Several months ago, I had these triangular plywood shelves made for the Baba loft by my friend Emmeline. (She happens to be a brilliant Interior Designer btw). Then we installed them and I was not quite sure how to style them. While trying hard to master the art of shelf styling with my collaborator Camille, we noticed a few short cuts to make shelves look cuter and cooler. I thought we had to share our little secrets with you guys because as easy as it looks, styling shelves can be a bit puzzling.

Some of these tips are super obvious but use them as a check list to upgrade your shelfie game!

Secret no.1 : Obviously, you need some plants, cacti and succulents too. I love waterfall plants, you know the kind of plants that have lush trailing leaves. This one is called a “Tradescantias Plant”. And it’s pratically impossible to kill, believe me. I love to add cacti and succulents everywhere as well because they’re also low maintenance plants. Airplants are also the coolest thing. Try a combination of different sizes. Notice the tiniest cactus on our shelf?

Secret no. 2: Gather your favorite table books and place some on your shelves. I think the error we all make is cording them all together. You can pop some here and there and don’t be afraid to place them horizontally and vertically. Also, I love to add small objects on them like baskets, small plants, candles, rocks, cute planters etc…

Secret no.3: Add something metallic or some sparkle. We love to add disco balls. They really catch the eye and add something fun to your decor. These gold storage bags are also one of our favourite secrets to add some gold metallic touches to our decor.

Secret no 4: Place a few baskets on your shelves. Perfect to hide the ugly nick nacks you need to keep, small baskets are the way to go to add color to your shelves. I love to mix different shapes, sizes and colors. You can check out our current selection over here.

Secret no 5: Add something cute that belongs to a child. We love to style with kids stuff! It might even be an obsession. Try these quirky little nesting animals, that small fox planter or these little house shelves. They are perfect to add a little quirkiness.

Secret no 6: Add something unexpected. It could be a vintage find like this Colonel Sanders vintage figurine. It adds an edge and it’s a cool conversation piece. I’m sure you have a flea market find you never knew what to do with hiding somewhere.

Secret no.7 : Use some small 8×10 prints on your shelves. This is my favorite secret. They add tons of personality to your shelf. And it’s a fairly inexpensive way of decorating. We have an awesome selection of prints over here. Have a look! You don’t need to go fancy, use basic frames you can find everywhere, 8×10 prints are the easiest to frame yourself.

Secret no. 8: Whenever possible, put some fresh flowers in your vases. Buy the flower of the season (which is always the least expensive) or cut a few flowers from your garden. Flowers are every stylist’s secret weapon. They just make everything look prettier. We love this LOVE vase and this little pink round one by artist Emily Reinhardt.

Hope you’ll try out our little secrets! We’d love to see your shelfies! Tag us via Instagram.

What is your secret trick to give your shelves a little edge? We’d love to hear about it! Let us know in the comments below.

-Stephanie XO