(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.)
Hello AT,
Any good ideas for cheap and slim bookshelves? I am a young college professor with more books than space or $ to spend. I have the "perfect" space for my library--a looong hallway that runs for much of the length of my apartment--and need to find a shelving solution to fit. The shelves should be about 11in. deep at most and not too high (say, desk-height), otherwise the hallway will get too cluttered. My neighbors, who live in a twin-apartment, have lined the hallway with "Billy" bookshelves from Ikea, which fit perfectly... but (1) Ikea doesn't seem to be making the short model any longer, and the shortest they make is too long, (2) I hate the thought of having to assemble all those Billy's (I would need about five), and (3) I am coming close to Ikea overload in my place already.
I went to Home Depot and found planks of laminated MDF (or whatever the stuff that Billy is made of is called), white, 11in. deep, of good length... but I'm not sure what to use to space the shelves vertically (and cement blocks is just too reminiscent of grad-student days!).
Any ideas?
daniela
Dear Daniela, we are a bit overly in love with Elfa shelving, but find that this really is a flexible, affordable, easy to install and attractive solution for this kind of thing. The Container Store sells it and the planks come in multiple lengths and widths, starting at 5" wide. The only problem is that it is so popular that the Container Store is often out of stock, so you want to give them a call and order early. Also, it's on sale right now. MGR
i've seen these made on Home To Go. They took inexpensive low bookcases from an office supply store like Office Depot, painted them white and set them side by side along a wall. They then screwed the sides together to make one unit and screwed on a long piece of wood over the top to fake a seamless bookcase. They trimmed the sides where each bookcase met with thin strips of wood and added molding along the bottom edges. quite handsome and looked built-in.
Not sure if this is inexpensive but cubitek at Design Within Reach could be used in a 3x 2 configuration. The shelves are 10" deep. They are $198 (transparent or orange) or $159 (black is on sale).
Depending on how your space is styled, you could support the shelves vertically with pre-cut galvanized pipes and flanges (any hardware store has these). The flanges screw into the shelves, and the pipes into them. Find a few books you could part with, take the contents out & insert the binding/covers over the pipe. The vertical supports then disappear. Just a thought.
Daniela: All of the shelving at The Container Store is currently on sale, not just the Elfa line. If you want to avoid assembling and/or installation all together, something like the Java Stackable Folding Bookcases might work well for you.
I too struggle with too many books. I just had 3 twelve-foot by 9" shelves installed along one wall using the Shelf Shop's (look elsewhere on this site) sleek standards and brackets in white and basic custom shelves made by a carpenter(plywood painted white). They look good, got the piles of books off the floor, and didn't cost too much (roughly $500 for everything with installation, I think). I had them installed from the ceiling down so I need a step ladder to reach the high shelf but that's where I put the less-used books. I still have other bookshelves throughout the apartment but these really cleared out the living space.
A friendly handyman made an 8' x 8' hall wall o bookshelf for me for $400 out of basic cheap home despot wood...ask around for a built in!
Bookshelves are one of the easiest things to build, so you don't need a master carpenter or anything.
Bed Bath and Beyond is selling folding birch and dark stained folding shelves for $30. They are very similar to the Container Store Java Stackables, but are far less expensive, albeit lower quality. However, they are cheap and look quite nice in a long row.
IKEA's Ivar line comes in short sizes; very sturdy, easily configured to any set-up you desire. Pretty inexpensive to boot.
There is probably a squillion other places that have this stuff, but I bought it at AJO Lumber, which is an Ace Hardware place, and it's on the corner of 100th Street and Amsterdam. They're kind of like the old adjustable shelving with standards and brackets, in that you screw them to your wall, but instead of having a single line of vertical slots, it has a double line of vertical slots, and they come in white, black and maybe steel these days.
The advantage to them is that since they hug the wall, you don't have that dead space where the bottom of the bookshelf hits the baseboard, so for the parts of the shelf that stretch between the standards and brackets, the books can go smack up against the wall. The brackets are more substantial than those old kind, because they're kind of shaped like a taco, in a way, and if you buy regular pine lumber and attach some quarter-round molding to the front edge of the shelves before painting or staining them, you end up with something that doesn't look so much like a dorm room.
The big thing is that these things are very substantial, and although they're not TOO dirt-cheap, the can look really nice. I put them up in a friend's apartment in a Brooklyn brownstone. I don't really feel free to post his apartment on the web, but if you want pictures, e-mail me, and I'll send you a couple.
curtis - the shelving you describe sounds very similar to the elfa system. how is it different? (i'm assuming it's NOT elfa, since you were the one who installed it & therefore would've recognized the name in the discussion.)
try Bo concepts. they have modular systems. they're right around the corner from the container store in chelsea. the prices aren't bad either.
What about the Palmer folding bookcases at Hold Everything? It's 1/2 inch over your specification of 11 inches, but they look nice lined up in a row and stacked with books, and they are fairly cheap.
I say if the Billys work (and you can still find the sizes that work for you), then go for it. Forget the fear of IKEA overload, especially when talking about something so basic (in a good way) as these functional "background" pieces. I also think a modular approach (versus huge expanses of mdf) will allow this solution to move with you into your next place.
Perhaps, once you get the bookcase scenario straightened out, you can update some of the other pieces more identifiably Ikea.
And hey, if you live in the city, I love putting bookcases together! :)
As an academic with a long hallway and tons of books, like you, I can only say that I opted for Billy, and it works great. They are not at ALL hard to assemble, the shelves absolutely do not sag under the weight of huge, heavy hardcovers, and the price can't be beat. If you have a row of them, and they fit over the baseboards (i.e., flush against the wall) they actually look *almost* built in - especially if you have white bookcases with white walls.
Personally, I think putting up the shelves with wall brackets - either finding studs in which to screw the tracks, or drilling numerous holes for drywall screws/anchors (to say nothing of making them level) - is far more onerous than putting together four pieces with an allen wrench.
I came across a wonderful DIY bookshelf in an old book (probably long out of print) called "Nomadic Furniture" by Victor Papanek. Here's what you do:
Go to a wood yard/DIY/hardware store and get a 4' x 8'sheet of plywood or MDF - I used 3/4" MDF. Get the shop to cut it for you thusly (sorry, I don't have a drawing):
Take two 9" wide strips off the long side (9" x 8').
From the remainder, cut two 3" strips off the short side (3" x 30") - these will be the top and bottom braces for your shelves.
Cut the remaining piece - which should be 30" x 8'- into 9" x 30" slices. These are your shelves.
Nail or (more nomadic) screw the whole shebang together with the long pieces at the sides, one of the 3" strips at top and bottom centre with a shelf immediately next to each for strength, and the other shelves spaced as you please. I've built two of these in less than a day and they've been holding my books up for years. Of course, if 8 feet is too tall, you can make the side pieces shorter and use the extra wood for something else.
Refinements:
1. Paint 'em.
2. Polish 'em.
3. Brace the back with hardboard, thin ply or metal bars.
Incidentally, Nomadic Furniture has loads of ideas for furniture you can knock up from standard sheets of ply and other stuff for nomadic or small dwellings. If you can find a copy, buy it!
HTH...
THANKS so much everyone for your suggestions!
I just saw a friend's solution to this problem and wanted to pass on the information, in case anyone is interested. He has an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling aluminium shelving from Rakks, which is slim and beautifully airy--considerably more expensive than IKEA and the like (about $1000 for 56 linear feet of shelf), but *gorgeous*. You buy them online and they are cut to size. I still haven't figured out if I can afford them myself... but they are truly a thing of beauty when they take over a whole wall (and I guess that way you save on art?).
Sorry, that's
http://rakks.com/
Daniela, Rakks shelving is available in the city at Shelf Shop on 1st Avenue (Upper East Side). They also custom-make cabinets, desks, and just about anything else you want to attach to the Rakks shelves (which are NOT available on the Rakks website. They are great!
Diane, I bought a terrific system from a company called ISS. The web site is http://issdesigns.com
It is worth checking out.
The folding shelves available at Bed, Bath & Beyond, and many other places, are usually made of rubberwood, so while they are inexpensive, they are usually made from Indonesian or other rainforest woods and seriously deplete the environment. The Indonesian rainforests have about 4yrs. left before they are completely gone, so those with a conscience might opt for another solution (shelves made of American pine, oak, maple etc., not sold by those who actively support deforestation...)