Bedroom book storage ideas
13 Book Storage Ideas - How to Store Books in Small Spaces
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Bedroom
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Small Spaces
by Nancy Mitchell
updated Jun 4, 2022
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Finding space for all of your belongings is no easy feat, especially for bookworms. If you’re a big time reader, you probably have a pretty impressive book collection that you’re not willing to give up. But with the perfect book storage idea, you can continue growing your mini library without an issue.
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While you might be approaching your book storage and organization from a style-first perspective, you could be overlooking the best way to preserve and take care of your collection. Small details like the temperature and climate of your space, and pests such as silverfish, can make books deteriorate faster.
Keep in mind that books do best in room temperature (70 F) with low humidity and not in direct sunlight. Dusting and wiping them down with a cloth every now and then will prevent a buildup of dust and the likelihood of bugs feasting on them. Once you’ve got the maintenance part of your personal library down, you can start organizing your heart out.
For the least amount of stress and clutter, everything from books to board games needs a designated spot in your home. Ahead, you’ll find inspiration from renters and homeowners who’ve found unique storage methods, whether that’s DIYing their own shelves or repurposing unused spaces and decorative accents to keep their collection in tip-top shape.
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1. Modern Minimalist
This pared down shelving system from @spectrumfurniture allows space for only a few books, which is great if you’re hoping to stick with a certain aesthetic, like black and white or modern minimalist. Simply select a handful of books that coordinate with the look you’re going for, and keep them on display in these understated shelves.
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2. Behind Furniture
This bookcase by @interiorsstorageanddeclutter is positioned behind the couch for the perfect cozy spot that allows you to grab your favorite title without leaving your seat. Plus, this book storage idea frees up floor space that would otherwise be used for a bookcase.
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3. Repurposed Furniture
There’s nothing that says books must be stored in a bookcase. Got an old piece of furniture hanging around that you’ve been wanting to repurpose? See if there’s a way it could hold some of your favorite book titles. We love this clever book storage idea by @timewarpcollectables.
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4. Storage and Decor
Bookshelves aren’t just for your favorite reads anymore. Incorporate decorative objects and art alongside your books, as seen in this cozy Indianapolis apartment rental , and you’ll create a stylish mix that uniquely shows off your taste in accessories and literature.
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5. Color Coded Statement Wall
Set down the brush—an accent wall doesn’t have to be painted. The owners of this vibrant Washington DC apartment used a nook in their wall to stack books in a rainbow design. The result is a bold, colorful accent wall that looks more like art than storage.
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6. Shelf-Less Book Stacking
No shelf? No problem. Organize your books by size and stack them horizontally from the ground up, as seen here in this San Francisco home. Neatly stacked, this book storage idea looks like an intentional, artsy book collection rather than a temporary “I haven’t ordered a bookshelf yet” pile.
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7. Under Staircase Book Storage
Weird angles and odd corners often lend themselves to the best book storage ideas. A space like this chic Spanish apartment’s staircase closet makes use of an underused room and is a clever way of sharing a collection of novels.
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8. Floor-to-Ceiling Bookshelves
For extensive book collections, a floor-to-ceiling setup is reminiscent of a library and allows you to keep everything you read under your roof—without it feeling cluttered. Take note from this century-old house in Switzerland and work vertically up your walls to organize your volumes.
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9. Glass Display Case Book Storage
There’s something so polished about books in display cases, like in this stylish Australian home. The bookcase blends in seamlessly with the rest of the room, making it appear like it’s a permanent part of the space rather than an afterthought. Not to mention, the glass helps protect the books from dust and grime. Consider repurposing an IKEA wardrobe for books—it’s an easy way to hack this sort of display idea.
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10.
Ladder Book StorageLeaning a ladder against a wall and stacking books on its rungs is a creative way to reuse a vintage find that serves more of a decorative purpose than utility. And because ladders draw the eye upward, as is the case in this rustic, Scandi-inspired Australian studio, this book storage idea actually creates an illusion of extra space.
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11. Floating Cube Bookshelves
Gallery walls don’t have to be limited to framed prints and paintings. This fun Chicago rental is the perfect example of how to use floating shelves and a gallery wall mindset to create a cute, quirky book storage method.
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12. Faux Fireplace Book Storage
While faux and non-functional fireplaces are still nice architectural features, it can be a challenge to figure out what to actually do with them. Take inspiration from this cozy Brooklyn studio, whose residents filled their firebox with books.
Consider facing your books spine-inwards, as shown here, for a more minimalist aesthetic and cohesive palette.
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13. Staircase Rail Shelving
There’s no better way to prove your love of books than with a trail of them leading upstairs. The owner of this Melbourne, Australia apartment makes a strong case for showcasing your favorite reads in a fun, unexpected way. This solution is also a great way to make use of an often dead space.
12 ways to stow your books neatly |
(Image credit: Future)
Successful book storage ideas are a conundrum that should be solved efficiently and practically, yet they are also one that often alludes even the most stylish of us.
Books can bring culture and intelligence to any room; as Cicero said, 'A room without books is like a body without a soul.' Not only that, but a quick glance at both the selection of titles and the way that they are organized is often very revealing of the interests and character of the owner – something we all learnt when scrutinizing the bookshelf ideas of celebrities during pandemic video calls.
One formal way of arranging books is the classic library approach, that is by genre – fiction, non-fiction, history, art and so on. It's probably one of the most popular ways to organise books in a domestic setting, explains Philip Blackwell, founder, Ultimate Library . Here are a few other ways to indulge your bookish ways.
Book storage ideas
Whether you are looking for book storage ideas for because you are designing a home library, or want reading nook ideas for a much smaller space, these expert tips and rooms will give you plenty of inspiration.
Photography/Paul Massey
(Image credit: Sims Hilditch)
Home library ideas for a living room or home office with a built-in wall-to-wall design work in both classic and contemporary homes alike. By combining open shelving and closed cupboards, you can have a display of books and objets d’art while also hiding away heavier items down below.
Alcoves are an obvious place to add floor-to-ceiling storage, even if your room is small as bespoke solutions can utilise the full height of the space.
‘Although this may not sound like it will make much of a difference the reality is that a bespoke design will offer, on average, 40% more space,’ says Rachal Hutcheson, national retail manager at Sharps. Finish off with a block color and let the books provide the detail.
2. Utilize hallways
Photography/Paul Massey
(Image credit: Future)
Try thinking outside the box, as shown here in this up-and-over bespoke book storage unit. Hallways and landings are perfect places to maximize in terms of floor space. These spaces can have a dedicated function, but keep the look understated to ensure a cohesive link between each room.
3. Display beautiful books to show off their covers
(Image credit: Future/Paul Massey)
Some books are works of art in themselves. Don't hide these gems away; instead, show off your best interior design books by displaying the front, rather than just the spine – this is a great way to style a bookcase.
The shelves of this gently sloped bespoke design by interior designer Jo Berryman , have a narrow lip to ensure that as much of each front cover as possible is on view.
4. Build bookshelves into alcoves to max out space
(Image credit: Future)
If a book collection is likely to grow over the years, it's important to maximize any potential space in the house. It needn't be in a living room, either – it can help you make the most of a small bedroom layout, too.
Turner Pocock designed these fitted bedroom bookshelf ideas and painted them in the same bronze paint as the skirting boards for a sleek finish. This is the Hicks' Hexagon wallpaper at Designer Wallpapers .
5. Line study walls with bookshelves for a library look
(Image credit: James Merrell)
Create a studio look for your home office by lining opposite walls with book storage ideas – these are by Jesse . Keep the look clean with a glass-topped table in between and use a library ladder to access the top shelves.
Bespoke shelves are best for a neat finish but you can achieve this look with ready-made formulas. Bear in mind that this effect is most successful when natural light is maximized – or when you invest in good lighting design if the room is light-starved.
6. Leave books room to breathe
(Image credit: Future/Paul Massey)
Make a departure from the usual full-to-bursting book storage ideas by leaving some gaps and leaning books at different angles for a more contemporary look. Keeping the box shapes regular also creates a modern finish.
7. Combine displays of curios with book storage ideas
(Image credit: Future)
A library should exude personality and character, and none does it better than this quirky and intriguing display. Use color to showcase your style, and when all else fails, throw in a few curios and mismatched fabric. After all, this is very much your space to play with, so go big and bold.
There are no hard and fast rules to creating a well-curated display on living room bookshelves but leaving gaps for curios at regularly spaced intervals will create a neat finish, while placing larger books and larger curios lower and smaller ones higher can help you achieve balance, and picking a limited color scheme will help the display to feel calm rather than chaotic.
8. Use vertical space for book display and storage
(Image credit: Future)
In a small space, using vertical book storage ideas can make a room feel taller. Built like this, book storage can also be used to fill awkward spaces that might not be usefully employed otherwise.
9. Display books in spine colors
(Image credit: Future)
Those looking for a more stylized result, which will have a greater impact on the overall look and feel of the room, will arrange books in blocks of color. Some will go for one accent – we've seen entire walls in Penguin paperbacks, for example – others will want a kaleidoscope effect with different pops of color. It's a lovely way to spend a rainy Sunday...
10. Build book storage into a 'secret door'
(Image credit: Future)
If you want a wall of books to show off your ever-expanding collection, but find a doorway in the way, don't let it put you off – turn your door into a storage unit for books so that when closed, you get the library look you want, on the wall you want.
You will need a carpenter to strengthen the door frame, heavy-duty hinges and – likely – hidden castors on the bottom of the door/book shelf to take the weight of your tomes.
11. Blend books with your color scheme
(Image credit: Studio Ashby/Andrew Martin Interior Designer Review Vol.24)
If you love books, it's likely that you already have enough books to make this work. Otherwise, you can anticipate the pleasure of trawling antiques' markets for books to suit your color scheme.
Use book spine colors as your accent shades within the room, limiting yourself to just two or three colors for a restful result. This room by Studio Ashby is featured in the Andrew Martin Interior Designer Review Vol.24 .
12. Create literary reflections with mirrored shelves
(Image credit: Oka)
Create a ‘hall of mirrors’ with these impressive hand-made statement pieces. Six fixed mirrored glass shelves feature an antiqued finish, edged with wood painted antique gold – every inch is mirrored, including the undersides.
Line them up and watch light bounce.
What is the best way to store books?
Book storage should be undertaken with care if the books are valuable to you. Packing them in tightly against an external wall without any air for circulation could lead to them becoming damp and mouldy. Equally, storing books above a radiator can cause books to buckle.
Ideally, put book shelves where temperatures won't fluctuate too much and on interior walls that can maintain a dry atmosphere.
Where should you not store books?
You should not store books anywhere that is likely to be damp. This includes basements, attics, outhouses and garages. It is also a bad idea to store books anywhere subject to extreme temperature fluctuations – this will include attics again – or anywhere subject to intense sunlight. The latter will bleach book covers over time.
Jennifer is the Digital Editor at Homes & Gardens. Having worked in the interiors industry for a number of years, spanning many publications, she now hones her digital prowess on the 'best interiors website' in the world.
Multi-skilled, Jennifer has worked in PR and marketing, and the occasional dabble in the social media, commercial and e-commerce space. Over the years, she has written about every area of the home, from compiling design houses from some of the best interior designers in the world to sourcing celebrity homes, reviewing appliances and even the odd news story or two.
5 useful ideas — INMYROOM
Tips
Multifunctional furniture, comfortable shelves by the window, roomy shelving under the ceiling – we are looking for the best alternatives for placing a home library in a typical home
Printed literature, even in the age of technology, does not lose its relevance. And it, of course, requires more space than a tablet or e-reader. The issue of book storage for small-sized owners can become an edge: what to do if the footage is limited to square meters, but you still want to equip your home library? Just follow the main rule: use the space to the maximum.
1. Multifunctional furniture: comfortable book storage
multifunctional today furniture is a must-have in a small apartment. For those who like to read before sleeping literature under the bed is ideal. Roomy retractable boxes will protect folded things from dust, and a podium with open shelves, in addition, it will become an original decor element in the bedroom.
Withdrawable modules on wheels are a great addition to for children: one movement - a primer and a collection of fairy tales are already in the hands of a child. Another the best option is a library chair. Along the perimeter of the furniture are provided shelves of different sizes - it is very convenient to fold literature. Significant advantage of furniture - the ability to move it from one place to another: today in the bedroom, tomorrow in the living room, and a week later on the loggia.
2. Library by the window: a paradise for bibliophiles
windows are not enabled. Maximum - there can be a desk.
Rather, fix this puncture and place your home library here. The idea is distinguished by its practicality and functionality. In this way, you can use the unused area and equip a convenient area for reading. Just hang above the window, below it and on the sides of the shelves - Every book has its rightful place. And cover a wide window sill with a mattress, with a blanket - and a little paradise for the bibliophile has been created.
3. Bookshelves: great possibilities
Bookshelves – standard offer for book storage. What about corners? At a limited area of \u200b\u200bthe room just needs to use the corners. Organized in them, a place to store books will not clutter up the room, but on the contrary, it will visually expand it. Floor-to-ceiling open narrow shelves look stylish and outstanding, and a high "stack of books" will create the illusion of high ceilings.
Perhaps this solution is not only for young parents: a large number of corners is a danger for a small child, and adults, due to the curiosity of the baby, can to be left without a home library at all.
A safe alternative is to store books under the ceiling. You can embody the idea in the hall above the door, in the living room above the TV or in the bedroom above the bed. Books under the ceiling are great save space, but remember: a large number of them can create an oppressive feeling.
4. Maximum storage: use racks
Large quantity shelves and again a large number of shelves - the main advantage of any bookcase. It can be tall, wide, unusually shaped, or even the whole wall. The rack will act as a partition without any problems - the problem will be solved book storage and space zoning. Can be placed along a wall an interior door or around the perimeter above the bed.
But such furniture for intellectuals will not be the best solution for an overly small room. A large number of books and a bulky rack will carry a tangible visual load. If you can’t refuse the idea in any way, decorate the interior in bright colors, with light decor and sophisticated furniture.
forms.
5. A little creative: book organizers
Original organizer for books - a great solution for a child's room. Let your imagination run wild! Can be sewn textile pockets, hanging the holder for literature on the crib, on door or just on the wall. No less convenient and stylish option - the system storage with metal or plastic baskets. It will be good for young people. book lovers, and parents will be allowed not only to teach the child order, but also to save space in the children's room.
35 functional and beautiful ways to store books in the interior - Roomble.com
2021-09-04T03:10:00+00:00 2021-09-04T03:13:29+00:00 35 functional and beautiful ways to store books in the interior 2021-09-04T03:10:00+00:00 Do you have problems with the organization of bookshelves - there is not enough space or you want a bright and unusual solution? We present unexpected and interesting projects of "libraries" for modern interiors with space saving: from classic to outrageous 35 functional and beautiful ways to store books in the interior
Do you have problems organizing your bookshelves - lack of space or want a bright and unusual solution? We present unexpected and interesting projects of "libraries" for modern interiors with saving space: from classic to outrageous
Books for many of us - with all the abundance of television, the Internet, social networks, book readers and other gadgets in our lives - remain an indispensable friend and assistant.
Therefore, talk about the fact that the book has ceased to be a necessity, but is gradually turning into an anachronism, remains talk. To which you react less, the more books you have.
The question is different - how to place books in often not the most spacious living quarters? This is true not only for "Khrushchev" or nine-story buildings, but also for suburban housing, where it is much more spacious. After all, it is necessary not only to organize the storage of books, but also to provide easy access to them. And, most importantly, it should be beautiful.
The use of a ladder as a library at the same time is not a new idea, but it is very interesting and varied in its incarnations. The simplest options are easily implemented even without rework and serious hassle. Much of what is offered for review can be used as an addition to an existing interior. Well, if a “big repair” is being started, then it all depends only on the number of books you have and the desire to organize a new place for their storage - beautiful, unusual, convenient.
And it doesn't take up space at all.
Our opinion:
- It must be remembered that direct sunlight for books is the last thing they need. Therefore, in all cases when "beauty for" you place a shelf in a room full of light, try not to put collectible items on it. Limit yourself to pocketbooks and glossy magazines. Or a collection of works by the classics of Marxism-Leninism (ask the older generation).
The “classic” book storage scheme that we are accustomed to in a furniture wall or on shelves covering one of the walls is not the only possible one, which is already obvious. One of the brightest steps in this area is an unexpected and ingenious solution to increase the functionality of ordinary interior items by organizing books and magazines in them. The fantasy of designers overflows when this idea begins to be embodied "in the material." We agree that a lot of what is presented is quite realistic to do yourself - or order, based on the option you like the most.
Both the opening itself (passage) and the space around it are used. Filling a wall with a door or window with bookshelves is a superficial idea. Its attractiveness lies in the ease of implementation and in the most rational use of space. The functionality of the walls adjacent to the door or window, as a rule, is zero in ordinary interiors. Isn't it time to start fighting this unjustified tradition? And we will start with our own housing, which will only benefit from this.
The idea of a bookshelf as a wooden box with certain proportions, which is mounted on the wall and in which books are stored, has become outdated a long time ago. Unfortunately, manufacturers of mass furniture continue to live in the century before last, and it is rare to find anything original, beautiful and comfortable for sale that continues to be a bookshelf. But the most diverse ways of making bookshelves are possible, which - without losing functionality - will become a bright and memorable element of the interior.
The options for organizing storage places for a large number of books presented for review first of all cause a smile. And not because it's funny, not at all. The imagination of designers who came up with such unusual solutions is amazing. Agree that there is not a single idea for the sake of an idea, everything is completely functional and very convenient. If you organize something like this at home, then the competition for the possession of this space among family members will be the most serious.
Greetings from the novels of Alexandre Dumas (and other everyday writers of antiquity, antiquities and secrets), in which a lot of secret passages are hidden just behind the wall panels and bookcases. In our realities, such a move is appropriate, first of all, for turning a passage room into an impassable one. Quite often this is very, very relevant, but here is such an idea! And we hide the shortcomings of the apartment, and we organize a library place.
