how to curate the perfect bookshelf

(or at least one that makes you feel like your most interesting, well-read self)

Hi overthinkers <3

Today’s post is a fun one. We’re talking about books. Specifically, how to arrange your books in a way that not only organizes your shelf but also enhances your life.

You might not know this, but there’s a methodology behind curating the perfect bookshelf.

Today’s newsletter features a few of my favorite bookshelves from friends and family — little snapshots you might use as curation inspiration. But before we get to those, let me give you some personal context.

A life built around books

For as long as I can remember, books have been a part of my life. My mom read to me while I was still in the WOMB!, and my childhood bed had a built-in bookshelf above the headboard — my first personal “library.” I used to fall asleep under the glow of a tiny lamp, surrounded by spines of pastel paperbacks and childhood classics like The Boxcar Children, Where the Wild Things Are, or The Little Prince.

Back then, I didn’t think about what the books looked like or how they were arranged. I just wanted them near me, close enough to pluck from my shelf and read whenever I wanted to. Over the years, as the books changed (and so did I), the way I arranged them became a small ritual. A way of making sense of myself.

So yes, this is a post about bookshelves, but also about the art of self-display — how the objects we keep in view become an autobiography of sorts.

Books as decor, therapy, and biography

There’s always a way to weave books into your living space. In fact, I’d argue that books might have the same effect on mental well-being that plants do. Maybe not when it comes to air quality, but both invite calm, curiosity, and color into our homes. Both make a space feel lived in.

When I think about books, I think about my best self. I think about solving world peace. I think about learning. About resting, breathing, thinking, decoding. About quiet. Color. Couches. Socks. Coffee. Pens. And friends. About our culture and other cultures, society, animals, history, the future.

Books are lifeblood. While some people are out there banning or burning them (sad), I’m over here reorganizing mine, searching for that perfect mix of practicality and aesthetic on one shelf. And I want to share how you can do this too…

Step 1: Think like a curator, not a librarian

Your bookshelf is not just storage — it’s a self-portrait. Jeremiah Brent (interior designer and new Queer Eye cast member) once told the New York Times, “Your bookshelves offer an opportunity for people to look in and see where you’ve been and where you’re going.”

So think of your shelf as a three-dimensional wallpaper, a backdrop that tells your story. A little cabinet of curiosities, trinkets, fragrances, and more.

Start by emptying your shelves completely. Then, put back only the books and objects that actually say something about you: your curiosities, your obsessions, your phases.

Step 2: Mix Heights and Directions

Here’s the biggest visual trick: don’t line everything up like soldiers. Instead, mix vertical and horizontal stacks.

Example from Pinterest

Stacking horizontally in groups of three or more adds rhythm and shape. It also creates space for a candle, small vase, or photo frame on top. Think of it like jazz - structure with a bit of swing.

Mix books of different heights, but keep the colors cohesive enough that your eye can rest. A few unexpected bursts (a bright spine, a vintage cover) are what make it feel human, not staged.

Step 3: Add Texture and Breathing Room

A good shelf has negative space. Leave room for air — literally. Add texture with objects that aren’t books: a small sculpture, a plant, a framed postcard, a ceramic bowl of loose change.

Example from Pinterest

The goal is balance — a mix of intellect and intimacy. A shelf that says, yes, I read Zadie Smith, but also, I once pressed wildflowers between these pages.

Step 4: Avoid the Color-Coding Trap

Let’s talk about the elephant in the library: organizing books by color. I know it’s visually satisfying — but it also feels like the literary equivalent of alphabetizing your soul.

Books aren’t throw pillows. They hold memories, moods, and milestones. If you have to hunt for a specific title every time you want to reread it, something’s off. Arrange them in a way that feels natural — by genre, theme, mood, or even the season of life you read them in.

Example from Reddit. Not my favorite.

Step 5: Personalize and Iterate

Your shelf will never be done. That’s the point. Rearrange as your reading life changes. Let it evolve with you.

Maybe the top shelf becomes “books that changed me,” and the bottom shelf, “books I swear I’ll read next.” Maybe you start slipping in framed notes from friends, pressed leaves, or a ceramic cat you thrifted in college.

Every addition becomes a timestamp. A breadcrumb trail of who you were and what you loved.

A Peek at My Favorite Shelves

1. My Mom’s Shelves — The Scholar’s Chaos
   

   My mom has two main book zones: her office and the front room. The office shelf is curiosity personified. Here, psychology, memoir, cookbooks, and three editions of Pride and Prejudice are all double-stacked with quote signs and sideways books tucked into every inch. The front room, by contrast, is more elegant and orderly, with classics lined up neatly, broken up by horizontal stacks and framed photos. Downstairs in the basement, a third shelf bridges the two. It’s thoughtfully. In our house, order and chaos strike a creatively inspiring truce.

   Takeaway: Let your passions spill over. Order is optional when enthusiasm is visible.

Bookshelves in my home in Michigan, arranged by my wonderful Mom!

2. A friend’s shelf — The Minimalist’s Dream
   

   Georgia mixes clear glass, green leaves, and tilted ceramics to give her shelf a sculptural calm. A Sports Illustrated hockey book stands upright beside a stack of design titles, balanced by a heart-shaped catch-all for jewelry. Frames rest on horizontal books, catching the light just right, while a few lower shelves keep neat rows of well-loved reads.

   As Georgia said to me, “It’s all about books and knick-knacks! Bowls and trays! Candles and art! Woohoo!” Her shelves reflect this sentiment. They’re orderly yet alive, a still life of her mind.
   

   Takeaway: Leave space for breath. Simplicity reads as it’s own kind of complex serenity.

G Hinnant's shelves (she's queen of trinkets). I love her shelves.

3. My Cousin’s Shelf — The Maximalist Memoir
   

   I absolutely love Kelsey’s shelves, because they’re part museum, part family diary. In Autumn and Maisie’s rooms, she arranged picture books beside paperbacks, framed photos tucked between fairy tales, a tiny Eiffel Tower souvenir from a long-ago trip. There are chapter books and story spines in every shape and size, representative of the joy in a home where kids are learning, reading, and living all at once.
   

   Takeaway: Curate your life, not just your literature. Sentiment counts as design.

My cousin Kelsey's shelf is pictured on the right. Her two cute kids' shelves are pictured to the left!

4. A friend’s shelf (who also owns a jewelry brand) — The Artist’s Way
   

   My friend Jane, also the founder of Aléir, the gorgeous jewelry brand recently spotted on Suki Waterhouse on tour (how amazing is that?!), has shelves that feel like art in themselves. Oversized coffee table books are stacked horizontally, punctuated by ergonomic ceramics and small art prints casually propped between them. A few vintage trinkets add charm without clutter, making the shelves feel both composed and lived-in. This is the kind of space that invites you to pause, linger, and maybe even reach for a book.

   Takeaway: Shelves like this are both art and home: thoughtfully composed, but full of life.”

Shelves of my friend Jane, founder of Aléir jewelry.

4. Last but absolutely not least: My Boyfriend’s Shelf — The Practical Westerner
   

   Cole’s shelf feels perfectly in tune with the rest of his apartment — thoughtful, natural, with touches of a Western theme. The birchwood shelf itself is a design piece. Each book rests at a gentle angle, as if balanced on the branch of a tree. Surrounded by plants, his apartment brings the best of the outside in; it’s serene and alive at once. There’s no rigid system to his book arrangement, just a rhythm that mirrors the way he reads: with curiosity, calm, and a kind of reverence.
   

   Takeaway: Design can say a lot about a person — a shelf can reflect not just taste, but temperament.

Bookshelves are an art form. Honestly, I think they should teach this in school — and maybe one day I’ll be that teacher (we all know some version of me is destined to teach something 😅). Because at their best, bookshelves show more about ourselves than how we like to store or style inanimate objects. If we do it correctly, they can even enhance that sense of self, helping us quantum leap into our higher self.

Your shelf is a mirror.

So make sure it’s one you want to look into.

<3
Delaney

PS if you have a great bookshelf that wasn’t featured, send me a photo or add it to my subscriber chat!! I want to see.