The Best Ways To Prevent Your Shelves From Looking Cluttered, According To An Interior Designer

Whether you're trying to make good on a New Year's resolution to declutter or you've caught the spring cleaning bug early this year, organizing and styling the shelves around your home can instantly make an entire space feel more open, airy, and clean. Take it from Whitney Vredenburgh, owner of Nested Spaces Home Staging and Design in Indianapolis, Indiana. She and her team know the impact beautifully styled shelves have on the presentation of a space. "Shelves are meant to enhance the rest of the home and add character," Vredenburgh tells House Digest in an exclusive interview. Whether it's floor-to-ceiling built-ins, a small two-tiered side table, or anything in between, styling shelves the right way balances form and function so they look beautiful and blend with the overall interior design — while still providing much-needed storage space.

Finding this balance, however, can be a challenge. Shelves can be easily overwhelmed one way or another by either treating them like an open storage closet or overcrowding them with display items like knick-knacks and personal mementos. Vredenburgh explains that bringing in too many pieces is a common shelf styling mistake. "You want the shelves to breathe so you can appreciate them," she advises. That's why Vredenburgh says one of the best ways to prevent your shelves from looking cluttered is to start with just a few meaningful pieces you want to showcase, and adding in books and other items from there that don't pull focus from what Vredenburgh calls "leading actors." "Too many leading actors in a shelf makes it look very cluttered," she warns.

The best rule of thumb to abide by when you declutter your shelves, according to Whitney Vredenburgh, is a common design refrain: Less is more. "Lots of family photos can be distracting, so can awards and trophies," she tells House Digest. But this doesn't mean you have to pack away all your cherished items and treasured memorabilia just to make your shelves look clean and tidy. Instead, Vredenburgh encourages a careful and intentional selection process to optimize shelf space, so every square inch contributes to the overall design, while also being full of meaning and importance. "Consider mixing personal items with decorative pieces you love," Vredenburgh says. "All can have meaning to you."

And then there is the subject of books. While organizing books by cover color is an aesthetically pleasing approach to make your shelves look tidy and intentional, Vredenburgh suggests an alternative, especially when your book collection isn't colorful enough. "Spines can be turned around so you only see the pages of a book," Vredenburgh says. This minimalist method creates uniformity across shelves on a built-in or bookcase and is also a handy way to hide less appealing covers that you still want in arm's reach. "This can help ground a space as well," Vredenburgh adds, noting that books provide balance to personal items on a shelf and the spines-in, pages-out look ensures the books don't steal focus.

At Nested Spaces, Whitney Vredenburgh and her team prioritize visual harmony by utilizing personal mementos and elevated design elements to tell a story unique to each client. To achieve this, Vredenburgh begins with a color palette to "bring to life." "We will choose 3-4 colors, textures, or finishes we want to incorporate based on the fixed elements," Vredenburgh tells House Digest ("fixed elements" refers to the existing furniture, flooring, and decor in the room). Even the shelves themselves can be painted to enhance the color palette, as colorful shelves are trending in 2026.

Vredenburgh has a few go-to elements that beautifully execute her design plan for shelves. "It is generally one pop of color, [such as a] vase or sculpture, and then a metal — black, gold, silver — and then something with texture, [like] linen, rattan, or stone object[s]," Vredenburgh says. Finally, she fills in open spaces as needed with books and greenery to both anchor and freshen up the space. Care is taken to ensure balance, color coordination, and spacing throughout the shelves, which may require some rearranging and trial and error. In your own shelf design plan, you can let those curated personal items satisfy as much of the design elements as possible (colors, textures, and finishes), and fill in with other elements only as needed. Remember, decluttering shelves isn't about erasing your prized memories, achievements, or collections; it's about giving your story the space it deserves to shine.