Shelving Solutions for Your Home

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If you are a collector or a hobbyist, sooner or later you are going to run into storage problems. The simplest and best solution is a shelving unit that can store your clutter neatly yet still make it easy to access.

Before you choose a shelving solution, you need to ask yourself what kind of shelving will best suit your needs. If you own your own home, built-in shelving, custom-designed to suit your needs, will be best. If you are renting, removable shelving that you can pack up and take with you will be best.

Built-in Shelves

You will first need to check your house plans so your renovation doesn’t interfere with electrical cables or water pipes inside the walls. Then you can decide what style of shelving you would prefer.

Sturdy timber shelving, with doors to close over the lower shelves may be best if you want to keep children from pulling everything off the shelves again. If you have no children, you may prefer glass shelving to display beautiful pieces from your collections.

Freestanding Shelving

Freestanding shelves that you can put together yourself and pack up when you move are available from DYI furniture stores like Ikea. The beauty of these is that you can choose modular units that you can expand later as you need more storage space.

If you only want a few shelves, consider single-shelf units that you can mount on the wall. If you need three or four, you can arrange these in a staggered pattern for a smart décor look.

Corner Shelves

If you need extra shelves but just for a few key items, consider corner shelving. You can buy corner shelves from variety and discount stores that you can mount yourself. Just position the shelf where you want it, release the clips on the front and pins spring out from the sides to hold the corner shelves in place. You can arrange several of these in a corner to avoid having to have a corner unit specially made.

Purpose for Your New Shelving

Once you have your shelving in place, consider how you will use it. If you have a hobby that generates a lot of clutter, such as scrapbooking, buy large cardboard storage boxes for the lower shelves to take most of it, and use the higher shelves for display.

If you are a book lover with some fine books in your collection, you may want to consider shelving units with glass doors, so you can keep dust and insects away from your treasures.

Decorating Your Shelving

You can decorate your shelves in any way that suits your décor. Fine timber shelves will probably not need anything more than an occasional polish or rub with linseed oil to keep them looking in prime condition, but if your new shelving has that raw look of pine timber, why not paint them to match your décor? There are many lovely paint finishes that will make your shelving look special, such as crackle and distressed finishes to give that shabby chic look.

If you just want to spice up your shelving unit, try gold paint or copper shim along the edges of the shelves. This is even more eye-catching if you have display items that echo the trims.

The most important thing to remember when choosing a shelving solution is the weight it will have to bear. Solid timber is best for books and bulky art pieces, while lighter shelving can take photo frames and small ornaments without buckling.

Whatever shelving solution you choose, try to keep storage boxes and bulky stuff at the bottom, and make sure there is a balanced mix of books and ornaments on the top shelves for a light and elegant look.