Stack Your Bookshelves

Make sure your bookshelves are as interesting as the titles you've so carefully collected. Designer Charlie Birdsong develops a road map for loading them up with style

Tria Giovan, story produced by Rebecca Sowell Hawkins

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Arranging Books

Place books loosely in some places and snugly in others; arrange them vertically and horizontally. If there are ample coffee table or art books, stack them horizontally with the spines telling a story--all on individual artists, gardening, or travel destinations, for example.

If a dust jacket on one of your large books is a favorite, try leaning it against the back of the shelf (like a painting). Or if you have a small painting that gets lost on a wall, place it between books on a shelf.