Recently, there has been greater recognition that the lipid-bilayer component of membranes plays a subtle but active role in the assembly and organization of lipid-protein arrays. The bilayer does not act only as a featureless substrate or solvent for proteins but enters into an intricate interplay of incorporation, translocation and assembly processes with the membrane-bound peptides and proteins on a structural, dynamic and molecular level. Recent experimental and theoretical advances have led to new insights regarding how lipid-mediated forces, membrane curvature, and nonlamellar propensity may control the self-assembly and organization of lipid-protein membranes.