Open shelving is one of those things that looks effortless in photographs and turns into a jumble of clutter the moment you try it at home. The secret isn’t a bigger collection of beautiful things — it’s restraint, grouping, and a genuine respect for empty space. If you’ve been slowly gathering handmade ceramics, woven baskets and natural-dyed textiles, here’s how to give them room to be seen.

Start with an empty shelf and a clear intention

Before you place a single object, take everything off the shelves. Wipe them down, then step back and look at the proportions. How many shelves are there? Where does the light fall? Which shelf is at eye level when you walk into the room? That eye-level shelf is your stage — it deserves your best three or four pieces, not your entire collection.

Think about what the shelves are actually for. In a kitchen, open shelving often needs to hold daily-use items: mugs, bowls, a stack of plates. In a living room or hallway, it can be more decorative. Being honest about function stops you from fighting reality later. A shelf that holds nothing but ornaments in a busy family kitchen will be a shelf you resent within a fortnight.

Gather everything you’d like to consider, then remove roughly a third of it before you begin. You can always bring pieces back in later. It is far easier to add than to subtract once you’ve fallen in love with a crowded arrangement.

Group in loose threes and fives

Odd numbers read more naturally to the eye than even ones. A trio of stoneware vessels — perhaps two small and one tall — creates a small composition without feeling staged. Five objects spread across a longer shelf works in the same way, particularly if two of them are flat or low, such as a small dish and a stack of books.

The key word is loose. These are not regimented rows. Let one piece sit slightly forward, another slightly back. Angle a bowl so its rim catches the light. Turn a basket so its handle faces outwards rather than squared to the wall. This small irregularity is what separates a considered shelf from a display in a shop window.

• Group by material first, then break it up: three ceramics, one basket, one textile.
• Keep the gaps between objects roughly consistent — a hand’s width is a good guide.
• Rest one item on top of a horizontal stack of books to lift it without buying anything new.

Vary heights and let shelves breathe

Monotony is the enemy of a good shelf. If everything is the same height, the eye slides past it. Introduce a tall jug beside a low bowl, then a mid-height stack of books beside a small woven basket. The variation does the work of holding attention, so you need fewer objects overall.

Breathing space is not wasted space. Aim to leave at least a third of each shelf empty. On a narrow shelf, that might mean only two objects. That is fine. A single well-chosen vase with room around it will always look more generous than six pieces pressed together.

Height matters vertically as well. Leave a clear gap between the top of your tallest object and the underside of the shelf above — around 5cm at minimum, more if you can manage it. Objects that nearly touch the shelf above create a pinched, anxious feeling. Generous headroom feels calm.

Mix ceramics, baskets and books with care

Books are the quiet workhorses of open shelving. They add colour, texture and a useful horizontal line. Stack them flat in twos and threes rather than standing them all upright; flat stacks are stable and read as intentional. If you do stand books, keep it to a short row and use a handmade vessel as a bookend rather than a metal one.

Woven baskets bring warmth and a matte texture that contrasts beautifully with glazed ceramics. A shallow basket can hold folded linen or natural-dyed cloths, rolled rather than folded, so the edges of the fabric show. Deeper baskets work well for overflow — kindling, remotes, sewing — as long as what’s inside is tidy enough to be glimpsed.

Natural-dyed and hand-woven textiles soften hard shelves. A small cloth draped over the edge of a basket, or a folded runner beneath a group of pots, adds colour drawn from plants rather than paint. Keep these pieces rotated and out of direct sunlight, as natural dyes will soften over time. That fading is part of their character, not a flaw.

• Pair a glossy glazed pot with a matte basket for textural contrast.
• Use textiles sparingly — one cloth per shelf is usually enough.
• Keep the smallest items together so they don’t get lost among larger pieces.

Edit, then live with it for a week

Once the shelves are styled, resist the urge to keep tweaking. Live with the arrangement for a week. You’ll quickly notice which pieces you stop seeing and which ones you reach for. Anything that has become invisible is a candidate for storage; anything you use daily should be within easy reach, not perched decoratively out of the way.

Rotate seasonally if you like. In autumn, bring out warmer tones — amber glass, oak, ochre-dyed cloth. In spring, lighter ceramics and pale linens. Rotation keeps shelves interesting without requiring you to own more.

Finally, accept that open shelving is a living thing. It will gather a stray letter, a pair of glasses, a half-finished mug of tea. Tidy it once a week, return the loose items to their groups, and leave the gaps alone. The space between the objects is doing as much work as the objects themselves.