How to style your built-ins
When my husband and I bought our home in Georgia, I was so excited about some of the traditional home features that it boasted. The wayne’s coating throughout the home, vaulted ceilings, and built-ins sparked my joy.
There is something so beautiful and charming about traditional built-ins. Our home isn’t old (built in 2001) but I have seen lots of people purchase older homes and the first thing they tear out is the built-ins because they’re favoring something more modern and flat. As much as I love the clean canvas that a modern house presents, I think there is a way to dress up built-ins to fit the theme of your home whether it be modern, traditional, boho, whatever!
I’m posting my favorite tips below for styling my built-ins. I’m also sharing a few of the collages of pieces you can purchase online to help dress up your shelves! I would absolutely love to see how you express yourself, so take a picture, share it to your instagram stories, and then tag me!
Built-in tips:
Start with pieces that are important to you. Pick and choose a few pieces that will bring you joy each time you walk downstairs and look at your built ins. For me, it is our framed wedding invitation and framed note that Robert wrote me when he proposed. I knew that I wanted these pieces on my shelves regardless of anything else, so I built our my built-ins around these.
Less is more! The biggest mistakes I see is people filling their shelves with TOO much. I like to vary the number of items on my shelves. For example, 2 larger pieces on my top shelf, 3 smaller pieces on the next, 2 medium pieces on the next, etc.
Going off of the last point, differing heights will draw the eyes in. I love some mis-matched height candle sticks with flameless candles, some shallow dishes or candles, and stacks of books to bring more height in.
Greenery opens a room! I’m weary of using too many colors in my built ins so I love to incorporate some greenery (fake- of course LOL) because I think it goes with everything. I have a shallow bowl full of moss balls and cotton that my mother in law put together for me. This piece is my favorite because during the holidays I will take out the cotton and replace it with red poinsettia leaves and holly! It is a versatile piece that can work at all times of the year.
Texture is key! Whether you’re finding that texture from different types of books, picture frames, or smaller art pieces, your shelves will look incredible with a little bit of added texture.
Books are fab. I love stacking books. I have a couple sets that I have gotten from Etsy that are affordable and personalized. You can also do this yourself! Go to estate sales or goodwill and find books that are similar sizes and colors. From here, you can choose to paint them or not!
I love a small piece of art on my shelves. My fav place to shop for art is Oliver Gal (use code BMOLLY for 15% off). I think a pop of color from a small canvas is great!
I have created a few different collages of pieces that you can use to revamp your built-ins. Just click on the collage to be taken to the direct product links! I am constantly changing mine, so keep an eye out for instagram stories of the changes!
