Home DecorFloating ShelfKitchenDeco MaisonNew IdeasPractical IdeasForwardCustom corner shelves set high along the wall make clever use of an extraneous space best reserved for books, decorative accents, and more. Storage in a small bathroom can be beautified by adding wall shelves. These white floating shelves make the space appear much larger and offer an attractive way to display bathroom accessories. Design by John Gidding A light and fresh paint color really makes dark wood floating shelves pop. The asymmetry of the shelf display emits a fun and effortless feeling within the room. Design by Alicia Friedmann Make your kitchen feel more open and airy by substituting traditional closed cabinets with narrow floating shelves. The openness of these shelves helps to create a feeling of added space while making everything more accessible. Maximize your space by adding a pair of floating shelves above the sofa. The additional surfaces provide room for displaying artwork and other mood objects, such as candles or plants.

Design by Trish Beaudet Utilize all of your available bathroom space by adding floating shelves next to the vanity. They're easy to install, and their open nature makes the space feel immediately larger. By using the same wood tones that appear in nearby case goods, the floating shelves become unified additions within the space. Design by David Scott Nature takes a front seat in this living room. The pairing of floating wooden shelves next to the white trimmed fireplace and cream walls creates a beautiful palette in which plants and flowers can thrive. The floral rug and wicker chair add to the sunny disposition of the room. Create a contemporary look in your living room by creating an asymmetrical arrangement of your fireplace, television, shelves and cabinets. The cabinets can be used to store unsightly electronics, leaving the floating shelves and mantel open for displaying accessories. Design by Christopher J. Grubb Add visual interest to bathroom walls with an update on traditional shelves.

Wooden floating shelves with a molding detail tie into the cabinetry and provide stylish display and storage surfaces. Use low floating shelves to display candles and towels next to your bathtub. These elements can help create a spa-like retreat within your bathroom. A contemporary tile pattern is accented nicely with simple wooden floating shelves next to the vanity. Keep the shelves relatively neat by displaying only a few accessories. This will add warmth and interest without overpowering the strong background. Design by Vanessa DeLeon Simple built-in bookshelves are given some flair with floating shelves that rise up along the wall. The crisp, white shelves pop against a dark, neutral wall color. By adding vertical shelves between windows you can create a fresh and open storage unit in any room. The floating shelves can provide the same amount of storage as a case good without the use of a bulky cabinet or bookshelf. Dress Up Your Design Photo By: the 10 cent designer

©Design by Emily Hendersonnew ways to decorate a christmas tree Whether you collect birdcages or buttons, sculpture or shells, transferware or teacups, any collection you love deserves pride of place in your home. christmas decoration ideas for a hallPlus, there's power in numbers: "Anything looks better as a collection," says Mary Carol. "living room design ideas terraced houseThe different sizes, shapes and colors play off each other, and grouping a collection together gives it emphasis." cheap antique home decor

Gather up your treasures around the house and mass them for a stunning display.bedroom decorating ideas gallery Not sure what to showcase on shelves? home decor blogs torontoFirst, consider what you love. Your interests and hobbies should come through in your accessory choices, says Debbie Wiener, an interior designer in Silver Spring, Md., who helps homeowners create spaces reflective of their everyday lives. "Kids' framed artwork, books, decorative plates, baseball cards or boomerang collections. Your home should look like you," Debbie says. Take stock of vacation mementos, crafts and items you're drawn to time and again when assembling accessories for a shelf arrangement. Design by Emily Henderson. Unite your shelf displays by grouping items by theme, color, shape, texture or material.

"Like things together give the biggest bang," says Megan Samuels, ASID, an interior designer in Manhattan Beach, Calif. "It creates a really nice, curated feel to your treasures." A grouping of white pottery and other light-toned objects looks stunning on dark wood or brightly painted shelves, for example, while an assemblage of boxes, bowls or spheres adds instant emphasis that's lacking when they stand alone. Design by Sarah Richardson. You can unify a shelf display by function, too. Mary Carol Garrity, author of Feather Your Nest: It's All in the Details and the owner of Nell Hill's, an accessories emporium in Atchison, Kan., likes to turn a shelf into a bar or a serving station. "Take out the shelf above to create more room, then top a tray with pretty cut-crystal decanters and glassware," she suggests. Several tiny tchotchkes on a shelf will only collect dust and look like jumbled clutter. Instead, choose bigger, bolder accessories that will stand out. Select tall vases (if there's no shelf above, fill them with giant flowering or fall branches for a dramatic display);

giant balls of knotted rope, substantial pottery and large art books; collect whatever strikes your fancy, as long as you can see it from across the room. Give smaller items more visual presence by collecting them in a container: "I love an old jar filled with vintage photos, seashells collected at the beach or even colorful crayons and marbles," says Megan. Design by Judith Balis. Rather than a matching set of mirroring objects, go for asymmetrical arrangements of three, five or seven objects, setting them off-center to add a subtle element of surprise. "Odd numbers are usually the most interesting," says designer Megan. Instead of symmetry, what you're aiming for is balance. "Even if you have two matching items, like a pair of beautiful urns, put them on the diagonal," rather than directly opposite each other, she suggests. Design by Christopher Grubb. Another tip to aid in your asymmetry efforts: Unless your shelves are fixed in a built-in or other shelving unit, "vary shelf heights so they don't all line up exactly," suggests Nancy Barsotti, ASID fellow and interior designer in New York City and Pittsburgh.

You'll be able to use larger pieces and break out of the "lined-up soldiers" look that gets boring so quickly. A big shelf decorating don't is lining up items of the same height. Their uniform size can appear flat and boring. Instead, "mix different heights by contrasting high and low to keep the eye traveling," says Mary Carol. When gathering pieces to decorate shelves, make sure you have a combination of short, medium and tall objects. Design by Erinn Valencich. One trick for boosting an item's stature, literally and figuratively, is risers. "These come in handy for varying the height of the things in your shelf composition and help draw attention to a particular piece," she explains. Use books stacked on their sides as platforms, wood or lacquer boxes as pedestals and compotes, cake stands and other risers to help stagger heights and bring your accessory arrangement up to snuff. Glass, crystal and silver objects make shelf arrangements literally shine. A mirror placed at the back or bottom of a shelf will double the visual effect of the objects placed in front or on top, says Nancy.

Rather than hiding the family silver in a dining cabinet, Mary Carol urges to pull it out, shine it up and display it on open shelves: either as a collection or by using individual pieces paired with rougher objects for contrast and interest. "I love the shine of silver next to a more primitive piece," she says. In addition to height, consider depth when decorating shelves. "Stand up trays, pretty plates and pieces of art to use as the backdrop for your arrangement (and) then work your way out from there," says Mary Carol. After you've placed the largest, tallest items as anchors at the back of the shelf, "layer smaller, shorter objects in front of them," says Nancy. The resulting assemblage will invite viewers to linger a while, discovering new layers in the decorative diorama with each glance. While layering accessories works well in traditional or eclectic settings, a streamlined approach is fitting for contemporary and modern spaces. "Follow the style of your home when accessorizing," says Nancy.

If your decorating style leans toward rigorous minimalism or you simply favor an uncluttered look, your decorative shelves should reflect that. Says Megan: "There's something so serene about three blocks of wood attached to a spartan white wall with a simple, carefully placed object on each." If you have a large collection of books, consider arranging them by color for instant bookshelf pizazz. The rainbow-hued display can be quite dramatic, although it can also make hunting down a specific tome a bit of a chore. "Library sales are a great way to pick up groups of colored books inexpensively," Megan suggests. Try removing the dust jackets on your hardbacks, too, especially for vintage books with interesting spines or luxe cover material. "Display some books up and down and others laid on their side," says Nancy. "And group books by subject — mass all the photo books together, for instance — or by size, which instantly creates a sense of order." As for those tatty paperbacks, get rid of them or hide them in good-looking boxes or baskets tucked into your bookshelves.

Don't relegate photos and art to walls only. Shelves are great display spots, too, and they make it a snap to regularly rotate new pieces into your home gallery. "I love framed art placed casually among books, or even hung or leaned in front of a group of books," Megan says. Other ideas: Hang diminutive pieces on the wall behind open shelves or tack them onto the back of closed shelves so they become part of the vignette. Design by Luis Caicedo. You can also create a shelf display of nothing but art or photos: Rather than a precise arrangement, lean your collection casually on the shelves, overlapping edges and mixing frame sizes, shapes and styles to keep the eye's interest. "Juxtaposing ornate, antique frames with plainer frames works well" in this context, Nancy says. Design by Robin Callan. Don't forget the tops of bookshelves or kitchen cabinets when scouting spots to accessorize. Placing objects there can highlight tall ceilings or simply provide space to display big, dramatic pieces that won't fit on the shelves below.