Entertainment Unit Decorating Ideas

When I get bored with my decor I usually hit Houzz or Pinterest to gather some inspiration before I start changing things up.  When it was time to rearrange the family room I moved the furniture around, but wasn't sure how to freshen up the bookshelf / entertainment unit.  Looking at other people's ideas helped me, so I thought I would share what I came up with.

I shared some tips for choosing items for shelves a few years ago here: Shelf Decor 101

This time I stuck with those rules, but wanted to go with a more symmetrical look.  Here is what I started with:

Not bad, but I just wanted a change. Over time I tend to accumulate things and add and add until the original vision is cluttered.  Sometimes I just need to take everything off and start over.

Here is how I rearranged things:

I used items I already had around the house and tried to pair things up by either using the same item on each side or the same scale on each side.

I moved dividers so that the shelves were the same height on both sides then anchored the unit by using the same black and white urn on both bottom shelves (I took them off my mantle).  On the next shelf I used two like-sized items, on the next shelf I used books and two different bookends.  The center shelves hold all my oversized books, pages facing out so they look the same color. 

The row of balls are just Christmas ornament mosaic balls with the hooks removed.

Finally, I started with one large piece of wall decor I took from the wall of my office and placed it in the center.  A TJ Maxx bowl in a bent plate stand in the center really shows up against the dark background.

I started arranging similar items out from the center in a symmetrical way.  It was lucky that I had an old family violin and he had an old family ukelele to showcase on top.  The urn and fake grass in a pot were a similar size so I put them on the ends.

I hope one of these photos gives you some inspiration for your next spruce up!