Apartment Decorating with Books

Whether you’re an avid reader or a casual one, chances are that you’ve got more than a few books. While books are easy to store and look great when properly organized on a bookshelf, they are also a versatile way to add color and personality to your apartment’s décor. Rather than keeping all your books neatly stacked on a set of shelves, consider the many ways in which you can use a few—or more—volumes as decorative accents and accessories throughout your home.

Visual Vignettes

Books make either a perfect centerpiece or an excellent addition to any visual vignette. If you want to highlight your books as the core of your vignette, place them at the center of your arrangement and choose items that encourage the eye to settle on the books and their covers. Alternatively, you can use books to raise or frame other pieces you want to focus on in your vignette, such as statues, flowers, or decorative items, letting your books serve as a background for your display, rather than the focal point.

Coffee Table Displays

Books add personality to your décor in many ways; one of the easiest ways to decorate with books is to choose one or a few volumes and incorporate them into your coffee table display. You may wish to choose books for their subject, size, or color, depending on how you want to use them as part of the overall arrangement. Coffee table books are a wonderful way to show off your personality and can often provide an easy icebreaker during parties or other social gatherings. Additionally, you can easily rotate the books you keep in your coffee table display to match seasonal décor or highlight your many interests.

Kitchen Décor

If you have a collection of cookbooks, don’t hide them—display them as part of your kitchen décor. You can stack books on countertops, inside display cabinets, or on bookshelves to add color to your kitchen while keeping these valuable reference materials close at hand. If you choose to keep cookbooks in a cabinet or on a bookshelf, consider breaking up the monotony with dishware, pots, pans, or other kitchen-related décor for a more interesting and aesthetically-pleasing display.

Appealing Bookshelves

Even the books that you choose to leave on your bookshelves can be arranged in a way that turns your bookshelves into a decorative statement, rather than a simple storage option. The easiest way to improve the look of a bookcase is to arrange books in order of size or color. “Zig zag” your arrangements such that each subsequent shelf runs from largest to smallest starting at opposite ends. Break up the look of purely vertical books by leaning or stacking books horizontally at the ends of each shelf; you can also add small decorative items, photos, or even small baskets or jars for storage at the ends or in the middle of each shelf for even more variety.

At Carmel Pacific Ridge, you can put your personality and your love of books on display throughout your luxury studio, one-, two-, or three-bedroom apartment. In addition to a spacious floor plan and private outdoor living space, you’ll also enjoy features and amenities that include a professional fitness center, jogging trail and dog-walking loop, digital café and study lounge, and green apartment construction with eco-friendly materials. Visit us online to find out more about our features, availability, and pricing.