Find your palette.

What your result means

The quiz scores every palette against your answers about the room, wall color, mood, light and how you’ll use the books. It then shows two: a main palette and an accent. Use the main palette for most of the shelf, roughly 60 to 70 percent of the books, and the accent for the rest. On a single shelf, that could be one foot of the main color and a five-book decorative book set of the accent. On a full bookcase, put the main palette on every shelf and repeat the accent in small groups so it reads as a pattern, not an accident.

Neither suggestion is a rule. If you already love a color in the room, such as a navy sofa or a green rug, that color usually belongs on the shelves too. The quiz is a starting point that keeps the choice simple.

The nine palettes and the rooms they suit

• Weathered Cloth (older cloth-bound): Studies, home libraries, reading nooks and traditional or eclectic rooms where a collected, lived-in look matters more than crisp color. Pairs well with Driftwood, Tidewater or Autumn Oak.
• Dunes (cream & ivory): The safest base for any room: bedrooms, white kitchens, living rooms and nearly every staged listing. Pairs well with Driftwood, Tidewater or Storm.
• Driftwood (tan & soft brown): Warm living rooms, farmhouse and natural-wood rooms, and shelves that should feel relaxed rather than formal. Pairs well with Dunes or Autumn Oak.
• Tidewater (navy & blue): Coastal, tailored and white rooms, studies and anywhere a deep accent helps the shelves hold the eye. Pairs well with Dunes or Sandbridge.
• Sea Glass (aqua & soft blue-green): Cottage rooms, bathrooms, kids’ rooms and sunny spaces that can take a soft splash of color. Pairs well with Dunes or Driftwood.
• First Day of Spring (green): Kitchens, studies and plant-filled rooms, and any space with green already in the textiles or art. Pairs well with Driftwood or Dunes.
• Storm (black & charcoal): Modern rooms, offices and black-and-white schemes, where a dark run of spines grounds the shelves. Pairs well with Dunes.
• Autumn Oak (burgundy, rust & deep brown): Studies, dens, bar carts and fall mantels, where warm, deep color reads as collected and cozy. Pairs well with Driftwood.
• Sandbridge (navy & cream): Coastal rooms and rentals when you want a navy-and-cream mix that arrives premixed. Pairs well with Dunes or Tidewater.

Every palette comes three ways: a five-book decorative book set ($39.99), 1 foot ($69.99) or 2 feet ($129.99). Sea Glass is $39.99, $69.99 and $129.99.

How to color-coordinate books

1. Sort by spine, not cover. The spine is what shows on a shelf, so it’s the color that counts.
2. Use a 60 / 30 / 10 split. About 60 percent main color, 30 percent supporting color and 10 percent accent keeps the shelves calm without looking flat.
3. Repeat colors across shelves. Put the same palette on several shelves so the eye moves across the whole bookcase.
4. Mix upright runs and flat stacks. Runs of books held by a bookend, with a stack of three to five laid flat, add rhythm.
5. Leave some space. Styled shelves are usually half to two-thirds full, with room for a plant, a bowl or a frame.

For more detail, read books by color for decorating, bookshelf color palettes by room and should you organize books by color?

From palette to order

Once you have a palette, work out how much you need. The bookshelf calculator turns shelf widths into feet of books, and a foot holds about 10–12 books. Then order books by the foot in 1 ft and 2 ft lots, or a five-book set for a coffee table, mantel or nightstand. Shipping is free to the continental U.S. and D.C., and you have 30 days to return a lot.