Organising your books
Is your bookcase always in a state of organised chaos? As a lover of literature, do you struggle to give your personal library a sense of order and clarity? If you find yourself constantly rearranging your bookcase, you might find the perfect match in one of these unconventional organisation solutions. See what the readers at Artiss have to say, and never lose a book again!
1. Organise by colour
The most Instagrammable aesthetic, sorting your books into a rainbow is an easy way to brighten a room and wow your guests.
2. Organise autobiographically
Your book collection is personal, so you should organise it personally. Organise by the year you bought/read it, or by how the books make you feel, or by who gave them to you. Whichever method you choose will be unique to you and the story of your life.
3. Separate the want-to-read section
If you have a collection of books you haven’t read yet but want to, you should give them their own section either on your shelf or in another room of the house.
4. Break up with accessories
Break up the monotony with ornaments and keepsakes. However, we recommend keeping houseplants away! Pests attached to houseplants can make their way over to your books and watering the plants may cause unintentional damage.
5. Organise by size
Small to tall, tall to small, or rolling curves – use the size and shape of your books to your unique advantage!
6. Use baskets for books you need to access often
If you find yourself using a handful of books more often than others, keep them in a separate decorative bucket or basket that you can move easily.
7. Turn the pages outward
A controversial method, this means turning your books so the spines face the back of the shelf and the pages face outward. Aesthetically it is uniform and very pleasing, but it will make it impossible to find the titles you want unless you are deeply familiar with your books.
8. Re-cover your books with personal dust jackets
While these usually come in custom sets, you can also design and create your own dust jackets to add a little personalised touch to your collection.
9. Use the rule of thirds
A guideline commonly quoted by photographers, the rule of thirds proposes an image should be split by two equally spaced horizontal and vertical lines, and important elements in the image should be placed along these lines. You might apply this to your shelves by filling a shelf by two-thirds and leaving 1/3 empty.
10. Creative shelves, not creative books
Instead of moving all your books around, get creative with the type of shelving you use. Replace the old Ikea wood shelf with a ladder shelf, a corner unit, a sideboard, floating shelves or even a rolling trolley. If that doesn’t appeal to you, you can paint your shelves, cover the backs with vintage wallpaper, or decorate with fairy lights. The possibilities are endless!
Other tips from Artiss:
Store most of your books upright, unless they are large heavy books such as folio books, in which case they should stack in a rough pyramid shape. This is done to avoid damaging the spine.
Buy book mounts or easels to display particularly notable books. Not only does it make them stand out, but it also gives you easy access to your favourite titles. Make sure you buy suitable mounts for the size and shape of the book, particularly if it is a rare edition.
Don’t pack your bookcase too tightly! It puts pressure on the books and may cause damage, as well as restricting air circulation.
