10 Alternative Ways to Store Books
Books everywhere? Keep them in place with these alternative storage ideas
Susannah Hutchison
22 May 2018
Houzz Contributor
Break free from the average style of bookcase and unlock some creative thinking to display your reading matter. Browse through these suggestions to see if any would work in your home.
Stack neatly
Part arty display, part practical storage, these neat columns of paperbacks at the end of the bed provide a useful display surface for plants and pots, and a clever way to store all those books with sentimental value that you can’t quite bring yourself to donate, but are unlikely to be referring to every day.
Choose the ones with the nicest covers to put on the tops of the piles for added decorative appeal.
Part arty display, part practical storage, these neat columns of paperbacks at the end of the bed provide a useful display surface for plants and pots, and a clever way to store all those books with sentimental value that you can’t quite bring yourself to donate, but are unlikely to be referring to every day.
Choose the ones with the nicest covers to put on the tops of the piles for added decorative appeal.
Show off covers
Picture shelves designed for propping up artwork are also perfect for showcasing books displayed face out.
The problem with this approach can be that you simply don’t have enough space to store all your books, but this children’s room provides a solution that may work: there’s not one but three shelves – and stretched wide, across two single beds. They could just as easily span the width of a double bed (or the whole wall).
Less beautiful or too-big books could be stacked and double up as bedside tables.
Picture shelves designed for propping up artwork are also perfect for showcasing books displayed face out.
The problem with this approach can be that you simply don’t have enough space to store all your books, but this children’s room provides a solution that may work: there’s not one but three shelves – and stretched wide, across two single beds. They could just as easily span the width of a double bed (or the whole wall).
Less beautiful or too-big books could be stacked and double up as bedside tables.
Give wall shelves a twist
An entire – large – wall of shelving is already a little unusual, unless you have a dedicated library spot. But this shelving takes the whole idea much further. Consider borrowing four of the key elements for your own home:
An entire – large – wall of shelving is already a little unusual, unless you have a dedicated library spot. But this shelving takes the whole idea much further. Consider borrowing four of the key elements for your own home:
- Make it monochrome. If you have enough black-covered books, the effect, as seen here, can be striking, especially in a pared-back Scandi-style scheme.
- Use the floor as your bottom shelf.
- Mix front-facing and standard stacking.
- Vary the distance between shelves. Here, the second shelf up is sideboard height and has extra room above it, which gives it a secondary practical use as an additional, accessible surface. It’s the perfect spot for a plant, a water jug and glasses, or a mirror and stool at one end.
Store on the floor
It’s great to encourage good reading habits in children, but the number of books they own can soon, well, stack up. Having them simply lined up along the wall like this means there’s no need for a bookcase or shelves and, at floor level, they’re super-easy for a child to access.
Arrange them in ascending height order for a neat look, and make sure there’s something at either end (here a chest and a wooden crate on its side, containing more books) to keep them upright.
It’s great to encourage good reading habits in children, but the number of books they own can soon, well, stack up. Having them simply lined up along the wall like this means there’s no need for a bookcase or shelves and, at floor level, they’re super-easy for a child to access.
Arrange them in ascending height order for a neat look, and make sure there’s something at either end (here a chest and a wooden crate on its side, containing more books) to keep them upright.
Pile ’em high
Stacked against a wall, like this, or even piled up against a pillar, books displayed vertically as opposed to horizontally can look very effective, and the arrangement makes good use of a room’s height instead of its width.
For a display as tall as these, don’t just stack your tomes on top of one another, as they could all topple down in a health and safety nightmare! Instead, fix mini floating shelves at regular intervals up the wall or pillar to create the illusion of a freestanding stack, or seek out one of a number of specialist ‘invisible’ vertical bookshelves on the market.
This will also make books easier to retrieve, since they’re not in one continuous, Jenga-like stack.
Stacked against a wall, like this, or even piled up against a pillar, books displayed vertically as opposed to horizontally can look very effective, and the arrangement makes good use of a room’s height instead of its width.
For a display as tall as these, don’t just stack your tomes on top of one another, as they could all topple down in a health and safety nightmare! Instead, fix mini floating shelves at regular intervals up the wall or pillar to create the illusion of a freestanding stack, or seek out one of a number of specialist ‘invisible’ vertical bookshelves on the market.
This will also make books easier to retrieve, since they’re not in one continuous, Jenga-like stack.
Here’s the same idea but in miniature, with the invisible shelves fixed above a bedside table. Consider creating mini stacks across an entire wall as a feature.
Browse under the stairs
If you have the space to forgo the traditional understairs cupboard (maybe storing the vacuum cleaner, broom, mop et al in another cupboard or utility room), the opened-up space you’re left with can be perfect for displaying books, adding a lovely library feel to the hallway.
Here, recycled crates have been piled up (but securely fixed to avoid toppling). Wire racking or simply stacked piles of books would work, too.
If you have the space to forgo the traditional understairs cupboard (maybe storing the vacuum cleaner, broom, mop et al in another cupboard or utility room), the opened-up space you’re left with can be perfect for displaying books, adding a lovely library feel to the hallway.
Here, recycled crates have been piled up (but securely fixed to avoid toppling). Wire racking or simply stacked piles of books would work, too.
Mix with crockery
Make use of an alcove in a kitchen to store recipe books so they’re to hand when you’re cooking. Instead of giving the whole shelf over to books, though, mix them with colourful crockery or decorative storage jars for a pleasing display.
Make use of an alcove in a kitchen to store recipe books so they’re to hand when you’re cooking. Instead of giving the whole shelf over to books, though, mix them with colourful crockery or decorative storage jars for a pleasing display.
Choose a new angle
OK, this is a strictly a bookcase, but its unique design makes it like a piece of room sculpture, too. The unexpected angles are visually arresting as well as being surprisingly practical, as they allow for a wide variation in book size and height.
As this is more complicated than a standard bookcase, ask a carpenter or cabinet-maker about creating something similar.
Find cabinet-makers in your area
OK, this is a strictly a bookcase, but its unique design makes it like a piece of room sculpture, too. The unexpected angles are visually arresting as well as being surprisingly practical, as they allow for a wide variation in book size and height.
As this is more complicated than a standard bookcase, ask a carpenter or cabinet-maker about creating something similar.
Find cabinet-makers in your area
Fill a table
Piling oversized, good-looking books on a coffee table is nothing new. However, a double-level table with glass shelves is a nice idea if you’d like to use the top of the table for something other than books.
Stacking smart tomes in piles on the lower level gives the same pleasing effect, showing them off and making them easy to access, but leaves you with a surface above on which you can put whatever you like – or that you can leave totally clear.
Piling oversized, good-looking books on a coffee table is nothing new. However, a double-level table with glass shelves is a nice idea if you’d like to use the top of the table for something other than books.
Stacking smart tomes in piles on the lower level gives the same pleasing effect, showing them off and making them easy to access, but leaves you with a surface above on which you can put whatever you like – or that you can leave totally clear.
Find a niche
This lovely reading spot has space for books built in beneath the window seat, making the most of what would otherwise have been dead space. Have a look around your home to see if there are any places you could incorporate some built-in seating and book storage like this.
Tell us…
How do you store your books at home? Share your ideas in the Comments section.
This lovely reading spot has space for books built in beneath the window seat, making the most of what would otherwise have been dead space. Have a look around your home to see if there are any places you could incorporate some built-in seating and book storage like this.
Tell us…
How do you store your books at home? Share your ideas in the Comments section.
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cassandrascott24 - reminds me of a joke my father once used to tell about someone who got a book for Christmas and responded "thanks, but I've already got a book" to the person giving it to them. A house without books is like a house without "furniture".
Hi Cassandra, me too, but sometimes, when you are desperate... Certainly better than having them on the floor, I think. I have made bookcases out of CD towers, getting B&Q to cut new shelves for me so that they are wider. One of my pet hates are deep bookcases holding paperbacks as they take up more space than they need and there is loads to dust!
I had SO many books when I moved here, Picasso, that I decided to do a cull... so most of mine now sit in a (large) bookcase. Happy now!