Imagine the following: A friend is picking you up for dinner, but you're not quite ready. You let her in, explain that it will be a few minutes and tell her to make herself at home. She's never seen your place before. While you're off getting ready, what might she look at? If she's like most people, she will take more than a passing glance at your bookshelf.
Among your living room furniture and office furnishings, your media and book shelves are prime areas to get a condensed sense of who you are. Bookshelves and bookcases are display central for your photographs, souvenirs and mementos, not to mention your taste in books, music and movies. Like any piece of furniture, a neglected bookshelf can quickly send the wrong message, and a well-chosen bookshelf makes a world of difference. This bookshelf buying guide is here to help you learn how to buy bookshelves that are right for you, your books, your style and your living area.
Despite the name, bookshelves are about more than just shelving books. Bookcases make versatile solutions as free-standing dry food pantries, open dressers or displays dedicated to your knick-knacks and tchochkes. They quickly convert into china cabinets, media organizers or shoe storage. Whatever the case, the right bookshelf goes miles toward making your home into the castle it should be.
Measure twice, buy once
Bookshelves come in more sizes than most furniture, which makes sense because buyers choose them to fill very specific areas. Before you choose a new bookcase, make sure the overall product dimensions fit your space.
Shelf space
The easiest assurance that your books will fit is to choose a bookcase with adjustable shelving. If the shelving is fixed, you can make sure it meets your requirements by measuring your books. A library comprised of hardcover octavos (from 7 3/4 to 9 3/4 inches tall) has different needs than stacks of trade paperbacks. Be sure to factor in enough head room above books' spines so you aren't bumping the corners.
Other size considerations
If you are wall-mounting your bookshelf, locate your wall's studs. In most houses, they're spaced every 16 inches, but yours could be different. If you don't know how far apart your studs are placed, they can easily be located with a stud finder.
It's not unusual for bookcases to incorporate multiple materials for different features. If you haven't decided on wood, wood products, metal or glass bookshelves, look at their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Wooden bookshelves
Wooden bookshelves are still the gold standard. "Solid wood" is a common term for furniture made from lumber planks. Beware of making assumptions based on labels like "hardwood" and "softwood." "Hardwoods" are derived from deciduous trees and "softwoods" from coniferous trees; the terms don't connote their relative strengths. Balsa is a hardwood even though it is very soft, just as douglas fir is a softwood even though it is very hard. That said, they all make excellent, classic stock material for bookshelves. Generally, harder woods are the heavier and more resistant to scratches. Still, softer woods, if treated correctly, will keep just as well as harder woods. What is the correct treatment? Simply apply a thin layer of paste wax around once a year and, less often, an oil-based cleanser of your choosing. Dust lightly on a regular basis and, of course, avoid harm whenever possible.
Engineered wood products
You might not judge a book by its cover, but for veneered bookshelves, it can be, unfairly, a different matter. It's hard to deny the charm of pure wood furniture construction, but that kind of charm shows up in the price tag. Each man-made wood product has benefits and drawbacks, but all are environmentally-friendly alternatives. Some composites even beat true hardwoods and softwoods in strength and weight, with a fraction of the sticker shock. Common engineered woods include:
Plywood: Made by stacking thin sheets ("plies") of lumber and gluing them under pressure, plywood features grains that alternate direction for strength. Several grades are available, of differing cost. Top and bottom plies can be high-quality woods to create the appearance of fine woods, but edge veneer or molding is needed to complete the illusion.
Particleboard: Wood chips glued together carry a much lower price tag than solid wood, and particleboard is denser and more uniform -- a great choice when cost is the primary consideration. Particleboard is not naturally as attractive as solid wood, but veneered composite boards can look and feel as good as the real thing.
MDF: Wood fibers, tiny chips and sawdust (including salvaged waste from wood processing) collected and glued into sheets form medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Low-cost MDF makes an excellent base for veneers, its strength is consistent and it shapes well. However, it is very heavy (compared to other woods), doesn't handle water well and may split if screws are inserted into the edge.
Metal bookshelves
There's a reason most library bookshelves are made from metal: Metal bookshelves are resistant to moisture and fungus, their low-friction shelves are easier on books' bindings and metal's strength-to-weight ratio can't be beat. Their cost usually comes in below any other material. Most people prefer the appearance of wood, but you will thank yourself for buying lightweight, easily collapsible metal shelves the next time you have to move.
Glass bookshelves
Glass bookshelves weigh more, but if you plan on assembling your bookshelves only once, the style points can be well worth it. Tempered glass shelves (in wood or metal uprights, called "standards") give your home an unbeatable contemporary feel, and glass shelves' smooth, transparent surfaces add brilliant levity to a decorating piece that might otherwise be notably opaque and heavy.
Different bookshelves meet different needs. Chances are that your perfect fit is out there; knowing how various styles are described can be helpful in finding the one you really need:
Ladder and leaning bookshelves offer a way to optimize space while adding to your home or office decor. Their lean-to designs are ideal in apartments or dorm rooms, where a security deposit might discourage tenants from affixing anything to the walls.
Corner bookshelves work for small rooms, apartments and anybody trying to save space. In one swoop, they look great by creating an even flow over the corners in your home decor and redistribute usable space to persnickety areas.
Tower bookshelves divide space in oblique and large rooms with attractive, slender height. They draw sightlines upward in rooms with high ceilings and are excellent contrast pieces in rooms dominated by horizontal lines. Tower bookcases can also frame another significant piece of furniture, like an entertainment center, a lounger, sofa or, within reason, a fireplace.
Wall-mounted bookshelves like wall hutches are excellent for those without a lot of floor space and puzzling over what to do with their walls. The ideal wall hutches will be around eye-level and just as interesting as a well-placed piece of artwork.
Will my bookshelf be sturdy enough for all three sets of my Encyclopedia Britannica?
It's smart to question bookshelf strength before you make a purchase. However, if they're well-constructed, bookshelves made from particleboard or MDF will stand rigorous weight loads. Be aware of the material your bookshelf is made of and be sure to use fasteners intended for the material. While thin-shank, wide-thread screws are ideal, regular wood screws can blow out their thread in particleboard or pull apart the laminate grain in MDF. In addition, if you're moving your furniture any great distance, save yourself and your furniture the stress by disassembling and reassembling.
Should I worry about the phrase, "Some assembly required?"
Furniture assembly scares away a lot of people, especially those who look at their hands and see two left thumbs. Don't despair! When you're ready to build your bookshelf, look both ways, take a deep breath and follow a few simple guidelines:
Read the instructions all the way through before starting. Then, read them again as you assemble yor furniture.
Give yourself enough room to assemble your furniture on the floor. You should have at least two feet of clearance on each side.
Use the right tools. If you don't have the right tools, borrow them.
Prepare your assembly site with a tarp, or better yet, build in the garage so you can easily clean up afterward. Just make sure you can fit your new bookshelves through the doorways between where you assemble them and where you want them to be.
Make sure you have all the necessary pieces and organize them according to the order in which you will need them.
Last, a bookshelf built with friends is guaranteed to be assembled faster and last longer. Well, that's not necessarily true, but it certainly makes difficult work more fun.
How can I be sure my bookshelf will be safe?
Even if your bookshelf is designed to be freestanding, consider securing it with wall anchors. If that's not enough for your weight load, secure it to other pieces with anchors. Keep heavy, oversized books closer to the ground and place lighter material above. Finally, invest in a good footstool to keep all your titles just an arm's length away.
A word about books
If your books (along with all your bookshelves' treasures) constitute something you'd like to keep for generations, think about proper care. First, beware of mildew, moisture and sunlight exposure for your books. Second, if you'd like to take the extra step, consider bookcases with sliding glass or hinged doors. Finally, if you will be placing large volumes on top of your bookcase, bookends are an absolute must. Not only do creative bookends look great in your home, they are fantastic gifts. Overstock.com has plenty of interesting bookends and decorative accessories that will push your decor into high gear.
Finishing touches
When you're deciding how to decorate your bookshelves, start with what you have. Books are a great place to start. Organize them however you wish -- by subject matter, by color, by size or by author. Arrange some books face out and pair them with decorative accent pieces, like an Audubon text with a bird statue or sculpture placed in front of it. Tall, lightweight shelves will strain under heavy loads. Likewise, short, brawny shelf sets will look awkward if covered in dainty decor. As always, trust your own taste, style and judgment when it comes to buying the right piece for your space.
