Room for at least 12 books. This started a few weeks ago. Someone noticed that tower bookcases were a new thing, and not necessarily practical. However, depending on your taste, they can be stylish.
We have since seen a whole range of knockoffs and takes on this idea and thought we would put them out there. We have to say, we sorta like the new Pottery Barn Drew Modular... (Thanks, Nallegram & Patrick!) MGR
Dwell Magazine gave the Sapien two thumbs down in the Oct./Nov. issue but I still stand by it.
I question their practicality if you have a lot a books & magazines, a growing problem in my apartment. Still they have a sculptural quality that could be appealing. I've read and seen on cable several decorators currently suggesting stacking books & using as tables etc. I like do like the Drew Modular which might work well for my sheet music. Anyone else have suggestions on attractive, accessible storage for sheet music besides a file cabinet?
These bookcases are quite a bargain as you get two things in one--They are both impractical (you have to adjust the higher books to reach the lower) and unsightly.
I think this concept works for over-scaled books where the spine height precludes them from being shelved conventionally. I think also the assumption is that even the most avid reader is bound to have a smaller perecentage of these overscaled editions in their overall collections, so capacity is not that huge an issue.
And I do like the new Drew Modular quite a bit.
I believe the best commentary on vertical shelving comes from Bill Murray in Ghostbusters -
"You're right. No normal human being would stack books this way."
Rob:
THAT is hysterical.
Egads. Stacking your books that way is so bad for book spines! If you care about your books, don't go for it. Especially because books are made cheaper and cheaper these days and have even less of a chance to stand the test of time...
What's so bad about vertical bookshelves? The fact that you don't have to tilt your head at a weird angle to read the titles? The fact that you don't have to worry about them falling over on each other if you haven't filled the whole shelf? The fact that they might make efficient use of odd spaces in a tight apartment? The fact that they add a little style?
Seems to me that these are pretty practical, even if some nervous nellies seem to think it's "bad for the spines."
Jim,
eBay item 4325267365 is a 21-drawer mahogany flat file cabinet that might be a nice way to store your sheet music. The auction has ended and the reserve wasn't met, but the seller is apparently in Brooklyn so the piece may still be available.
My question is, Where does Conran get off charging over a grand for their vertical bookshelf?
you guy relax the vertical bookshelf is neither refrence library holder nor for books you want move or remove often. It's not bad for your back or bad for the books to sit that way. it is designed to pleasing to the eye and a place to display your favorite books. Books from your child hood or first editions or art books. books that you want to save and display.
Jim
Re: sheet music storage - earlier this summer I bought an oak victorian sheet music cabinet in Ohio. It has 5 or six shelves inside of a door, the shelves are about 1/4 inch thick & 2 or 3 inches apart. On the door a scene of several instuments has been painted on the door, there is also a drawer above the door. The whole thing is about 3 feet tall. No, I'm not selling it, just letting you know such storage exists. The antique store did have a different sheet music cabinet when I was there . . .
Good luck, Janice
Jim,
re your sheet music storage problem. If they don't need special protection why not tuck them into the cellophane pages in display folders? Then just label them and put them on your shelves. Or punch holes in the margins and put them in a normal school folder, also suitably labelled. if you do need protective storage, pop into art shops which sell different-sized folios, often with plastic covers inside. These should give you some great choices and again you can store on a big shelf or in a cupboard.
I must say that, fond of storage variety though i am, i cannot understand the fetishism of massive structures and special racks for music, CDs and records etc. What's wrong with the humble and straightforward shelf?
Hold Everything has entered the fray, with an all-metal model ("metal bookcase") on page 17 of their October off- and on-line catalog.
Matte black powder-coat finish, 14 x 16 x 68 1/2" h. Item #66-6187942 $140, catalog, online and select stores (but to order online you have to call...)
The holdeverything bookcase is crap. I just received mine and it is a highly wobbly accident waiting to happen, poor quality (one shelf won't even fit into its slot because the groove is irregular and malformed) and so horribly packaged that it will be nearly impossible to return without having a nervous breakdown. It is a poor knock off of all of the above, and though I like the powder-coated element, the whole point of the Sapien is for the books to make the shelf disappear, right? in this case the shelf is bulky and will never disappear. It just might fall on you during an earthquake and damage both you and your book collection. Although a fabric brace is provided, it is unattractive and poorly conceived of as well.
Thanks to Jill for her review of the Holdeverything version. I avoided it. Kasala.com seems to be selling a version of this for around $160. Anyone know the quality of that version?
Just got the sapien home. It is great for those of us too lazy to reshelf bookcase.
Jim --
I have an electric piano, and in lieu of a stand it sits on four silver milk crates (the body of it is silver) that make it a comfortable height to play when sitting on a stool. In those open milk crates, I have snap&fold magazine boxes that file away all my sheet music.
For a picture, check my website:
http://texannewyorker.wordpress.com/2007/11/14/sheet-music-storage/
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