Room-By-Room Ideas For Displaying Your Book Collection At Home

If you ask me where books "belong," according to feng shui, there's not a single place I can rule out. Books are fabulous everywhere. That said, books are filled with symbolism, stories, wisdom, and personal associations, and they, therefore, carry a lot of energy. And feng shui can certainly give us ideas about how to display and channel that energy to create positivity at home.

Every time I've done a big book purge, it's helped me make space for new things and opened my eyes to how much my interests and focus may have shifted even over a year or two. Donating books is a terrific way to pay the wisdom forward.

Rainbow-organized, color-coded bookshelves are quite a sight, but they aren't always the most user-friendly. If you're someone who pulls books off the shelves often, you'll want to sort them so they're easy to find. (Sorting by topic works best for me right now.)

So instead, I'd recommend placing bookshelves where they can really shine, especially if you're a book lover. If you don't have bookshelves, I suggest getting a sturdy shelf (vintage ones are great) that is bigger than you think you need. You can always fill empty space with framed photos, art, and houseplants until your book collection takes it over. If your home has multiple rooms, consider staggering your book collection based on the following ideas.

These rooms are definitely great for big art books, photo books, and other aptly named "coffee table" books, but don't stop there! Placing a small shelf of books that you and other members of your family are currently reading in a popular common space can help you keep them top of mind. I read so much more when I have my current rotation of books on a side table next to my sofa waiting for me.

Kitchens are nice for—you guessed it—cookbooks! They're also great spaces for nutrition guides. It's a bit tricky to fit books in many kitchens, so it's a great bonus (and can look amazing) if you have the space.

You'll want to be a little more intentional about the books you bring into the bedroom. For example, keep work books out of your bedroom as much as possible so you can disengage from work before sleep. You might want to keep heavy drama and crime novels off the nightstands, too. Think about it this way: You want the books in your bedroom to reflect your self-love and your love life.

If you have a tub, why not keep books in the bathroom too? Since bath time is self-care time, I'd keep it light, but there are no hard-and-fast rules here.   

When it comes to placing books, you really can't go wrong. But with a little sorting, curating, and intentional decision making, you can use books to highlight the themes and energies you want to attract into every room of your house.