What design story can a floating shelf help you tell?

After Christmas is over, New Year’s will be coming in. What better time to reorganize and redesign your home? You don’t have to repaint or re-carpet to make a world of difference. Nor do your redecoration choices have to cost the world. 

A strategically placed shelf will automatically turn your home from cluttered to clear, leaving your surfaces free and your floors tidy. The question is, what sort of shelf do you want? What kind of message do you want to send? 

Cottage core calmness 

Internet culture has brought the trend of cottage core right to the forefront of aesthetic buzz. Embodied by Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” album, cottage core evokes pastoral images of long floaty prairie dresses, sumptuous bunches of dried flowers and flickering candles. 

In an interior design sense, think artful clutter: Old clocks, vintage figurines, scuffed leather-bound books. A pine floating shelf, or indeed a solid oak floating shelf will provide you with the ideal space for this rural maximalist paradise, while still allowing you to keep your table surfaces clear enough to use.    

Industrial chic 

If cottage core is too twee for you, and you want to look into something more rugged, consider the industrial chic style. While you probably don’t want to look as if you live on an actual construction site, you can borrow some of these elements for a reclaimed and sharp look.

For colour ways, think steel greys, charcoal, off-white. Simple decor that isn’t too polished looking will also add to this vibe. Try combining a floating shelf with some heavy duty rustic metal brackets to amplify that style. 

Modern minimalism 

If you have a penchant for clear spaces, bright walls and carefully chosen accents, then maybe minimalism is for you. Almost a precise opposite of cottage core, minimalism is about choosing only decor that highlights a particular feature in your room. Think singular plain lamp, simple vase containing one rose, a grey-framed Henry Moore drawing. 

A floating shelf is the perfect basis for this style because of its simplicity. Keep your house looking clean and modern and take up as little space as possible, by artfully placing these floating shelves in clusters on your walls. 

Versatility 

Floating shelves do provide huge amounts of versatility, whether your style is more pastoral or you prefer a cleaner vibe. This is because they act as blank canvases, ready for you to plaster your personality onto them. 

Amen Sharma