Open shelving is one of the most forgiving places in the home to experiment with. Unlike a mantelpiece or a sideboard, a shelf gives you several small stages to play with, and nothing has to be permanent. The trick is to treat books and objects as equal partners rather than one as background for the other. Get that balance right and your shelves will look collected rather than cluttered — and, crucially, they will be easy to refresh when you fancy a change.

Begin with the books, then let the objects in

Books do most of the heavy lifting on a shelf. They bring colour, texture and a reassuring sense of substance. Start by sorting your books loosely by size rather than by category — a row of similar heights reads as a solid block, which can be useful, but too many solid blocks make a shelf feel heavy. Instead, break your collection into small groups and alternate them with open space.

Stand some books vertically, spine out, as you would in a library. Then turn a few so the pages face forward, or lay a short row flat. This variety stops the eye from sliding across the shelf without pausing. If you have books you love for their covers, give them pride of place at eye level.

Embrace the small stack

The vertical row is not the only option. Small stacks of two to five books, laid flat, make excellent plinths for ornaments. A chunky art book with a small ceramic bird on top, or a trio of paperbacks topped with a brass candleholder, instantly adds height and interest without crowding.

A few practical rules help:

• Keep stacks low. Anything taller than about 25cm on a standard shelf will start to look precarious and may topple when you reach past it.
• Vary the footprint. A stack of wide books next to a narrow one creates a pleasing rhythm.
• Use the top book as a tray. A small dish, a matchbox or a single stem in a bud vase works beautifully here.
• Don’t overdo it. One or two stacks per shelf is usually plenty; more than that and the shelf starts to feel like a jumble sale.

Leave gaps — they are doing more than you think

The single most common mistake on open shelves is filling every inch. A little emptiness is not wasted space; it is what makes the objects you have chosen feel deliberate. Aim for roughly a third of each shelf to be clear, and resist the urge to fill a gap just because you have something that fits.

Gaps also give you somewhere to put things down. A shelf that is completely full is a shelf you cannot use — no space for a mug, a pair of glasses or the post. Treat the empty patches as working space and the whole arrangement will feel calmer.

Mix heights, materials and periods

Once the bones are in place, the fun begins. The most interesting shelves combine things that do not obviously match. A smooth glass vase next to a rough stoneware pot. A weathered wooden bowl beside a glossy black picture frame. A modern print leaning against a wall of old clothbound books.

Vary height deliberately. Put a tall object at one end of a shelf and something low nearby, rather than arranging everything in a neat descending line. Triangular groupings — one tall piece flanked by two shorter ones — are a reliable way to make a shelf feel composed without looking staged.

Texture matters as much as colour. If your shelf is largely paper and ceramic, add something metal, woven or glass to catch the light. A single shiny object among matte ones draws the eye across the whole arrangement.

Let it evolve

The beauty of this approach is that it is not precious. Because you are working with small stacks and clear gaps, swapping one object for another takes seconds. Bring in something from a charity shop, move a bowl from the kitchen, or rotate a few books to the front and the shelf feels new again.

A useful habit is to keep a small box or drawer of “shelf spares” — a candle, a small frame, a pretty tin, a stone from a walk. When a shelf starts to feel tired, you can refresh it in five minutes without buying anything.

Finishing touches that make a difference

• Check the sightline. Stand back and look at the shelf from where you normally sit. If one area feels heavy, move a book or remove an object.
• Repeat a colour. Pick one accent — mustard, terracotta, deep green — and let it appear three times across the shelf.
• Keep bookends quiet. Simple, solid bookends in wood or stone let the books do the talking.
• Dust as you go. Open shelves collect dust quickly; a quick weekly wipe keeps the arrangement looking cared for.

Above all, let your shelves be a record of what you actually like. A shelf built from books you have read and objects you have collected will always look better than one arranged to a formula. Start with the books, leave a little room, and let the curious things find their place.