5 Simple ways to organise your bookshelves

"Bookshelf wealth" is the interior trend currently taking TikTok by storm, with over 1.6 million in hashtag views and counting. But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen such trends emerge on the social media app, with the revival of reading over the past three years thanks to the sub-community that have created #BookTok.

Despite this new trend, recent studies found that 43 per cent of UK bookworms admit they don’t organise their collections in any way, instead letting their shelves be consumed by chaos and disorder.

To help you nail the new viral trend and take some control over your ever-growing collection, Vlatka Lake, storage expert at Space Station, shares five ways to make your bookshelves look stylish, expensive and un-cluttered in 2024.

For all you avid readers or collectors who are lucky enough to own a substantial collection of books, knowing how to bring some order to this chaos may seem like an impossible task.

While organising your shelves alphabetically may not feel quite necessary for those of you with smaller collections, if you find yourself inundated with piles of books, this may be the perfect solution for you.

By alphabetising your collection, you will find it much easier to locate books and this systematic approach will be sure to impress even your most organised friends.

If you enjoy exploring a variety of genres, you may want to consider grouping your books together this way. In fact, 23 per cent of UK readers choose to order their books by genre. This simple approach not only brings a sense of order to your collection, but also makes it super easy to pick up a book that aligns with your current literary mood, whether you’re in need of a light-hearted pick-me up or a devastating drama.

By categorising your reads this way, you create a personalised library experience, tailored to your own diverse taste in genres. There’s a reason libraries around the world choose to organise their collections this way.

There are no hard and fast rules to how you should organise your bookshelves and stacking your books horizontally offers a functional and stylish alternative to traditional vertical arrangements.

This method not only optimises valuable shelf space, but also makes it easy to incorporate decorative elements into your shelving arrangement, whether it’s a faux cactus or delicate trinket, you can present these items on top of your newly stacked books.

An organisational method that has gained popularity over the past couple years is colour-coded or rainbow bookshelves. Love it or hate it, this creative approach is the perfect way to integrate your literature collection into your home décor and turn your shelves into functional pieces of art.

Simply display the spines of your books in rainbow order, or group together colours that complement each other, for a tasteful, yet fun addition to your living space.

If you’re seeking an option that offers maximum functionality, then grouping together books by what you have and haven’t read may be the choice for you. This system is great not just for easily locating your next book, but to also keep a clear overview of your personal library and to-be-read list.

This can in turn help you avoid unnecessary (or even duplicate) purchases and foster a more mindful approach when it comes to buying new books.