apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Normally, I would say this is not the way I would go, but the first picture I kind of like. The shelves are low enough to not look too cluttered, and I like the idea of being able to put my books and magazines neatly hidden away. Not so sure I like the shelves that wrap around and come up too high though, they seem a bit too claustrophobic.

I like the wraparound shelving too, but that blank wall is screaming for a big piece of art!

Someone needs to make a low line shelving system like this for cds - something shallow and not too obtrusive. I'd buy it in a second!

I wish I had the floorspace to carry off something like this.

For practicality? Brilliant. For aesthetics? Meh.

Only the first looked nice enough to actually put into place - BUT you would have to have a large living room to be able to place the sofa where you could get to all the shelving.

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LUV IT!

I love this idea! I am very in need of shelving, and my couch looks slightly awkward positioned in the centre of my open concept apartment. I usually paint behind my couch, so its a great place to store paint supplies and extra drop cloths.

I actually wouldn't say you would need it all the way around. I use my couch in a room-divider sense, to separate studio/workspace from living/dining. the back is very accessible as is one side, but the other faces the wall, so I doubt I'd even bother for shelving there. This is the sort of thing that you give to friends or donate when you move to a new place, unless of course you can set it up again.

With a few colorful magazine file boxes and some either wicker or cloth covered boxes, this could also be a masterful way to clean up quick before guests come over, yet still have some order to the "hide the mess" solution, unlike my current closet solution!

I agree that only the first pic actually looks good enough to implement (to my eye) and just looking at these all i can think of is HOW MANY bruises I'd have from walking into it accidentally.

Well, the first one looks the best because it was accessorized well. They repeated the pops of cobalt blue that are used throughout the room. I heartily agree with the poster who mentioned some art work on that large wall.

Still, a fun idea at least in theory.

These look rather heavy and bulky. I think a long, long bookshelf behind the sofa or a sofa or console table would look cleaner and be a more versatile set-up in the long run.

Seems as good as a console table in some rooms... I like the idea as long as the pieces are separate, not "built-in". But my own livingroom is way too tiny for this approach, and my sofa has to be against a wall. It would be great for a big open concept space, though, like a loft maybe...

It's a shame that these all have such sharp edges. It's a nice idea for a family-friendly room, but I'd be worried about those corners with my baby.

i agree. i like the first pic. the rest not so. the first is low enough not to be an eyesore, but big enough for storing whatever.

I actually like the concept, now not all of these I'd care for but #1, 2 and 3 are the best looking.

However, 2 is not as flexible, nor is 3 based on how the shelves are designed and #2 looks like it's part of the couch.

#1 seems the best implimatation of them all for the simple reason they look like small bookcases pushed up on the ends and the back of the sofa and thus can be either given away or simply lined up along a wall in another space due to space constraints.

I could probably pull that off to a degree as my living room is roughly 11.5x22Ft and is part living and part dining with a hall and the egress to my balcony disecting the space almost in half so if I were to do it, I'd put the couch almost up against the wall w/ a narrow but low table between couch and wall and put the bookcases along the back and the side facing the slider and use that as the dividing function in the space and yet leave room to get into the living room area but the issue is, the the overall length may actually prevent me from doing it at all but I DO like the idea though.

It's so interesting to hear all of the feeback - I shot no.1 for a feature about space you didn't know you had, for Ideal Home!! When you come up with ideas for these shoots you try to make them a real and usable as possible but it's great to hear back from real people! I totally agree the wall space is in need of some art work (sadly I had to leave the space for copy) The fab thing about any of these is if you pop casters on the bottom they can be easily shifted about for cleaning, especially if they're in sections. Plus any extra surface to pop a little display is always welcome in my home!
Love the fab posts - keep them coming

Great idea - works well, saves space :)