How To Style A Ladder Bookshelf

Over the last six months I’ve slowly been working on redecorating our apartment. I’m not talking major cosmetic updates (there’s only so much you can do with a rental) it’s more so been about finding a cohesive style. We’ve always been happy with our furniture, but I realized there were so many smaller items like throw pillows, blankets, tchotchkes and wall art that just felt forced. It’s funny how I have no problem purging clothing and beauty products, but with furniture and home accessories I’m like a little old lady who will hoard anything and everything.

Leaning Ladder Bookshelf | Picture Frames (available in multiple sizes & finishes) | Succulents & White Ceramic Planters | Air Plants & Round Terrarium | Brass Hand Object | Venus Et Fleur Flowers

I plan on sharing a full apartment tour and reveal in the coming weeks (get excited!!) but in the meantime I wanted to share a glimpse of one of my favorite areas in our living room. This leaning ladder bookshelf was one of the few items we didn’t sell when we moved out of our West Village apartment. It’s not incredibly functional for storage, but it’s a great piece for showcasing pictures and other decor.

For the last three years it’s been a prime example of my tendency to hold on to decor without any thought. It was home to framed photos of all different sizes and finishes, random votive candles, souvenirs we bought on trips and any other random object I couldn’t find a place for in our apartment. Needless to say a facelift was incredibly overdue.

How To Style A Ladder Bookshelf

So what did I do? Turned to Pinterest of course. I’m no interior design pro and tend to get scatter-brained when I decorate, but I found it really helpful to just collect a bunch of inspo images and make a to-do list of changes. I knew that I wanted to use the shelf for primarily displaying travel pictures so my first task was collecting all the photos to get printed. It also really bothered me how all our frames were mismatched so I started from scratch and bulk ordered new ones all in the same finish. I’m really pleased with these inexpensive frames I found on Amazon.

Leaning Ladder Bookshelf | Picture Frames (available in multiple sizes & finishes) | Succulents & White Ceramic Planters | Air Plants & Round Terrarium | Brass Hand Object | Venus Et Fleur Flowers

Organizing the pictures was definitely the most complicated step (#indecisive) but once that was completed all I needed to do was add a few small decorative elements. Living in a concrete jungle I love the idea of bringing the outdoors inside, so I ordered a few succulents and air plants from Etsy to stagger on each shelf. YES, you can order live plants online. Who knew? I was also pumped there was still some room for this brass hand figurine and my Venus Et Fleur flowers. Isn’t it amazing how these preserved roses last an entire year?

Whoa I totally didn’t intend for this post to become so long-winded, but I’m just really happy with how my shelf turned out! It went from being a major eyesore to my favorite focal point of our living room. I can’t wait to share the rest of our home with you guys!