We got an email from one of our readers, Erin. She writes, "I did these awesome hanging bookshelves for less than a $150 bucks. I LOVE them, and thought someone there might think they're cool too!" Jump below for the story behind the DIY…
When we were at Lowe's, however, we realized that the brackets that could support the amount of weight necessary for a ton of books was quite expensive...not to mention rather ugly.
We were on our way out of the Lowe's, feeling somewhat defeated, but I had one of my medium freak-out moments - "Boyfriend, we have to get something for bookshelves tonight! So we can make them this weekend! So we can put our books up! So we don't have books all over the place when my parents come visit!" Argh!!
That's when he mentioned something about hanging on ropes, and the design just popped in my head. I drew it on a sheet of scrap paper on the car dashboard, and his engineering mind went to work thinking about rope strengths and wood lengths and fancy knots, and all that jazz. Don't we make a great team?
We picked up all of our supplies for just over $100 bucks at Lowe's which included the planks of wood, the galvanized pipe to wrap the ropes at the bottom, some wood varnish, and the hooks for the ceiling. Boyfriend already had some old climbing rope to use for hanging, though we had to go back later for about $30 bucks of manila rope, as well as some darker stain then what we had at the house.
Over at Erin's blog, The Runcible Spoon, she gives all the details on the building process.
Thanks, Erin!
Image: The Runcible Spoon
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I like the idea, a lot! I think the above pictures suffer from bad lighting and no other staging. If we could see the finished product in the context of the rest of the room, it might look more inspired. But I applaud your ingenuity!
I think this is a very innovative idea, and I love that you came up with the idea on your own. In my opinion, the personal touches & the DIYs are the best parts of anyone's home.
While this would never work in my apartment (due to space & style clashes), I can definitely appreciate this.
Have you ever considered arranging your books in a different way? Perhaps by color or setting them flat on top of each other (larger on bottom, smaller on top)? I think if you styled the actual bookshelves a bit more, in the arrangement of the books and the other pieces you place on the shelves, it would bring the look together a bit more.
Just a thought. :) Thanks for sharing!
I can't decide how I feel about this... it's a cool idea but the shelves look a little crooked (maybe it's just the angle of the photo) and I wonder if it might look a bit neater if all the ropes were the same color. I think I'd also be afraid that the ceiling hooks would fall out, but I don't know how much weight they're designed to hold.
great to see someones DIY. Its a great raw idea for others to refine and adapt.
i think i would have chopped the rope off at the bottom shelf tho. im no engineer but i dont imagine they provide any support. Maybe its to keep the ropes taught, but that could also be achieved by anchoring the shelves to the wall (but still letting the ropes bear the majority of the weight). I did somthing similar with tiny L shaped brackets but upsidedown, so the part on the wall was behind the shelf. instead of under it for a more floating look. I think it would look a bit cleaner and more finished that way.
Umm...it looks like the books are about to fall. I like the idea though. A little tweak and this might be a great idea.
Haha I can totally relate to the "oh no they're coming" panic. My poor husband never works harder than on the day before my in-laws are coming to visit. I agree with some of the comments about the bottom of the rope/tie off. I thought this looked cool until I scrolled down and just didn't like the way that looked. Of course, for a quick fix it's great....and I think that adamwa's suggestion with the hidden brackets is genius. I may just use this idea soon. Thanks!
"the i-rack looks unstable"
What if the ropes were attached to the floor? I think that could help make it look cleaner, plus a little sturdier.
they did this on Trading Spaces once. It held a tea pot collection. Before they could 'trade' back it came crashing down. The homeowner then confessed she didn't really like teapots anyway.
I like it! I also like the fact that you could change the spacing later if your book collection (or whatever else you might want to put on the shelves) changes later. Functional, adaptable, creative, unique, and inexpensive - I don't see a down side! :)
I think it's kind of cool! Reminds me a bit of a ship. (I guess that's the ropes talking, yes?) I agree the bottom posts do take away from the overall though. I think perhaps if they added another piece of wood/shelf sitting on top of the posts to cover over where all the rope is tied up it would look a little more polished. :)
I tried to do this once but however much I tried to be precise in tying the knots a the exact length, the shelves were always crooked. :-P
I'm glad someone else was able to pull it off.
It's a promising concept.
The climbing ropes really kind of ruin it for me. That and whatever is going on below the last shelf.
It's an interesting concept though, and I can see what they were going for.
It would look good for a nautical theme.
This looks precarious and terrifying.
great idea! thanks for sharing.
fix what's going on beneath the bottom shelf ... make it appear to be floating and you have one fantastic DIY project!
Ugly.
I love the concept. I don't think it would look as bad if they had a shelf resting on those pegs on the bottom. Or if they had two of those small three shelf bookcases to fit in the middle of the pegs. It would be a more complete look and feel.