Styling Tips from Victoria Croft
We recently spoke with Victoria Croft, Founder of Juniper Partnership Interior Designs and the designer behind several of our beautiful homes, about how to style bookcases and sideboards for maximum impact. Here are her top tips:
How to style a bookcase
- Intersperse books with differing height ornaments, plants or small pictures to add points of interest
- Add the tallest items to the shelves first – aim for them to create a zig zag shape across the shelves to keep the eye moving.
- Vary the way you stack the book with some books left to right interspersed with a stacked pile of books.
- Ensure piles of books have the largest and heaviest at the bottom getting smaller as you add.
- Think about adding a small ornament or plant to the top of a stack of books.
- Stand objects in pairs or groups of 3 for added impact
- Place ornaments at an angle to add variety
Chapter House, Beverley, Lounge
Chapter House, Beverley, Library Bookcase
How to style a sideboard for maximum impact
- Anchor your sideboard or console table with a picture or mirror above creating a focal point.
- Balance the high items with low and wide items; a bowl, stack of books or candles.
- Small groupings of differing heights and shapes ensure the focal point is interesting and varied.
- If you prefer a less symmetrical look, the offset artwork in the wall or lean a large picture at one side of the sideboard and add a lamp or larger feature piece to the opposite side.
- Balance a pair of tall items, such as lamps will give you a more traditional look whilst a more modern approach may have a more asymmetrical arrangement of taller items.
- Introduce a high element – a vase or lamp to create visual impact.
- Remember, less is more, so avoid cluttering the sideboard.
- Placing a large plant or basket on the floor by the side of your sideboard can increase the impact of the sideboard and provide a useful storage solution.
