Instead of automatically ordering a new shelving unit from everyone’s favourite Swedish flat-pack specialists, why not get creative with your book storage? There is a lot more to bookcases than the simple structure we all know and recognise. And to show you what we mean, here’s a quick look at some brilliantly innovative designs we’ve come across recently. Some are more decorative than they are functional, while some may be a little too outlandish for your average home; but hopefully they will give you an idea of the potential for creativity that’s out there.
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1 Miron Lior
This invisible shelving system was created by the designer Miron Lior. They may look delicate, but these shelves have hidden strength and are capable of accommodating up to 15 pounds of literature. They are surprisingly easy to put up and all you need to get them on your wall is a screwdriver and straight eyes.
2 KKatz
While the heavy-metal look may not work in every home, urban flat owners will love The Corner Industrial Bookshelf by KKatz. Great for adding character and a sense of heritage to an empty shell.
3 Tembolat Gugkaey
This beautiful bookcase appears to have been sliced out of the wall with a scalpel. With it’s surgically-precise clean lines and ability to seamlessly integrate with the room, it’s a gorgeously slick shelving system for a minimalist home. (Designed by Tembolat Gugkaey).
4 Equilibrium
Perfectly balanced and impossibly perched, this bookcase has been designed by Alejandro Gomez and appropriately named Equilibrium. It can take up to 120 pounds of books and thanks to the tilting angles you don’t need to spoil the clean look with bookends.
5 Scott Blackwell
A fun, quirky and colourful design by Scott Blackwell. For those who love to sit down a read a good book with a nice cup of tea.
6 The Dream Bookshelf
With a hat-tip to Roy Lichtenstein and childhood comic magazines, the Dream Bookshelf by Dripta Roy is particularly well suited to bedrooms.
7 Milky Waterfall
An unusual and fun bookshelf that works well with young, modern interiors. (Designed by Maria Yasko and Igor Marisko).
8 Levitate Architects
This solution is brilliant if you’ve got a lot of books but not enough rooms to spare to create a home-library. It was designed by the London-based Levitate Architects and is an attic-like extra room that sits below the roof in top floor apartments.
9 Yule
Introduce an organic element into your living room with this beautiful bookcase. Gently curved and tree-like in its elegance, Yule has been designed by Claudia Bignoli to make the most of space. Unlike traditional bookcases, you can attach Yule to the ceiling anywhere in the room when you run out of wall space.
10 Coffin
A leftfield one to end with; this example may not be everyone’s idea of beautiful, but the designer of this coffin bookcase is clearly an avid reader who embraces their own mortality.
