Do you dream of having your ideal library in your room? Maybe you want to add a few floating shelves so that you can cover every inch of your walls in books. Or, more likely, you find yourself strapped for room and need to add a few shelves that can hold your favorite volumes without taking up some of your limited space.
Compact shelves can help you make the most out of your room. You can use these shelves to store your favorite franchise of books or to displayyour favorite figures. No matter what you choose to use them for, these options are our choices for the best shelves available in 2024.
Forbena Floating Book Shelves Three-Set
Ideal for out-of-the-way shelving
Floating bookshelves are a great choice for out-of-the-way shelving that stores your books without intruding on your space. The Forbena Floating Book Shelves here comes in a three-pack, providing you with excellent, secure storage.
When you’re trying to save room, one of the first things you should consider is how to get things off of your floor. Limited floor space in a small room or apartment can suffocate your choices, but moving to the wall is a great way to avoid this restriction. When it comes to bookshelves, we recommend floating shelves to make the most of the room you have available.
Forbena’s wall-mounted floating shelves are our favorite choice available at the moment. This pack comes with three shelves, providing you with as much storage as many smaller bookshelves will give you. They’re also much easier to install than most would expect, especially for someone with experience with DIY projects. These affordable rustic shelves can be mounted wherever you’d like and will stay well out of the way while still providing you with the book storage you’re looking for.
Bestier 34-Inch LED Wall Mounted Shelf
Ideal for displays
The Bestier wall-mounted shelf is a sizable option that comes with LED lights. We suggest this shelf if you want your bookshelves to be out of the way and provide an aesthetic boost.
Not everything mounted on the wall needs to be a floating bookshelf. Some people don’t prefer the “loose” aesthetic of a set of shelves mounted to a wall. You may instead prefer a hybrid display that can help you marryyour book collectionand any other items you’d want to display. That way, you won’t need to dedicate more of your limited space to a secondary display and separate off your collections.
Bestier’s wall-mounted bookshelf is a great way to save room without committing to the aesthetic of floating shelves. The built-in lighting for this option will also help your collection shine, particularly when it comes to figures or other shelf-displayed items. That said, it’s a bit flashy to display your literary classics, so we understand if this hybrid display isn’t ideal for everyone.
FURINNO JAYA Home 5-Shelf Bookcase
Ideal for vertical storage
Sometimes, we need vertical storage to make the most of our limited square footage. The FURINNO JAYA Home 5-Shelf Bookcase is an excellent choice if you want to store upward instead of across.
Don’t let having limited space convince you that you need to only use small or restricted displays! If you’re limited in your square footage, going vertical with a larger bookshelf can paradoxically help you save on your room. A tall shelf like the FURINNO JAYA Home 5-Shelf Bookcase is a great choice for a shelf that can accomplish this.
If you place this shelf in the corner, it’ll take up a minimal amount of room while providing maximum storage. While it isn’t as out of the way as some of our wall-mounted options, it takes up less square footage than a shorter, wider bookshelf.
You can also place this near your entertainment system and use it for thingslike bookshelf speakersor other displays that would benefit from the shelf. These shelves vary in size so you can still store larger, taller books like art books, yearbooks, and other items.
Yoobure Tree Bookshelf
Great for aesthetics over function
Storing in small places doesn’t always mean small bookshelves. The Yoobure Tree Bookshelf is a great choice for anyone who wants a stylistic, quaint way to store their books.
Limiting the size of your storage doesn’t always mean having to restrict yourself to minimalist, simple shelving. Instead, you’ll reap tons of benefits from items like the Yoobure Tree Bookshelf. This item won’t take up much room at all - it’s so small that you can even place it on top of another table, or even another bookshelf!
For its storage, you have the “branches” for storing books. While these are amazing for storage and going vertical will help you cut down on how much room your display takes up, you shouldn’t expect each shelf to hold many books.
About a half-dozen “standard” books will fit on each, which still puts this shelf’s storage at about thirty books. You also have extra storage room in the bottom cubby, as well as space where the cubby and “branch” meet. Overall, this shelf provides an excellent amount of storage without taking up much room and offers a unique, book-loving flair aesthetically.
Weiai Clear Acrylic Shelf 15" Three-Pack
Great on any budget
Are you more interested in functioning storage than designing a display? These simple acrylic shelves are great for a more minimalist display that won’t break the bank.
Sometimes, when you’re looking for storage, you aren’t interested in anything beyond the bare minimum. If that’s the case for your search, then the Weiai Clear Acrylic Shelf is a great utilitarian option that’ll provide you with adequate storage and very few perks beyond that. One perk you should certainly keep in mind is the exceptionally affordable price tag attached to these shelves, making them fit nearly any budget.
These are also easy enough for anyone to install, as it takes little more than a pair of mounting screws to keep the shelves up. Despite the simple installation, you can trust that these are secure and safe shelves - though thereisa weight limit that you should make sure to pay attention to.
The only drawback of these shelves is that they’re a bit too simple for most displays, serving as little more than an acrylic platform for your favorite books. Still, if all you’re after is affordable space-saving storage, these are tough to beat.
FURINNO LUDER 3-Tier Bookshelf
Great for a bedside or stand
The FURINNO LUDER 3-tier Bookshelf is a good choice for people who want a shelf that won’t take up much room vertically or horizontally. While this small bookshelf doesn’t have the same storage as larger options, it compensates by not taking up as much room.
Depending on how your area is set up, a shorter shelf is often a great way to save room. Short shelves are ideal for bedside areas where they can serve as a nightstand as well, especially if your bed is at the perfect height. These are also a great option for being near other furniture, such as serving as an accessories table for aroom’s display.
The FURINNO LUDER 3-tier Bookshelf is our favorite choice for a shorter, more compact bookshelf. As it’s shorter and with fewer shelves, the only drawback this option offers is that it naturally has less storage than larger options. But for its size - and for its price - this simple option can provide you with excellent book storage while blending in with the rest of your furniture.
FAQ
Are Floating Bookshelves Secure?
Yes! So long as you install your floating bookshelves properly, there shouldn’t be any issue with how secure they are. Do your best not to overload their weight limits to make sure you aren’t straining them. If you use your bookshelves properly, you shouldn’t have any difficulty with your shelves. You also should focus on floating shelves made out of secure materials like acrylic or wood to make sure they won’t break under strain.
Should I Use Several Small Bookshelves Or A Few Large Ones?
Ultimately, this is your choice to make, as it depends heavily on your personal preferences and limitations. If you don’t have much room, you likely won’t be able to fit multiple small bookshelves. However, there are times when your room is limited vertically but not horizontally, making it better to have several short bookshelves. Take stock of your area and decide what would be your biggest benefit from each size of bookshelf. From there, you’re able to design the room of your dreams.
Where Can I Find Small Bookshelves?
Small bookshelves are thankfully easy to find. We suggest looking at stores that carry hardware like Amazon and Walmart, as these stores are easy to access and usually deliver. Local hardware stores are also a good place to check, and you can have some good luck by checking home improvement stores as well. In short, there are plenty of places to look, so don’t impulse buy the first shelves you see!
