Deep bookshelves are a common situation in many homes that are over 10-15 years old.
Back then, built-ins were made for a deep tube tv. If there was a wall of built-ins with the main focus as the tv, then all the other shelving around it could usually be just as deep.
This makes for a challenging decorating dilemma. Especially if the shelves are fixed (not adjustable) and the homeowner has only books and smaller items to put on the shelves.
Everything just can get lost in a 24” deep shelf, especially if it isn’t very tall.
See this example of deep bookshelves below. You can see how short deep shelving makes for rather awkward, cluttered styling.
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Here’s a deep open shelf above a tv cabinet. Objects can feel lost in shelving that deep.
First, I’d prefer to do some carpentry here and rework the cabinetry to have a false back so the cabinet isn’t so deep. I’d also do some adjustable shelves so that there can be flexibility.
You can also just trim back the shelves like 9”-12” so that the shelves are more shallow, but still in the deep niche.
The main problem is each shelf being deep, so that they are these small caves where items get lost.
Deep Shelving Example
A question came in from my Instagram Q&A session last month with this wall of bookcases, pictured below. That opening to the left of the fireplace was made for the tube tv.
These cabinets look to be even more than 24” deep. These look fixed too, not adjustable, so there isn’t much flexibility here.
Whenever I have deep cabinets, I like to make the opening tall so I can have big items on the shelf.
See how the tall vase with branches stands out more than anything else there?
There’s more light coming into that space and the height of the vase and branches fill up the void of the shelf opening.
You can’t really tell much about what is on the other shelves. Because the shelves aren’t tall, you are limited in size with the objects going in. That makes everything seem small and the styling more cluttered.
How can you style deep bookshelves?
If you have shelves like this, how can you style them without doing major carpentry work?
1) Remove some of the shelves.
First, remove some of the shelves. Hopefully they are adjustable so it is an easy task. With upper sections of cabinets, I like to make the openings as tall or taller than they are deep.
Go in with large items then, since you have more height. You can then add smaller items in front of those to layer in the styling.
This fireplace wall, below, was part of a mantel styling dilemma but my advice for the lower shelving there would be to remove one shelf and divide them equally. I would likely do large books laid on their sides here with items like decorative boxes that would be low and wide.
Lower bookcase with deep shelves can be awkward to style and display objects. carlaaston.com
2) Group large like items en masse.
You can take a collection of like items like large vases or ginger jars and mass them. This will block off some of the depth and fill the void. It feels like these objects will be made just for this opening……and that is exactly what we want.
Massing vases and ginger jars fill a deep, tall shelf space nicely. carlaaston.com
In this deep upper cabinet, pictured below, I’d do a mass of vases and ginger jars like the photo above.
Deep upper cabinet in built in cabinetry - How to decorate this space? carlaaston.com
Large, bulbous items like these handcrafted pots or antique jars work in deep, large openings in a cluster.
3) Create a false back and layer in items.
The large metal tray helped fill the void and not make the space feel so deep here. Objects could then be placed in front of the tray.
You can do this with large platters or even art, propped up on a plate stand.
This cabinet was supposed to get doors and a shelf, but the homeowner decided she wanted it open. It created a really deep space to decorate. carlaston.com
4) Big Baskets on low or high shelves.
Large baskets are good for filling in deep shelves. For example, on low shelves, baskets that fill that void and come flush to the front of the opening work well.
They can also work on high shelves.
While this niche, below, is deep because of the fireplace depth, the shelves are more shallow which is a great way to deal with deep spaces like this. It makes styling much more manageable and enables you to see the items on the shelves really well.
You can see that big baskets make great styling items for lower, deep shelving spaces.
Big baskets make great styling items for lower, deep shelving spaces.
5) Group busts, sculpture or globes
This is the place to show off large, sculptural pieces either as a single item or grouped. They can rest on a top, deep shelf, to claim the space they need to stand out.
A grouping of faces or busts would be a good option for a high, deep open bookshelf. These were part of a vignette designed by Jakob Lucas Design at HPMKT, in the Alden Parkes showroom.
Sculpture like these rattan animals would be great up in a large, deep shelf. carlaaston.com
Vintage globes also make for great decor inside a deep open bookshelf. Anything vintage is hot right now.
Love a collection of vintage globes like these from Round Top and they would look great on a large, deep upper shelf. carlaaston.com
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