The Unique Way To Decorate A Bookshelf Like A Mini Balcony

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Besides being fun to read, books can be a comforting addition to any room. The pages that take you to new and magical lands, tell the sweetest stories, set the most gothic scenes can also bring both intimacy and style to your home. While standard or traditional bookshelves are certainly a great way to display books, finding more creative shelf designs can transform your book collection into a work of art that elevates the room. If you've been searching for a savvy way to transform your space with floating shelves worthy of the reads you love so much, then creating a Victorian-inspired book balcony is probably one of the most clever DIY ideas. Upgrading plain floating shelves to have a bit of Victorian or Regency-era flair is an unexpected way to decorate your walls while making the most of vertical storage, too!

Your specific supplies may vary, but for a simple shopping list, pick up a set of wall shelves like the BERGSHULT/KROKSHULT floating shelf from IKEA. You also want to find Victorian themed railings and posts like the Melody Jane Dollhouse Victorian Railings, paying attention to the height and length you need. If you can't find Victorian-style railings you like, pivot to something similar like wood decorative galley rails from Home Depot, which you can paint or finish in any shade. Lastly, look for fun decorative items to include beside your books.

To make the book balcony, first hang your shelves, securing them with the brackets. Measure out each section of your fencing to fit along the shelf and trim excess as needed. Use super glue or glue dots to connect the railing pieces to each other.  Add a drop of glue or glue dots to the bottom of the railing and press each piece down on the edge of the shelf until the glue dries. It's important to remember that this fence is not meant to hold your books up; it is more for decoration than stability. If you've planned to paint the fencing to match your room's aesthetic, you may want to do this before securing it to the shelves.

Once you've installed the railing along your shelving, it's time to decorate, which is definitely the most exciting part of this DIY! If you want your books to be the main focus, you can simply fill each shelf with your favorite books, especially more stylized versions with eye-catching covers. If you've chosen to hang the shelf higher up so that it acts as more of a display than a functional bookcase, this is a great place to keep collector's editions. Secondhand shops are a great place to check underneath book jackets for stylish hardcovers that make great display options.

This shelf is practical for keeping your reads safe, but decorating it with other elements will add interest and style to your walls. Think hanging plants and trinkets, small frames, and even a lamp or light fixture. For an extra whimsical look, consider putting dolls or figurines on the balcony. Depending on how wide your shelves are, you can get more creative or fill them with larger items too. As with any design project, there are no rules on how to decorate a bookshelf, but overdoing it can make the finished result seem too cluttered. Make sure you're only adding about one or two decorative items for every three to five books to keep the shelf cohesive and avoid looking too busy. 

For an easy way to make your floating shelves look more interesting, play around with varying heights of each book, materials, and even colors. Organizing by color is a great way to add visual interest. Another perk of this DIY is that you can choose the length of the shelving to suit your needs. If you have a small area you want to fill, one or two floating shelves will work to give you extra storage as well as a stylized display. However, if you have a room that has a completely empty wall stretching from one end to the other, this is an ideal spot to line multiple shelves all the way across. The balcony aesthetic gives your walls a unique and engaging touch with floating shelves that transform a cluttered book collection into wall art.