Melissa B Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 I am out of book space. I cannot fit another bookshelf in the house. I've gotten rid of any books that I felt I could spare. (Our last two homes have been in areas with terrible library systems.) I really need suggestions on creative places to store books. I still have at least a dozen boxes of books that I want to unpack from our recent move. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasharowan Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Maybe run a shelf about a foot down from the ceiling and put ones you won't use much there. Or buid a staircase bookshelf, if you have stairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 I am out of book space. I cannot fit another bookshelf in the house. I've gotten rid of any books that I felt I could spare. (Our last two homes have been in areas with terrible library systems.) I really need suggestions on creative places to store books. I still have at least a dozen boxes of books that I want to unpack from our recent move. Any ideas? :bigear:I am all ears for this one. I have to sell to get room all the time. Sometimes I end up selling things I wish I could keep but......:bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 How about putting a high shelf running down a hallway? Or, in a dining room? A friend of mine had decorated her dining room in a library theme, because that's exactly how she used it. When it came time to sell the house, the realtor said more people would buy a house with a dining room than a library. So, she put a dining table in there and stacked several lovely old books with some candlesticks on it. It was so cool! But I digress--I just find high shelves running near the ceiling in several rooms to be a highly effective way of storing books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 On top of the china cabinet. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in Jax Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 If you haven't already put shelves above each doorway, that's a possibility. Another idea is to build rolling boxes to put under your beds. I looooove this idea, but I think it's not for everyone. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 On top of the china cabinet. ;) LOL! Mine are IN the china cabinet. Also have them stored in kitchen cabinets, on the counter, and on/in the space of a Hutch. Don't forget the kids closet shelves and on top of their dressers...Also have them stored on 5 bookshelves of various width and height sizes..... Yep! I believe it's time for me to downsize a little.......:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elw_miller Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 There are over-the-door hanging organizers for inside closets that could be used. They won't work for textbook-sized books, but novel-sized books and even some hardbacks should fit. We are doing this for videos. Disney sized VHS, regular VHS tapes, and DVDs fit in these hanging shelves. I may have to resort to this for books, too. I'm nearly out of room on our current shelves and I'm not sure I can squeeze another bookshelf into our home. I like the idea of putting in shelves near the ceiling! Would under-the-bed storage boxes work? You could keep a list of what's in each box so you don't have to go hunting too much. In the Goonies the family used the stairs--books were stuck between the rails of the banister. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 I made shelves to go above 5 adjoining doorways in my hallway. I stained them black. They look AWESOME. (I used boards cut to size from Lowes and stained them. Lowes also sells those arm-things that hold bookshelves up.) I also store little used books in a cupboard in the basement. Not ideal, but it doesn't clutter the main rooms of the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoastmom Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 How about wall shelves? Something like this: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60103750 If you have wall space even higher up on the wall you can use this. I am planning to put some up for the same reason. When we buy a house again we would like to put in built in shelves that go all the way up to the ceiling. We had them in a house we rented a couple of years and were able to put way more books than in a bookshelf where there are still 2 or 3 feet above it to the ceiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Ask a reliable relative to store them for you? Trunk of the car? Under the couch cushions? Loan them out (but only to reliable people)? Outdoor bench storage (you know where people would usually store their cushion for their patio set). Have DH store them at his work? :biggrinjester: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 Thanks for the suggestions so far. This house is a rental, so I hesitate to put anything in the walls and we only have one bathroom. I already have floor to ceiling shelves on the only wall of the dining room (pine boards and cement blocks - not nice built-ins.) I really love the cement block bookshelf. We put them up everywhere we move. Unfortunately, they need to go against a good sized, floor to ceiling wall and the dining room is the only room in this house where I can put one. (I have already decided that my next couch is going to have storage space in place of springs. :D) But, I do think we can custom make some shelves to go on top of each dresser. I have one row of books on each dresser, but I hadn't though about having two or three rows of books on top of each. We have four dressers that we could add shelves to, so that is space for another 100+ books! I also found that I can tuck our last three shelf book case into the back of the closet and still fit the vacuum, so another 50 books there! I'm getting there. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dempseydoodle1 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I took a guest bedroom closet which is rarely used and put in floor to ceiling bookcases the entire width of the closet. I've got close to 500 books in my guest closet "library." I just open the bifold doors and there it is. There is an extendable hook to hold a few hanging garments, and ample drawer space elsewhere in the room, so my occasional guests are still comfortable. I could use some more ideas though. I came here to find a creative way to store my cookbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Thanks for the suggestions so far. This house is a rental, so I hesitate to put anything in the walls and we only have one bathroom. I already have floor to ceiling shelves on the only wall of the dining room (pine boards and cement blocks - not nice built-ins.) I really love the cement block bookshelf. We put them up everywhere we move. Unfortunately, they need to go against a good sized, floor to ceiling wall and the dining room is the only room in this house where I can put one. (I have already decided that my next couch is going to have storage space in place of springs. :D) I'm not sure how you've anchored these to the wall, but we use L-brackets to anchor ours. Adding a shelf above a door frame (or anywhere else) really just uses the same L-brackets, so it's no different (as far as damage to the wall) than having regular bookshelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I double stack paper back books in my Billys, 2 deep. I put the ones that dd12 had outgrown or didn't like, but dd4 is too young for. Or ones that were ds16's that aren't dd12's cup-o-tea. This alone double an entire case for me! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 The ceiling? http://freshome.com/2008/01/14/ceiling-book-storage-idea/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Things you're probably already doing: -the double-stack, as previously mentioned -we have books in baskets around here (thin kid paperbacks) -sometimes a stack of books lying on their backs uses space better than stacking them upright -books on the mantel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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