How to arrange artwork on scandi shelves
Scandinavian interiors are known for their simplicity and lightness.
The selection of artworks in them also reflects this trend – mostly black and white photographs, graphics and prints, often behind glass, with light frames, arranged in gallery walls.
However, today’s article is dedicated to the wooden shelves for arranging pictures, which are so popular in Scandinavian interiors.
They are offered under a variety of names: art shelves, skirting boards, shelves or picture/photo stands. More importantly, they can be used in almost all rooms in the home (and why not the office), and allow arranging not only pictures and photographs, but also small decorative objects: miniature flower pots, cards, plastics, candles, lighting.
Here are some ideas on how to use the shelves. One of the most popular ways is above the sofa in the living room:
It is important that the art shelf is no more than 20-25 cm above the sofa – this creates a feeling of completeness between the elements in the interior. If you have small children who still climb on the sofa, you can just temporarily avoid arranging works with glass and prioritise more stable and safe objects – children’s books, small artificial flowers, cards that the children themselves have created, family photographs behind plastic, rather than glass.
An example of using black shelves on a dark surface. One of the advantages of arranging on art shelves is the alignment along the lower edge and the possibility of frequently changing the exhibited objects – thus you can enjoy elegance and variety all at once.
An interesting application of the shelves – in the corner of the room. The standard shelves in this case are cut at 45 degrees, and the different lengths create a more dynamic corner.
Example of colour on colour: standard shelves are painted in the colour of the wall for more airiness.
An idea of ??how to use the shelves one under the other, in this case in the natural pattern of the wood. The distance between the shelves is determined by the height of the exhibited works.
The classic white artshelf on a white wall is probably the most frequently used option – in the hallway or on a small wall in the kitchen.
The natural wood colour shelves fit extremely elegantly on a dark background.
Where can we buy art shelves?
The MOSSLANDA series from IKEA* is one of the options – they are available in two sizes and you can choose different colours: two-tone wood, rustic white. A bamboo variant called Maleras is available separately.
A few technical details: I recently ordered the rustic version of Moslanda shelves for my work studio. I was a little surprised to find that the package did not provide any mounting hardware, so we used 6mm dowels and matching screws that fit the hole perfectly. For shelves with a length of 115 cm, 3 dowel/screw pairs are needed, and for those of 55 cm, 2 pairs.
The shelves can be “stacked” to get a longer version. In my case, we installed 115 + 55 cm side by side to span the length of the sofa. The picture on the shelf is 84 cm long.
The other colours of the MOSSLANDA series from IKEA*: black, pink and white:
Jysk* is the other Scandinavian company that offers shelves of this type, you will find them as the Avnede photo frame stand in white and black, but I have not yet had the opportunity to test their quality.
You will find more ideas for arranging pictures and photographs on shelves on the Scandi Art Shelves board on Pinterest, which I enrich periodically.
*The companies are not sponsoring this post and I am sharing my personal experience and impressions of the products.
The photos, except for the photos from my studio with the “September is a Woman” painting, are from Pinterest and the IKEA and Jysk sites, rights belong to the respective authors.
