Lawyer's Bookcases, Five Ways

Barrister's bookcases are a common thrift store find, and they're surprisingly flexible pieces. Once used to store legal volumes, their stacked, glass-front design works really well for storage in a kitchen, bathroom, or home office.

At the Chicago Model Smart Home, a steel bookcase has an industrial chic aesthetic that adds a little bit of an edge to an earthy home office.

An article from Sunset Magazine shows how easily the small footprint of a lawyer's bookcase fits in the kitchen.

We love the way lawyer's bookcases are used to create an old-school library vibe in Scott's Washington, DC home.

Design blog This is Glamorous points out that lawyer's bookcases are perfect for organized, visible shoe storage.

Colin and Terisa used a pair of lawyer's bookcases to define an entryway area in their large, open living room.

Photos: Janel Laban, Thomas J. Story for Sunset, Rachael Grad, Winfried Heinze for Apartment Living by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, Sarah Coffey

Comments (15)

I've seen them used for storing a fabric stash in a sewing room. It's a nice way to display items while protecting them from getting dusty.

i agree, they are great looking pieces & i really like them in the kitchen & bedroom!

I've been wanting one so badly but they're like $800-1,000 on CL!

Great ideas BTW

i too have been waiting for ages to find a metal one but it seems it won't happen in a price range that i can afford.

Love these lawyers cabinets...and still kicking myself for leaving behind my gigantic metal flat files that I bought for $80 on CL when I moved cross country.

Lizzykewl, did you see the Prudent Baby post on using a wine rack for yarn storage? http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/02/wine-rack-as-yarn-storage.html

These all look fantastic! I was thinking I would also like this to store fabric, but the shoes look great too.

Found barristers (with metal grates instead of glass) a few years ago for $100 each at a local thrift store and they're one of my favorite pieces of furniture. I use them for storing art supplies, as an a/v cabinet, and as a side table.

Thank you for telling me the name of that piece of furniture which I covet most!

I love barrister bookcases, but yes, metal ones are crazy expensive.

I've never seen one for under $1000, wood or metal. My mom has been wanting one for years so I'm always on the look out.

Oh, I love barrister cabinets too! My family had a set they left behind when we moved to the States.

They're definitely not a common thrift store find in my area. I do see them at antique stores and on CL but always at a premium that is way out of my range!

I want to know just exactly where are they a "common thrift store find" and are they sold at actual thrift store prices??

For anyone in Chicago, I have seen some at Brownstone antiques in Andersonville recently and if you know Brownstone - you know they are not expensive. Maybe $200 - 300 for an entire set. The ones in pic #1 came from Room Service - up the street. I was interested in them until I saw the price tag. What a shame that they are now in a non-functional home installation in a museum!

I don't know about you guys, but they are not common thrift store finds in my neck of the woods. Any online resources for these?

In all actuality, these bookcases, while not always easily found in a "thrift shop", and I use that term loosely, they can be happened upon while rummaging through an old abandoned office building on a 95 degree day in a small town on the bayou. As you lift each rusted section from is cob-webbed grave, mosquitos buzz in your ears and rolley polleys squirm under your feet. Somehow you have to get it into your pickup truck and drive it back to your humble abode, where you'll need to spend countless hours in your own HOT garage with paint stripper specifically formulated to remove death off a door(and baked on enamel)special gear, face mask and scrapers, steel wool, rags and the patience of a monk in Tibet, you begin the PAINFUL hourly process of cleaning every minute detail of your found object. Being sure to not scar the glass, you scour this piece until all the paint, rust, grime and dirt are removed. Now, keeping in mind, that this is now raw steel, you must work expediently, as any TRACE of humidity, sweat or steam, will begin the oxidation process on your lovely bookcase. You'll begin to work your tushie off as you muscle through the hours long sanding process, which is just as disgusting as the first step. Next, a couple hours of more buffing with steel wool, you can begin to see the fruits of your labor. Your arms are now KILLING you, but you know it will be worth it in the end. More steel wool, and sanding...c'mon, keep going!! Your wife and kids are screaming at this point because they're hungry and you're in the final hurdle!! Now a thorough cleaning with soft rags and a special paint stripper remover, your getting closer.......it begins to rain outside... HURRY!! Now you begin yet another step which will seal in all your hours of love and patience, the finish...delicately sprayed layers of shinola.

This my friend, is why stripped metal furniture is so pricey. This homage to the process, is a 'tip o the hat, to all the people in the world who do this for a living. After having accomplished a few pieces myself, they deserve a pat on the back. Cheers!