Stretching out on the couch with a really great book, my favourite tea cup and pot of steaming Earl Grey is, in my opinion, one of the nicest ways to fritter away an afternoon. My better half can also often be found with his nose in a book, sometimes even as he walks home from the office. While I’m glad we share a passion for reading (though not always the same genre, wrestling biographies and graphic novels, no thank you), I often find we’re competing for room on our book shelves (and apparently donating his books to the library is not the solution).
Since we live in a 730 ft condo buying more shelves is not the answer either, so I’m always on the lookout for creative space savers and storage options. Here are some unique and unusual ways others are dealing with this same problem.
Love the Bibliochise by Italian designers .nobody & co
This shelf system from Stockholm designer Andreas Hegert is definitely not restricted even when floor space is lacking.
Giving new meaning to coffee table books, Nar by ünal & böler from Turkey.
I also find Apartment Therapy always has creative solutions to my problems – I love this rafter bookshelf idea (plus they’ve found eight cool shelves, too).
But the winning idea for me? In the House & Home Condos, Lofts and Apartments issue, on newsstands now, Vancouver Designer Peter Wilds suggests stacking bigger books to create an artsy side table (page 32). Sold! This also solve my bedside table issue, too. You have to love when you kill two birds with one simple (and oh so affordable) stone.
How do you store your books? Do you have a creative solution of your own? Share it in the comments below or e-mail me a picture.