In this article, I give you a few tips on how to make a home library. Are you an avid book lover? If so, then you must have encountered a problem called a lack of space by now. Books are collected over the years, passed down from generation to generation, and soon become an indispensable part of your home that actually takes up a lot of space, no matter how much it may not seem.
The lucky ones with more space and large houses and apartments often have complete rooms for their libraries. These are usually rooms arranged so that they are comfortable and pleasant to spend moments with a good book.
However, many do not have this privilege, so they have to find a corner within their apartments that will satisfy their basic needs. For this purpose, various corners and free walls are used, and the option is many. From placing bookshelves, dedicated shelves and chests of drawers, to “do it yourself” projects.
The home library should not be the most tidy, spacious and important. It is important that it depicts you and your personality, both in appearance and content, and that it serves a purpose. That is why below we bring you suggestions and tips on how to make your library just like that, no matter how much space you have.
How to make a bookshelf?
The basic and most important element in the process of creating your own home library are shelves. So the first question we ask is how to make bookshelves.
There are, of course, several variations on a given theme, so we distinguish built-in shelves where the usability of space is at an excellent level. They extend from floor to ceiling and save the rest of the space in the apartment or house, but also ordinary shelves that you can attach to the wall either where.
Bookshelves: do it yourself
Bookshelves can be varied and made of different materials and aids. This means that you do not need a carpenter in every situation, nor do you have to follow the rules. The shelf should be the way you and your environment are.
Below are 10 suggestions for do-it-yourself projects, in which you will not need a lot of resources or a lot of materials, and you will get a functional space for composing your favorite titles, which can now adorn your home.
Ladder shelves
Believe it or not, ladders can be used in a variety of ways, including for shelves in your home. All you need are two pairs of smaller ladders, which you need to place next to each other – normally or upside down, as you wish.
Attach them to the wall with dowels and arrange planks or plywood along the steps. Don’t forget , it doesn’t matter what the stairs look like. Age and destruction can give a special flavor, and you can always paint them in white or some other strong color to come to the fore. This way you will get a lot of space to line up your favorite books.
Vintage shelves
Another option will appeal to fans of vintage things. You will make this shelf by cutting in half two tables in vintage style and attaching the halves to the wall. From the equipment, you need either an electric saw or a circular saw, and when you have done the part of the work related to cutting, sand the edges and level them so that everything fits nicely on the wall. If you want to give it freshness, repaint the table with the desired color. Place the four parts of the table on top of each other, nail them and place them on the wall.
Wooden stand
The shelves are planks, and the support and pedestal are pieces of wood stacked on top of each other to look like pillars. Fasten the boards to the wall with dowels, and you can use any type of wood for this purpose. The most important thing is that the shelves are aligned and evenly spaced. If you take different types of wood, you will get a more colorful and playful shelf that will look like a real decoration, except that it will serve a purpose.
Small hanging shelf
If you have very little space, the ideal option is to make a mini hanging shelf. In addition to being small and practical, it will look very elegant on your wall and in your room. Make the shelf itself from white wood and then attach it to the brass screws. Attach the straps to the wall, and hang whatever you want on the shelf.
Book shelf or invisible shelf
It is very easy to make an invisible shelf that looks very effective and powerful on the wall. Attach a bent metal base to the wall at right angles to the wall. A thin metal shelf will be hidden if you place it above the bottom cover of the first placed book.
Pallet shelves
Pallets have become indispensable in modern design and interior design, and can be used for various purposes, including shelves. Paint and process them if you want, connect them to each other and attach to the wall. That is all. Shelves are ready, and they can give a particularly interesting touch to your room, depending on the color you give them or the finishing you do or don’t do.
Wine boxes
Wine boxes can also be used for storing books and creating a library that will look retro and interesting. You can sand and paint the boxes with the desired color, just like palettes. Arrange them a few on top of each other, attach them to each other, and you can also to the wall.
Shelf for sports fans
Sports fans, especially skate fans, will adore this shelf. Take two old skypes, take off their wheels and connect them with metal holders. So attach to the wall and decorate as desired.
Popular baroque
The bookshelf in the popular baroque style is also very easy to make. Use a picture frame as a shelf frame. That way, the effect it leaves in space will be powerful. It is necessary to make an additional support for books in the form of a stand. Frames can be varied, painted in different colors, and in any case the splendor will be noticeable.
Shelf of unusual construction
This shelf is a bit more complicated to make, that is, it requires a little more work. You will need to weld or nail it. In addition, you will need to place the boards at an appropriate distance and fasten them. In a minimalist space, it will look extraordinary, especially in apartments and houses that are arranged in an instructor style that is very popular today.
Bookcases: dimensions and positioning
Each library is a story for itself and a story about its owner. Both in terms of content and details, tidiness, manner of arrangement and general appearance. If you have space in your apartment, you can very easily separate one corner that you will adjust to your reading needs. If, however, this is not your primacy, then making a shelf on some remote and insignificant part of the wall is the best possible option.
There are also practical options such as placing the library under the stairs or under the slope of the roof if you live in the attic. Even the space under the window is usable for these purposes if you don’t need it for something else.
The impression that the library will leave on you depends on the details that you will put next to them, as well as on the arrangement on the shelves. Arranging books vertically looks much more serious than horizontal. And it is possible to make a combination of both variants to break the formality and create a sense of playfulness.
In some homes, libraries look like part of the interior. As if they were made as an ornament, and most often they are not given much importance. Those created by great book lovers, on the other hand, are often created spontaneously, by accumulating favorite works, and with a little creativity and editing they can become like from a magazine. Such libraries become a significant part of the home.
If you have a home with a high ceiling, use the space above the door. Shelves can be placed there on which you will order your books, and everything will look very neat and effective. To do all this, you will need ladders, shelves, screws, dowels or a master who has it all and who will install it according to your wishes.
The library does not have to be spread over the entire wall, it can be only a small part of the wall. In addition, there is an option of built-in shelves with which you can separate the two parts of the room, and get an aesthetically beautiful and functional solution.
Some other options are under the stairs, under the slopes, in rooms, hallways and other hidden corners. Deeper shelves are a great option because they can hold two rows of books, so if you have little space and a lot of books – here are the solutions. Just keep in mind that it is desirable to have a good light source in the location where you stack your books.
There is no specific, accurate and the only dimension of the shelves on which you will arrange the books. Look for materials and choose the size according to the space available to you.
The library in the apartment gives a touch of elegance
Regardless of size and position, the home library gives a touch of glamor to any apartment. It makes the space more elegant, intimate and much more interesting. There are even wallpapers with a library motif that some people put in their houses to get that feeling in the space.
Unusual combinations of books in various colors and with interesting details are often made in modern homes. It makes the home both dynamic and inspiring. It is possible to arrange the books by color, which gives an incredible final effect, and it is not difficult to do at all.
Unusual bookshelves
For the best possible inspiration when you are building your library, but also a daily dose of creative and unusual design, below we bring you some unusual shelves for books that we found. Some are quite simple to make, and some are breathtaking, like this one made from a piano. Our favorite is just that.
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piano bookshelves
interesting bookshelf
interesting-shelves-for-books
armchair-for-books
an unusual bookshelf
punctuation of bookshelves
bookshelves america
cloud bookshelves
bookshelves inscription
inverted bookshelves
cube bookshelves
Tips for making a home library
Put bookshelves on the whole wall, no matter how many books you have. Of course, provided that you can set aside so much space in your home. The reason for that is the possibility to display everything other than books on the shelves. There can be paintings, decorative elements, etc., etc.
A common problem with books is the dust that accumulates, so if you want to protect them, make a glass door on the library, and you can also take wood or some other opaque material if you do not strive to make them visible and accessible.
Stacking books is also important. Think about how you will arrange them so that you know exactly which one is where. The ones you will read soon should always be at your fingertips.
Use the unusable corners of the room on the libraries. These are most often spaces under the pillar, walls under the slope and the like. The possibilities are numerous, and look for inspiration online.
If you have enough space, the ideal option is to have a comfortable armchair and good lighting next to the library, so that this corner is synonymous with rest and comfort.
The home library should contain these titles!
And finally, we bring you a list of books that are considered the most important. These are the books that everyone says you should read at least once in your life.
books bookshelves
Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
1984, George Orwell
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
Animal Farm, George Orwell
Kill the mockingbird, Harper Lee
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
Stranger, Albert Camus
Karamazov brothers, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
East of paradise, John Steinbeck
One hundred years of solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery
For whom the bells are ringing, Ernest Hemingway
Moby dick, Herman Mellville
Ulysses, James Joyce
The process, Franz Kafka
The Magic Hill, Thomas Mann