If you're not up for the do-it-yourself project but like the look of these tables made into shelves, check out Umbra's Biblioteca Bookshelf shown in images 4 and 5.
Pictured above:
1. A brightly colored shelving unit from Camilla at Home .
2 - 3. Designer Isabel Quiroga's bookcase made of old tables, called "Storyteller", via Treehugger
4 - 5. Biblioteca Bookshelf in a lovely room shown on Desire to Inspire.
(Images: as credited above)
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I saw the purple one done on a talk show but they painted the 'shelving' blue for a boys room.
I really, really like the red one. Like that they kept the drawers and the look is nice and bright and open. So off to the thrift store....
I've seen this done a couple of times, but I never really thought about doing it until I saw that red one. That is beautiful! Maybe it's that it's freestanding....I'm not a huge fan of the attached-to-the-wall ones (probably because I can't in my rental), but the freestanding shelf is totally do-able! :)
I've loved the purple one for a while now... and I'm guessing it might actually be the cheapest to do, as it could be built with random thrift store and garage sale tables but with the others you'd have to actually buy several that matched. I feel like it would be great for a studio if you used a mix of pieces that had storage, workspace, and space to display pretty things.
It seems to look better when the tables are paired or cut into pairs. I imagine there have been some pretty haphazard attempts at matching table proportions in DIY attempts.
houseofthebonestorm.blogspot.com
Wow, that red shelf is amazing!
thenestinggame.com
I love the free-standing red shelves, but I somehow find the half-cut-leaning-against-the-wall visually disturbing.
I really like this red free standing shelf idea, so ingenious, and the drawers make it quite useful and give it character, you don't really usually see dawers on shelves.
decogirlmontreal.com
Hmm I like this in theory but I'm not sure if I like the execution of it. The red and the purple ones are pretty neat. Would be a cute idea in a coffee shop or something.
http://www.thebrokenword.net
The red example is the only one here that is really speaking to me. I feel like I need to see the others a little more full of stuff, the purple one in particular, for it to make sense. With not much on it, it looks more like an art installation than functional furniture.
I had to do a double-take on the red display... it's great. The others, not so much.
Ok I guess I'm in the minority here, but I really like the last one. It's a really neat alternative in that fourth picture to what would traditionally be a large, heavy hutch in the dining room. I like it because although unique, it's not jarring in the room. Good conversation piece. Someone called it "kitsch" above, but I guess I like kitsch. :)
i love the red and black ones, the purple one not so much. i imagine about 95% of the challenge of the red one is finding four tables that have the same dimensions unless you just buy four identical tables at ikea or something ... in which case you're going to pay a lot more than just buying a nice shelving unit.
I really like this idea -but so scared that it would topple over! I would def. have to anchor it to the wall. Inspiring -thanks!
I like the stacked red table shelving, but am not a fan of the others. I, too, am creeped out by the half-sawed-off tables, and don't think the application works well for residential interiors, especially the purple ones -- I think it's too overwhelming. A store display maybe, but not in a home.
OMG, that's brilliant!