Office shelves are located in your workspace and the office shelves hold the weight of your work life every day. Yet, many office shelves is an afterthought. An office shelf that is a cluttered mess of old binders and faded promotional mugs does more than just fail to impress a person walking into the office.
A cluttered office shelf drain the focus that you have to accomplish your work goals and a cluttered office shelf communicates to everyone entering the office that details dont matter in your office. The good news is that there are a few smart choices that you can make about your office shelf decor that will allow these surfaces to become something useful about your office decor that will help you to both think more better and feel in control over your work and your office. Office shelf decor doesnt have to be expensive.
Furthermore, it doesnt have to be perfect like the pictures that are posted on Instagram of beautiful office decor. The decor that you place on your office shelves should be done with intention. When each object on your shelves has a reason for being on the shelf, your mind will recognize that you need to focus on the tasks that you are currently performing.
The ideas listed below can be used to transform your office shelves and each idea includes a reason for the suggested idea to be used in your office.
Smart Ways To Decorate Your Office Shelves
1. Clean and Wipe Down Your Shelves
One of the first things that you can do is to clear all of the items that are on your office shelves and wipe them down. Wiping down your office shelves will change the way that you view your shelves.
Once your shelves are clean, you can decide upon the story that you want to tell about yourself and your work by decorating your shelves accordingly.
2. Layer Books Vertically and Horizontally
One way to add some depth to your office shelves is to layer books vertically and horizontally on the shelves. By standing most of the books on their ends and placing a few of the books horizontally on the books that are standing on their ends, you create visual interest in your office shelves that will not look corporate and lifeless.
Furthermore, books can absorb sound in your office area and make your office acoustics more pleasing if your office is also used as a living room area at the home.
3. Incorporate Indoor Plants
Next in line is incorporating plants into your office shelves. Plants will bring life to your office shelves and will also improve the air quality in your office.
Choose plants that can tolerate lower levels of light if your office doesnt have any windows. Furthermore, choose a plant pot that is interesting on its own so that the plant will not compete for attention with the items on the shelf. Choose one large plant on a lower shelf and two smaller plants on the higher shelves so that the plants will naturaly draw the eyes into the office area.
Rotate each of the plants every few weeks so that they all grow evenly on the shelves.
4. Display Personal Collections
Another idea is to incorporate personal collections on the shelves. Your personal collections will add character to your shelves that mass-produced decor will never be able to add.
Perhaps your personal collection consists of vintage cameras or smooth stones that you collected during trips with your family. Edit your personal collections so that there are no more than five items per shelf. Furthermore, make sure that each item has space to breathe and that the items on the same shelf are grouped according to a theme or according to the material that each item is made of.
For example, three brass candle holders of varying heights will look good on a shelf together but will look like a clutter of random objects if you place them on separate shelves.
5. Use Strategic Lighting
Next use lighting to transform your shelves into a curated space and lighting will make your shelves feel curated even when you are using the office area after the workday has ended. Place a small desk lamp in the corner of one of the lower shelves so that it will highlight the items on the shelf.
Furthermore, avoid using harsh overhead lighting because that will create ugly shadows in your office. Choose light fixtures with dimmable bulbs that are warm white in color, around 2700K. Place a mirror against one of the back walls of your shelves so that the shelves will look larger and more interesting when lit by the office area lights.
6. Add Scaled Artwork and Photography
Give your shelves to artwork and photography but be sure to scale your artwork to the shelves.
Giant posters will overwhelm your shelves just as small postcards will be ignored on the shelves. Choose artwork that takes up the two-thirds of the shelves when standing on their ends. Place your artwork on easels or lean the artwork against the back wall of the shelf so that you can easily change the artwork that is displayed according to your mood.
Use black and white photography over color photography so that your office area looks more professional. Furthermore, avoid using color photography if it makes your office area look energized but not focused. Furthermore, make sure that your artwork looks good after being looked upon a hundred times and not just after being looked upon once.
7. Vary Textures and Natural Materials
To keep your shelves from looking flat use items of varying texture. Include items such as woven baskets and ceramics of varying textures so that your shelves will not appear lifeless. A handmade ceramic mug will feel different to the touch than a plastic cup that holds pens.
Furthermore, use natural materials like wood or stone rather than plastic products as they will age better in your office.
8. Introduce Appealing Scents
One of the elements that people most often forget when decorating their office shelves are scent. Scent is the element that will tie your decorated shelves to the rest of the office area.
Add a small dish of dried lavender or an essential oil diffuser behind one of your bookcases will allow your office to have an appealing scent. Furthermore, ensure that the scent chosen will help you to focus on your work. Avoid essential oils that smell like a candle shop.
Use rosemary or lemon essential oil as they have been proven to reduce stress in the workplace. Furthermore, ensure that the scent is light so that it will not overpower your coffee or a visitor with allergies to the essential oil.
9. Implement Storage Solutions
Another idea to incorporate into your office shelves is storage solutions.
Use boxes of varying designs on your shelves to hold items that would otherwise detract from the look of your decorated shelves. Furthermore, ensure that the color of the boxes match the color of your shelves so that the boxes will blend into your shelves. Fabric covered boxes in a color that is slightly darker or lighter than the color of your shelves will add visual interest to your shelves while keeping the items contained within the boxes.
Furthermore, having a place for all your office items will allow you to avoid searching for items all day.
10. Utilize Negative Space
Finally, consider the negative space on your shelves. Using negative space can allow for one entire shelf to remain empty with only a few items placed on the shelf.
Using negative space allows the eye to rest on the items on your shelves. Furthermore, it will allow your shelves to not look like they are trying to impress people with the number of items on display. Give your eye a place to rest by leaving part of your shelves empty.
Once you have completed all of the steps and ideas mentioned in this article, your office shelves will reflect the way that you want your office to work rather than the way that your office currently works. The items will remain useful and the arrangements on the shelves will remain flexible according to your changing work needs. Furthermore, these shelves will never be museum pieces in your office that you must keep looking perfect for passers by.
These shelves will always be your working tools that not only look good but also allow you to do your best thinking work on the job.
