We all have stuff. Stuff that represents a time in our past. Stuff that we use several times a day. Pretty stuff. Quirky stuff. Sentimental stuff. Let's talk about stuff (baby) - and specifically, what you're going to do with it.
There are as many storage ideas out there as you have items you need to store, so let's break it down.
Why Use Shelves?
1. Get Vertical
- Utilizing vertical space is the most efficient way to keep you from tripping over stuff in the middle of the night, keep a room feeling open, and manage urban sprawl (I'm talking to you, giant suburban shopping centers).
- Shelves can be used in conjunction with other types of storage (drawers, bins, baskets, etc) to really maximize a space, especially if you don't want to display each item (ie: your kid's 80 billion Legos - see: things you definitely don't want to step on in the middle of the night)
- Pictures and framed art are great, but the world is three-dimensional. Throughout the course of your life, you have picked up some great souvenirs, mementos and gifts that really show who you are. This is your home - it should reflect your personality, interests and your snarky jokes from college.
- Not only can you display your personality ON the shelves, you can display your personality WITH the shelves. More on that below.
| So... You like to travel and read, huh? Cool. |
How To Use Shelves
We're going to keep things simple here and say that most shelves fit into 2 main categories:
1. Wall Shelves - They hang on a wall in some form - includes Floating Shelves, Bracket Shelves, Hanging Shelves, etc. Here's what you need to know about that:
- A good rule to follow when hanging shelves on a wall are that the shelf should be no wider than 1.3 x bracket's width and no wider than 1.2 x bracket's height.
- Spacing brackets for a long shelf should be no more than 4 x shelf-breadth between each bracket - this holds true for normal materials used at home
- Length and size of screws holding the shelf to the wall differ depending on the material of the wall. A good rule of thumb for concrete walls is that the screw should go into the wall at least at least as far as 1/10th the width of the shelf. But there are shelf systems where a brace is hung on the wall onto which brackets are attached without screws, so ask your supplier to give you advice if you're unsure.
- This should be obvious, but make sure that the material you use for the shelves is not too heavy for the wall (hanging cinder blocks from your drywall is a bad idea), and that it is strong enough to hold whatever you are putting on it. Glass shelves are for light things, wood can hold heavier things, etc.
- Here are a bunch of cute DIY ideas for Wall Shelves:
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| Wallpapered Floating Shelves |
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| "Book" Shelves |
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| Leather Harness Hanging Bookshelf |
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| Industrial Pipe Shelving |
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| Wooden Pallet Bookshelves |
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| Hanging Rope Shelves |
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| Wine Crate Shelves |
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| Magazine Holder Bookshelf |
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| Colored Pencil and String Shelves on a Pegboard |
2. Independent Shelves - Free-standing shelving systems, modular shelves
- As with wall shelves, basic physics applies
- Hooray! More pictures!
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| Modular Shelving with storage boxes and binder clips |
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| Ladder Shelves |
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| Old TV Bookshelf |
Don't just shelf these ideas! Make it happen :)
