Organize Books by Color {15 Minute Decorating}

This is one of the oldest tricks in the history of decorating, and yet it makes a HUGE difference in creating a pulled together look: organize your books by color. I realize library purists may cringe at the thought of books organized this way but as I former librarian I’ll give it my stamp of approval– anything that make you want to reach for a book is okay to me. And when you organize books by color, it injects them with a magic you didn’t know was there!

{via Indulgy}

And, oh, um… it takes less than 15 minutes.

{via Brabourne Farm}

Simply remove the dust jackets from your books. I do this anyways to keep The Wrecking Crew (my kiddos) from ruining them. Store them somewhere safe for future book-handing-down or reselling.

{via gold and gray}

Then, group them by color. I don’t love solid rows of red or blue, I like shades of color mixed together, it leads to a more organic and not overly styled look.

{via Design Sponge}

For example, you can see how I organized my books here with a range of blue shades, and how nicely it frames accessories (such as that 15 minute gilded shell decoration). Having them in rainbow order isn’t my thing either, but if it’s yours, own it! I prefer the colors scattered on various shelves and mixed in with accessories that compliment them.

You don’t have to put them back on a shelf, either. Stack them on tables and they give the perfect pop of color.

{via gold and gray}

It’s fall, be playful and pull out your orange spined books and mix them up with fall accessories.

{via 6th Street Design School}

Not sure where to find books by color? Etsy sellers such as Vintage Scholar have done the hard work for you by offering groups of vintage books by color. Instant decor. Plus I MAY have a slight thing for brass animals:

I WANT ALL THE BRASS ANIMALS!

I’ll go into more details about styling shelves (in under 15 minutes, of course!) but until then I encourage you to go out, snap off those book covers, and arrange them by color. Instant order from the chaos, it’s going to BLOW YOUR MIND!

{via Hyphen Interiors}

{via gold and gray}

{via HGTV.com}

How do you feel about grouping your books by color? Give it a try, and report back here in 15 minutes! Find other easy, quick, and beautiful 15 minute decorating ideas in the rest of the 31 Days series.