Shelf styling

Katy Husband from Feather and Oak shares some of her main techniques for refreshing shelves and console tables to create a new and exciting vibe.  

Although styling is intuitive, there is a process. Here are some tips to ensure you end up with shelves that are thoughtful and personal.

Firstly, create a blank canvas. Remove the clutter and completely clear the shelves of all the existing items. This enables you to look at the space with fresh eyes.

Next up, take inventory of what you currently have. Are there some essential items you want to display? Anything personal or unique that you love to have on show? Group the items you have together according to size and scale – this helps you evaluate what you have to hand.

Get underway! Take the large items you have and balance them throughout the shelving to create focal points that you can then style smaller items around. Large décor items and artwork help ground your spaces and provide visual weight to the styling scheme.

The next stage is to group your smaller items. This part can be a little tricky and often requires a few tweaks and attempts to get to a finished result. The aim of this part of the process is to group small and medium-sized items in the areas where the large objects don’t occupy real estate. Think about grouping similar items together or items that talk to each other through texture and shape. Sometimes pairing items together can be impactful and smaller items can gain height by placing them on stacked books or trays.

It does take time to evaluate and curate your look, so it may be a great time to pour a gin and step back to assess your work. Don’t be concerned if it takes a few attempts and versions to get to an end result you are happy with.

Styling a console or hall table follows much the same process, however, there are a few different considerations. When you get to the styling stage, we like to firstly ground the scheme at the bottom with some baskets or large décor pieces that have visual weight and texture.   

Next layer in a large signature item on top of the console. We like to use large mirrors or artwork, and they can be either hung or leaned against the wall (ensure to still use fixings, though!). Following this, add in some significant décor items with visual weight and height – think lamps, pots, large vases, sculptural forms and even layered artwork.

Lastly, style the details. There are so many different ways to style console tables, but we love using florals and greenery, candles, interesting decorative items and trays.

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