apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

that's pretty specific. sounds like a DIY situation to me.

also, have you tried looking at cases that are meant to be tall and skinny that might work well turned on their sides? sometimes it won't work because the undersides of shelves aren't finished, but it might be worth a shot, especially with higher-quality furniture.

I know you said DWR is out of reach, but I use the Cubitec system as my bookshelf/display case. It would be 18" high, leaving room for your plants. I found mine on Craigslist for a steal. It has clean lines, but may be too modern for your mid-century style.

What about these West Elm 4 x 1 units? Short, a few colors, and best of all - on wheels:
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODp008&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1FRNSTO&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1FRNSTO

I've seen the Expedit (IKEA) turned on its side - it's 17 3/8 inches if you place it lengthways, so you'd have a bit of room left...?

honestly for a backgound peice like this, ikea... or those west elm rollers is the way to go.

Yard sales, vintage stores, flea markets, Salvation Army/Good Will, end-of-season closeouts, going-out-of-business sales. Also, I Googled "unfinished furniture San Francisco" and got a bunch of hits -- http://www.99sanchez.com/
http://www.stumasa.com/
http://www.hootjudkins.com

for a start.

Good hunting.

In my living room, I have concrete blocks forming a base with wood planks going across them to create a long, low bookcase. Works great. Doesn't have to be concrete blocks. Anything else that can create the base. You can stain the wood planks or paint them, whatever. There are many shapes for concrete blocks, some of which look kind of decorative. See examples
http://www.us-concrete.com/products/masonry.asp

Just go to home depot, buy some wood, and build the base of this chair.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/seating-misc/cushy-lounge-chair-and-base-by-pb-teen-washington-dc-059787
It's not difficult, I've done some similar things. All you need is patience.

I have the perfect solution for anyone in the Bay Area-- Fenton MacLaren on San Pablo in Berkeley (2 locations). They make excellent-quality custom bookcases in solid pine, at a great price. I have used them a number of times to fabricate bookcases, which I have then attached to the wall & trimmed out with molding for a built-in look-- very easy and much less expensive than hiring a carpenter to build them from scratch. If you want to get fancy, you could even do a window seat on top of the bookcases-- foam cushions covered with fabric. They work fast, too--usually just a couple of weeks.

yaknow, this is a job for ikea. i wouldn't worry too much about going the ikea route for this item, just don't do it for the bigger purchases. they've got a few things that would work perfectly:

expedit:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20116274

lack:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40105340
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00045560

or even two benches and make a long window seat?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90113314

What about this one from Overstock.com?
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Montego-Maple-Wall-Hutch/2209162/product.html
It says it's a wall hutch, but I bet sitting on the floor below the windows would work. 13' tall. Plus it's got a partially open back.

I second the Fenton MacLaren. Their unfinished bookcases are really cheap. And they're made of real wood (take that Ikea!).

There's another Fenton MacLaen on College Ave, next to the Bart station.

I had that problem too, I bought the "top" of a danish teak hutch (with glass doors), and it was the perfect height. I found mine on Craigslist as a set but bargained with the seller...

Actually, what you want is anything from the Leksvik series from Ikea. They have a shoe cabinet/bench and a TV stand/bench. I can only find the TV cabinet/bench online, but you can just open up the section that you want to allow access to the heating vent. It's also wood and completely paintable.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70115187

i'm back for more ;)

what about cb2?

a few of these... http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=118&f=4714&viewall=1

or these... http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=118&f=4224&viewall=1

how perfect is this?

http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=118&f=4677&viewall=1

Why not call a handyman and have him make something out of MDF?

I have essentially the same issue -- need low, long bookshelves. Does anyone know if the Expedit *has* to be wall-mounted? It says it requires it on the Ikea site. But turning it horizontally seems like a sturdy solution?

Use shoe cubbies.

I have similar windows, and I opted for a slightly "higher-end ikea" solution with EFFEKTIV units in black-brown, and nice silver/frosted glass doors. I can easily move them for cleaning, and they keep my windows unobstructed.

The exact combination isn't easily linkable from IKEA, but it is similar to this in black brown and with these doors.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone. I have this exact question, myself, and your answers are excellent!

stumasa! (someone else also mentioned it above) in cole valley. Great little store with all sorts of options for bookshelves. And if I recall correctly, some at 24" tall, and very inexpensive, especially if you want to finish it yourself. Good luck!

i'd suggest a sideboard.

expidit on some casters, that would give you some circulation for the vents... I am thinking of doing the same at my place.

how about installing floating shelves exactly where you want them?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60103750

in the current issue of domino (at least i think it's domino), there's an example of this. the homeowner put a long white floating shelf along the floor and mounted a second long shelf about a foot above it. it looks great. i just looked on the domino site but couldn't find a pic.

What about the Bonde sideboard from IKEA?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/48036310

It's one of the sturdier IKEA pieces, although at 29" it may be too high for that space (although I suppose you could remove / swap out the legs). I've had one for years and it's survived 4 moves so far.

I've always loved the proportions of their inexpensive Lack unit, too:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00045560

I think you can mount short legs to this one as well.

You might also want to look at IKEA's kitchen cabinets, to see if one of them could be easily hacked into a low bookshelf. Many of their kitchen pieces are really sturdy and durable.

I went to one of those unfinished furniture places and bought wood boxes that are meant to hold albums and painted them.
I stacked them two high under the windows and they're perfect. And I got to choose a color that went well in my living room.

Room and Board has some shorter bookcases......but they are at least 28" high

design*sponge had a great apartment tour with great use of low shelving awhile back:

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/01/sneak-peek-lizzie-garrett.html

looked beautiful and surprisingly from ikea! it was the LAXVIK system, which would help with heater ventilation issue since it's all open:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/range/10364/11709/

Wow! We're so grateful for all the info and suggestions...and we're glad it could help others with similar questions. THANKS so much, everyone!