Corner shelves are great for eliminating dead pockets of space in the corners of walls or counters. In addition to showing off decorative accessories, plants and memorabilia, they keep commonly used items handy, like a go-to cookbook, a telephone or the latest book or magazine.
Corner shelving comes in all sorts of useful sizes. Tall ones maximize the corner by going floor to ceiling. Shorter wall-mounted ones keep the floor bare. Small counter-top ones declutter and maximize counter space. And lastly, corner table shelves make more room for seating.
A particular favorite is Matt Carr's Rolly Shelf from Umbra. The modular units can be arranged in two different configurations: corner (as seen here) or flat (go to Umbra for details). You can even separate the set and use them as two different corner table sets. Just make sure to prop up the set lacking the base unit with an attractive stack of books to keep it level.
(Shown above from left to right)
1. Rolly Shelf, $550.00 from Umbra
2. 5 Tier Corner Wall Shelf, $18.95 from Frenchi
3. 2 Tier Shelf - Bronze, $34.95 from LSI Home
4. Poundex 5 Tier Corner Shelf in Walnut or Black, $149.49 from Sears
5. Hanging Corner Shelves, $49.99 from Improvements
MORE CORNER SHELVES ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• Working with What You Have: Re-purposed Corner Shelf
• Gift Guide: 10 Perfect Presents for Small Space Dwellers
(Images: As credited above.)
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
That first one is so Danish Modern and beautiful!
I like them all with the exception of #2. Seems very dated; something my Mom had a while back but love the idea. And with the exception of #1, they are all affordable.
I prefer the 3rd one.
I have dead space in the corner of my dining; I have been thinking about getting a plant and use a big vase, at least until I can afford a corner buffet!
I agree that #2 looks very dated; the styling certainly doesn't help. I love the 1st one, though!
I have #5, I think it's fun. I got it from Target several years ago, it's held up quite well.
#1 has DIY written all over. Thanks goodness, too, since I couldn't afford it otherwise.
#4 is a great use of those weird corners that sometimes occur in construction.
Last year I spent months searching for wall-mounted corner shelves for my kitchen. Just wanted a couple plain white ones. Harder to find options than you would think, or at least harder than I thought it would be. Finally went with some plain janes from home depot, only to get them home and discover that although it looks normal to the casual observer, my kitchen's walls are not even close to a 90degree square, and thus not even close to being able to mount corner shelves. Bummer.
Yup....#1 is a DIY just waiting to happen.
Number 1 is awesome. Number 2 is so terrible it must be a joke, and the rest look so generic and blah to me. Ugh. Luckily number 1 is really awesome and saves the day.
What's wrong with a clean empty corner?
Great idea but they're all so fug.
@44566: That's two of us that understand. Dead? no. Empty, YES.
I hate corner shelves. Viva empty space!
I've been looking for furniture to allow storage in a dining room corner since that small room has none. Some of these are much more my style than the country corner cabinets I see in local stores. I bookmarked this post, thanks.
Yeah, depends on how much you need that space I guess. But corner shelving can be tricky. more often than not it looks like you stole Grandma's decorating skills. #4 is Modern. # 5 looks like it was modern 10 years ago, ha. But I think if it works with the room, then great, if not, get rid of it!!
#2 is HILARIOUS! You could paint it, though, and do it up with wacky vintage kitsch that has been collected so that it has that "found" vibe - more '70s than anything else. I mean, it's either New Jersey 1978 or Indiana 1987 (I've lived in both and have family in both - so I know.) But next to a floral couch with plastic on it? Pricesless...