How I Added Lights To My Built-In Bookshelves

Did you guys see?? I finally finished my bonus room! I shared the full room reveal HERE in case you missed it last week. Since this room is pretty large, I had my hands full making over almost every inch of this room. The largest impact for sure was my bookshelf makeover. I have always been in love with the idea of lighting above a bookshelf and had a fun idea to try it on my built-ins. Luckily, I have a pretty amazing dad who helped me pull this project together, and it turned out even better than I ever could have imagined.

So, before I show you the super simple way we added lighting to the top, let me show you what my bookshelves looked like before I starting on this room.

Bookshelves Before

I love having built-in bookshelves in here, but I always felt like they were missing something. They just seemed incomplete, don’t you think?? I also filled them with my leftover decor that I really didn’t love but made it work until I could really take the time to focus on this space. Overall, they needed to change!!

Progress Picture

So the first step was to measure the space. After that, we went to Home Depot and got a piece of wood cut that was about 8′ long and 8″ tall. This allowed plenty of room for the lights to fit on the wood. I also picked out a small piece of trim to add to the top to give it a finished look. My dad nailed the wood extension and trim to the wall for support. I then painted it to match my bookshelf. Super simple and this small addition only cost around $20.

The last step was adding the lights. You can find my lighting HERE. We drilled them in and luckily we had electricity already attached to the bookshelf. I still can’t get over how they look now. Just the small addition to the top made such a huge impact. Isn’t it SO MUCH BETTER?

Now, when you walk into the room you don’t see the vents that used to be visible. It also bothered me how much space was between the top of the shelves and the ceiling. It just looks complete now!

The last step was styling them which was my favorite!!! I went with a simplified look. I didn’t want anything that felt oversized, and I am so happy with how they turned out. Here are 3 simple items I would always recommend adding when styling a bookshelf.

1. books (vintage or new)
2. greenery
3. baskets

I would also recommend creating a since of balance and uniformity when decorating. It’s for sure a game of mix and match. I always buy more than I need, but it’s good to have a variety to choose from when styling. I probably moved everything around 20 times, but I finally found a balance that I loved.

So, what do you thing? I truly hope this post inspires you to rearrange your bookshelves or maybe even add lights to yours as well. Below I am linking all the products that I used on my shelf incase you want to get a few for your own shelves. I hope you enjoyed this project, and thank for visiting the blog!!

Shop My Bookshelves

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