bookcase problem thus far in my life, which has caused me massive pain and heartache, has been that the vast majority of my book collection has been in a different part of the world than where I happen to be residing. As I found out the first time I moved abroad, shipping books is insanely expensive, which means my collection has been heart-breakingly sparse.

Anyway, luckily for us, styling a bookcase, counter-intuitively, requires barely any book at all! This, I have learned, is because when styling your bookcase, minimalism is your friend. Here are my how-tos, racked from Pinterest and assorted style blogs.

Firstly, I found this inspo pic from https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/. Notice the absence of actual books, and the presence of random objects, like a big tree branch. This is important.

Step One:

Make sure you have several bookcases. You are going to need one for your actual books, and one that just looks attractive and is basically for show. Bare with me here.

Step Two:

Pick a color scheme for your styled bookcase. As I had one of those IKEA white box things (the Kallax), I decided on classic black and white.

I got some black fabric boxes from IKEA, but if you own a Kallax, you have lots of options. For example I LOVE this little guide to cheap storage box options put together by Brown Sugar Toast.
 http://brownsugartoast.com/storage-bin-options-for-kallaxexpedit/

Also, if you own an IKEA Kallax or another boxy bookcase, there are lots of great tutorials on how to make it look beautiful:

Here are my favorite ones-

http://theeverygirl.com/3-ways-to-style-and-use-ikeas-kallax-expedit-shelf

http://www.boxwoodclippings.com/2013/04/my-living-room-tune-up-on-a-dime/

Step Three:

Look through your books and separate out the ones that are the colors of your color scheme. No one explicitly mentioned this in their tutorials and it took me a while to realize that these people were actually hand-picking books that fit their fucking color schemes. Remember, its not about the actual books. That is what the other bookcase is for. Find some books of varying heights... you want a small stack of books all the same height, and then some other larger, coffee table size books. 

Step Four:

Pick three or four sections of your book case, and in the compartments that do not have boxes in them, carefully arrange the books, some in small horizontal stacks, some in vertical stacks.

Step Five:

In the remaining empty space, put some framed photos, and some knick knacks that vary in shape, size and height. You want at least one smooth round thing, and one kind of geometrical thing. They have this kind of shit at Target or any other home goods store, like Pier One Imports (does that still exist?). I never knew how you were supposed to use them, but NOW I DO! In a bookcase that has no purpose other than to look attractive. 

So, here is my finished product. Notice I used a small marble vase and a geometric copper bowl to bring contrast. I also displayed my pretentious vegetarian cookbook, which just so happens to be white and gold, fitting perfectly into my color scheme! Simple, and elegant.

Here is what it looks like in the studio:

The desk is covered in papers, but I'm a real human, and super lazy. But how great does that bookcase look?

Now you may be wondering, ok, cool, but what do I do with my ACTUAL BOOKS? 

Simply, shove them all in a small bookcase, like so. Then, on top of that bookcase, you put 1) a small plant, 2) a small classy knick knack and 3) a small lamp in the color scheme of your room. It's that simple.

BOOM.