Now we’re ready! Here is the nitty-gritty on exactly how to style your bookcases. With a few tools and a little time, your dream library is within reach.
On the following pages you’ll find a list of ideas to consider when doing the work of rearranging your books. Then in the next chapter, there are specific steps to follow when styling your bookshelves. There is no one correct way to place your books on your shelves, so hopefully you enjoy trying out these concepts until you find what works for you!
As you experiment and try different systems, you will see how the story you are telling shifts with different placements of the books. Trust the process and the story you were meant to tell.
There are a few decisions to make about how to arrange your books that are good to settle on before you start shelving your books. For example, whether to arrange your books:
Alphabetically by author. For most literary collections, it’s nice to organize the books alphabetically by author so you know where to find Jane Austen or Zadie Smith. For nonfiction and other subjects, this method may not be as good of a fit.
Alphabetically or chronologically by title or subject. For histories, biographies, and other nonfiction, it probably makes more sense to order these by topic. For example, when Thatcher installs a collection of US presidential biographies, he tries to do so chronologically in order of the presidential terms.
By subject. A traditional library organizational plan would be to keep like subjects together so that you can go around the room and say “There’s poetry, there’s classic literature, there are my histories,” and so on.
By color—ROYGBIV. This sounds superficial but it looks really cool to make a rainbow with your books. The books are yours; don’t let anyone tell you this is a silly idea. A lot of people remember the color of their favorite books, so when someone asks you how you will ever find that Samantha Bee book you love, just tell them, “It’s easy. It’s pink and I know exactly where it is!”
By color—light to dark or other color plan. Thatcher tends to think of bookshelves as being a canvas that goes from big and dark on the bottom to small and light on the top. This doesn’t always work out exactly, but as an operating principle, it offers a way to ground bookshelves with the darker, bigger books on the bottom.
By size on the shelves. Placing larger books closer to the floor is grounding and it makes them more accessible as well. You can still place horizontal stacks of big books on the upper shelves, though. We are all for that variety.
By chronological order of publication. For the works of one author, it often makes sense to arrange the books in chronological order of publication. For Ernest Hemingway, you’d start with In Our Time and end with either The Old Man and the Sea or one of his posthumously published works. With subjects that are important to you, you may arrange them this way, such as a collection of Civil War books beginning with those published during or just after the war, leading up to more modern, scholarly works. This can be a nice way to show off the depth and breadth of your collection.
By chronological order of acquisition date. Another way to arrange books is based on when they came into your life. This approach tells more of your story: where you were and who you were at particular points in your life.
By publisher. Some publishers have really strong brands and are known for publishing certain types of books. Organizing your books by publisher is related to organizing books by subject if there is a really recognizable theme throughout their work.
Books of similar format or binding: Grouped together or spread apart? For example, dividing paperbacks and hardcovers, separating art and oversize books from novels, or grouping all leather-bound books together. Generally, we are believers in weaving an interesting story through the shelves and having one’s eye discover new things over time. Finding a binding that is different than others is something fun to discover. Having a group of books in one specific binding might stand out too much, creating a distraction from the rest of the library.
Keep jackets on or remove them? For collectible books and first editions, the book jacket represents a substantial portion of the value of the book, so we wouldn’t recommend removing those jackets unless you have a secure place to store them, should you choose to sell the books later. For all other books, some people prefer the look of books without modern jackets—the jackets tend to be glossy and reflect glare, the colors more intense. Removing them creates a more muted palette. It is a personal preference and completely up to you and your style.
Placing certain books at eye level. If you leave the room and then come back in, where does your eye go on the shelves first? When you are standing in front of the bookcases, which shelves are you looking at? We would argue that you should pay the most attention to these shelves and what is on them. Curate these selections to perfection as you and your guests will see them more than anything else.
Placing certain books within reach or out of reach. You may want to bring some intentionality to which books are low to the ground, in reach of the kids. You should also think about which books are shelved up high and made less visible. You know the books we’re talking about!
By Size on Each Shelf. On each shelf you have a choice how to place the books. For example either with big books in the center and smaller books at the edges, or from small to big, from left to right, or right to left.
Vertical vs. Horizontal. You also can decide on whether to have all the books standing straight up or all stacked horizontally, or a mix of the two. We like to have about half the shelf full of books standing straight up, then anchor them with a small horizontal stack that brings the fill rate of the shelves up to about 2/3 full.
Grouping books in even or odd numbers. Thatcher will confess to some OCD when it comes to arranging books and he definitely has a preference for these numbers of books grouped together: three, five, eight, ten, etc. Other people like even numbers of books. If this matters to you, then it’s important. If not, focus on other considerations!
Strategically leaning books. This can be applied to make the shelves more organic and playful. Note that books will warp if you leave them leaning for a long time.
Symmetry versus asymmetry. Some people can only live with a symmetrical arrangement, often down to the number of books on a shelf and having the mirror image of an arrangement on each side of a room. Others love to make the shelves dance with variations that create unique arrangements as your eye scans the shelves. Thatcher likes to create asymmetrical arrangements, but then repeat them for some symmetry around the room.
The front of the shelf versus the back of the shelf. There are two types of people in this world: those who place their books at the front of the shelf and those who put them in the back. Thatcher is definitely a front-of-the-shelf person. Every installation he works on, the books are within about 3/4 of an inch of the front of the shelf. However, others love to push their books to the back, often placing objects (Funko Pop, anyone?) in front of their books. The back-of-the-shelf crowd argues that it’s also easier to dust the shelves with the books at the back. A combination of front and back of the shelves can also be applied to strategically place and layer objects. It can be very to fun to make the shelves more three-dimensional with objects and books at different depths, if it works for you.
How full should your shelves be? If you have too many books and not enough shelves, or you prefer the regularity of every book standing straight up, go for 100 percent full. If you like a more balanced look with variation and room for growth, the rule of thirds can be very magical—67 percent full with books and 33 percent with accessories. If you are going for modern and minimalist, perhaps with a lot of horizontal stacks, go for anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent full with books.
Face out books. There are a lot of individual books with gorgeous covers, why not show them off by placing the book with its front cover facing out? Book covers are artwork after all.
