wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I have 11 bookshelves in my living room. They are all breaking from to much weight :blush:. They are bowing, or leaning or dh has had to fix shelves because they simply snapped. Now, that being said I have 11 book shelves in my living room. I can't afford $100-200 per shelf. I think dh would draw the line at $1,100-2,200 for bookshelves :lol: I am actually trying to sweet talk dh into making me some good sturdy ones but he is really busy so not sure that is a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 If you can find a school auction website or even a live one near you, you can get great ones there. That's how I got mine - $100 total for 10 6.5 ft tall extra sturdy bookcases Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Texican Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 http://www.google.com/search?q=cement+block+bookshelfs&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari These look sturdy. Also they're ugly enough to convince your hubby that he wants to make you something rather than let you do this. I saw something on pint rest that I want to do in the kids room. You know those rain gutters, someone nailed them to the wall to display kids books on. Let me look for a link 'cause it sounds awful but it looks cute and practical. http://www.google.com/search?q=rain+gutter+bookshelves&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I'm sorry to say that IME you get what you pay for when it comes to bookshelves. I have all solid wood ones, and while they weren't cheap I also haven't had to replace them despite more than 7 moves - 3 of those were international (and not very cheap to move, but I wasn't leaving without them!) You may want to schedule in the Rotating of The Books LOL. I used to do this. Every new season (winter/fall/spring/summer) I'd take all the books off of the shelf, flip the boards, and replace the books. This helped with the sag issue. And kept me from buying so many duplicates, as I was/am prone to do. Is it possible to buy 1-2 at a time, as financing allows? Is it possible to build a simple bookshelf, maybe out of MDF for the framing and solid wood for the shelving? They wouldn't be pretty, but they'd be sturdy and -with paint- decent enough. You can even buy the heat-transferrable strips to pretty up the MDF/wood edges. Another alternative might be to do something not typical of living room decor ... but certainly sturdy and definitely more cost-effective than solid wood: stainless steel wire shelving. I've seen them at Home Depot/Lowe's in different sizes and prices ($35/small up to $55/medium and $90/large). I have them in my garage, and I like that you can adjust the heights of the shelves to any height you desire and need. Because the shelves are wire, books would slip through; to solve that, buy some $1-2 chipboard or particleboard cut to size (you're at the HD/Lowe's anyhow, they'll do it for free) to place on each shelf. You'll need to remember to account for the rounded corners of the mainframe. Then you have deep bookshelves that won't slip through the wiring. You could also organize your books into inexpensive tubs or baskets and place those 2-4 across on the chipboard shelving. This is how we do. Not pretty, but priced right. If you're handy, you could drape the shelves to look like furniture ... at one house I did this in the playroom. I sewed the fabric like a canapy across the top (fitted corners), then made drapes that split open at the middle. Most of the time the drapes stayed open, tied to the side frame; when people came over, we closed the drapes to hide our mess and it looked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Nook? :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 my dh made 5 of them for me one year for our anniversary. Took him just a few days, they are very simply made. I love them - very sturdy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 IKEA! I have Ivar shelves. Great system, all wood. Had them for 20 years, they lived through several moves, including an overseas one. Indestructable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Nook? :leaving: Blasphemer! I'm resisting. It took me a good 15 years to finally get onboard with the digital SLR, and I'm sure it'll take me another good 15 to finally give in to the digital readers. Signed, Still Likes Her Some VHS, too :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 My IKEA ones are working great. I have 3 of the more narrow, about 2 feet wide, side by side. Anyway they have been loaded down for 2 years and are doing fine. Plus I think it was less than $75 for the whole set up! If I need new ones it will be OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Am I the only one who read the thread title and thought she was talking about BRAS? :001_huh: I do put my bra through it's paces, so I thought I could come in here and offer some help. Guess not. :confused: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Am I the only one who read the thread title and thought she was talking about BRAS? :001_huh: I do put my bra through it's paces, so I thought I could come in here and offer some help. Guess not. :confused: :lol: Perhaps you could benefit from a nOOk that holds more bits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Am I the only one who read the thread title and thought she was talking about BRAS? :001_huh: I do put my bra through it's paces, so I thought I could come in here and offer some help. Guess not. :confused: :lol: I thought about that just after I posted this :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Ikea Billy Bookcases! I have 8 of 'em! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I agree with the pp's. I've had Ikea Ivar shelves for 10 years and they've held up great. No sagging. And they are extremely flexible with arrangement. I can place them 6" high for craft materials or 12" for binders or anything in between. In our last house I had a tv and craft materials on the deep shelves. Unfortunately, they're not the most attractive. I've seen people paint them black and they do look a bit better that way. The Billy bookshelves hold up well, too, but they're not as flexible with the shelf arrangement. They do look a lot nicer, though. If you can't afford to change them all at once, just buy one or two per year. The advantage of going with IKEA is that they have the same merchandise year after year, so you can buy a bit at a time. Hope you find something that works for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I made my own. Planks of wood & posts to hold them up. Super easy, super moveable. Can hold plenty of weight. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 At $10 a book, she'd be better off buying nice book shelves. ;) Nook? :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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