AT Community, I need help picking a floating shelf that will hold books without sagging. I plan on using them mostly for paperback novels....I'll stack heavier coffee table books elsewhere. I'm leaning toward black (LACK from Ikea) but I am open to other styles/colors since my wall color is a very light grey so accent colors are flexible. Your experiences and suggestions are much appreciated!

What is the best way to install floating shelves that don't sag?

My impression that a floating shelf was considered 'floating' because there were no hardware/mounts/brackets visible.....all methods of fastening were concealed.

@SherriEakin I've used the LACK floating shelves to hold some books and dvd's, and didn't have issues with them sagging. However, DEFINITELY use a stud finder!! They'll hold with dry wall anchors as long as you don't put much weight on them but there's a fine line. In proper sit-com fashion, I had a whole stack of DVD's pour one by one onto my head when the drywall anchors gave out under the weight. My bad. :)

If you can see any hardware -- like end brackets in the #4 position photos -- it's really not a "floating" shelf, which has no visible means of support.

But I have a variety in a few places in the house to take advantage of wall space instead of having yet another bookcase.

A pair of glass shelves with the metal "clip" ends, like the Container Store version above (but less expensive from Lowe's), in the "office" space; 2 staggered aluminum rail shelves from Exposures in the kitchen, to hang art against, over a little sideboard; and 2 staggered Davis ledges (which are actually quite deep) from Crate & Barrel over the dining room sideboard to lean framed art against. If I had to buy again, I'd buy the Exposures ones, even tho it does have back brackets that you have to arrange your art a bit to conceal.

Word of warning: Between Lack shelves and the latest Davis ledges I've installed over the years, I've never found one that didn't require 4 hands to install.

(I've gotten rid of all my Lack shelves -- I could never install them without a slight tilt down, and I had to boost them with some shims. I had them in black, which is great if you don't mind dusting them frequently. Black is a dust magnet.)

To Sherri: The Lacks may be too deep for paperbacks--unless you want 2 rows of books. A floating shelf that's only as deep as a row of books would give you a cleaner, less bulky look.

@lynell I'm not laughing at you - but that story was hilarious! Thanks for the advice. I'm also considering this wall shelf from cb2....because it's shiny and red and that makes me super happy....Decisions, decisions... :)

Thanks @pammyfay! Some days I feel like I need a personal shopper. ;-)

I have the Ikea ones and love them!

I would love to have a few of this shelfs but I rather built them myself. Does any one here have like a link with instructions that you prefer to use for this type of diy?

I use the Ribba floating shelfs for my art frames from WestElm - I've ordered then in a fashion of different sizes with some overlapping to give a real visual pop. I highly recommend the Ribba. Easy to install too.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40126069

Shelves are great and I wish I could hang them in my apartment but unfortunately my walls are sheet rock. Who does that?! I hate it.

Oh how I love floating shelves - we're considering putting some up in our kitchen to store jars and things and I'd love some for books in the living room and I have one as a bed side table...

@Sherri - I've wanted to get Lack shelves for books but I've read that they're not really able for it - even when installed into solid walls. For paperbacks you could try the Marginal wall shelf from Ikea's kitchen section - it can take a lot of weight and it's about the right depth for books.

Or you can build them yourself for $10! http://ana-white.com/2010/10/ten-dollar-ledges.html

I made my own picture ledges for a whopping $3 each. Was very simple and looks great. The brackets are hidden behind the items displayed so the look completely hidden.

A clarification: I think the Lacks are perfectly fine for the weight of paperbacks, as long as you attach the metal bracket into studs (or have a great handyman who is a magician with anchors).

The short Lacks I had in my old apartment had cut-glass Mikasa etc. frames on them, probably 6 or so on each, and the weight of those was certainly heavier than a line of paperbacks would be.

Thank you for the link. I will try to start this project as soon as possible

@alyssasteffes
Uh... aren't most interior walls sheetrock? o.O

Right! she proabaly means plaster. But, sheet rock or plaster, you still need to find studs. And plaster is not sacred. you can put holes in it, remover the things later, and patch the holes. I lived in an old Spanish style house once with stuccoed poured concrete walls. That, my friends, was another story.

And don't forget the IKEA Ribba picture ledge... $15... http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/ribba-picture-ledge__0123085_PE271546_S4.JPG

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/ribba-picture-ledge__0123085_PE271546_S4.JPG

@quiltmaster
From someone who has never put anything up on the walls (except for a bikerack that the next tenant wanted to make use of) and who therefore has always gotten her deposit back in full, it doesn't really seem like there is really a difference between plaster and sheetrock when it comes to making a few holes in them and having to patch up afterward... am I wrong about this?

Chiasso tends to carry some of these types of shelves (whether properly floating or not) too, and is not expensive (similar to cb2, anyway).

anawhite.com also has instructions for floating shelves (not ledges) that are extremely sturdy and VERY unlikely to sag.