Tell the Story of Your Family’s History
Family photos, including vintage photos of ancestors, as well as other treasured family mementos can be combined with books to tell the story of your family’s history. Choose books that feature your family’s country of origin, or books about the type of lifestyle your ancestors had. Books about your family’s history or your family tree are also great additions to this type of collection.
Relive a Favorite Vacation
Vacation photos and souvenirs are also a great subject for a story bookshelf. For example if you recently went on a beach vacation, displaying sea shells that were gathered, and family photos that were taken, along with books about the beach can make a very decorative and meaningful display. Or, try creating a scrapbook page from vacation mementos, framing it in a 12 by 12 inch frame to add to the shelf. Not only will you enjoy reliving the memories of your vacation, but it will also add a beautiful touch to the room.
Sports and Game Themes for Bookshelves
Sports are another great topic for a bookshelf. If you have a favorite sport or sports team, try combining photographs, autographed memorabilia, and other sports-related items with a book or two featuring the sport or team. For those who participate in sports, adding personal sporting awards or other types of mementos can add a very personalized focus to the display. Favorite games can also be used to great advantage to create an interesting bookcase display, perhaps by featuring a beautiful vintage game board or game pieces, a photo of your family’s game night, and a book or two on the history of the game, or a rule book.
Telling a Story Only with Books
Although adding other items of to your bookshelves besides just books can add a lot of visual interest to a display, it is also possible to tell a story strictly through the titles of the books on the shelves. Feature a favorite hobby by displaying multiple books on the subject, or your spotlight your favorite author by using an entire shelf just for his or her works. This type of display will give you an opportunity to display that which you love, while creating a decorative shelf that others will also enjoy.
Creative Methods for Displaying Books
There are many other visually interesting ways to display books on a shelf besides simply lining them up vertically. Stacking half of the shelf vertically, then placing a heavy object or bookend on the shelf, followed by a stack or two of horizontally stacked books can look very interesting. Stacking one or two books as a platform to display another object, such as a couple books about the beach topped with a beautiful sea shell, is another way to combine objects to not only tell a story, but add to beauty and interest to the room.
Encouraging readers to develop their own style, designer Angela Glancy is a frequent contributing writer for American Artisan Art, offering many ideas for decorating with aluminum metal wall art.
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