Style

As you might expect, bookshelves are sold in a variety of different styles which means that you are going to need to pick a style that fits your tastes. Generally speaking, the bookshelves will fit into one of six different categories. It’s important to note that no one bookshelf style is better than another kind. Instead, this is more about making sure that it matches your room so that everything in the room looks as if it belongs in the room.

Many people go with a standard bookshelf. These shelves are normally made of wood, particle board, or MDF material and will have shelves that are evenly spaced. Normally they have a frame that is closed in the back. If you are looking for something nicer, then you might go with an Etagere style that has an open back. The actual shelves are normally made of glass which gives it a more premium look.

Ladder shelves are intended to lean against a wall. They get their name from the fact that they look like an actual ladder. Normally, the larger shelves are located at the bottom and they get gradually smaller as you move towards the top. Corner shelves are meant to go in the corner of a room so that you can use the space where two walls join. They are shaped at a right angle so that they fit tightly.

The final two styles are scaffold and cube styles. The scaffold type shelf has the shelves that are suspended between two ladder supports located on each side. The cube style is a bookshelf that divides horizontally and vertically. This will create an appearance that looks like a cubby.

Size

The size is going to determine what you can put on the bookshelf and how much stuff it can hold. In order to pick out a shelf that has the proper size, you are going to need to consider the height, width, depth, and the amount of space between the different shelves. This will help you determine where you can locate the shelf in the room and also how many books you are going to be able to put on it.

The height refers to how tall the shelf is when it’s standing upright. Generally speaking, you will find that most bookshelves start at around three feet and can be as tall as eight feet. A tall bookshelf has a more formal appearance but many people find a shorter one to be more useful as you can put stuff on top of a shorter shelf. Once you have figured out your height requirements, you will want to think about the width. This refers to how much space is needed from left to right when the shelf is sitting against the wall. This means that a wide shelf needs more space in a room than a narrow one.

Once you have figured out your width and height requirements, you will need to look at the depth. This refers to how far the shelf protrudes from the wall. In other words, a deeper shelf is going to stick out from the wall further than one that is shallow. Generally speaking, you should look for something around 12 inches as this will give you more than enough room for most books. The final thing to check is the height between the shelves. This is critical when the shelves are a fixed height because you need to make sure there is enough room for your items.

Features

A bookshelf may seem basic at first glance and you may not think about features but there are a few things that you can look for that will enhance the shelf. Those features are adjustable height shelves, wheels, and doors. You may find that any of these features are useful and will add to the overall value of the bookshelves.

Many people find adjustable height shelves to be one of the most useful features. This is because your needs are going to change over time which means that you can change the height of the shelves in order to accommodate those needs. You will be able to use the shelves in different ways when the height of the shelves can be changed as needed.

Wheels can be another useful feature. Sometimes you need to move your shelves in order to reach an outlet or to clean behind it. Most people agree that it is much easier to move a piece of furniture that has wheels than one that does not have wheels. If you do get a shelf that has wheels, then you are going to want to check your floors in order to make sure that the wheels won’t wreck the flooring in your home.

Doors can add a luxurious look to the shelves and make them look more formal. They also allow you to hide things that you may not want to be displayed to the general view. For example, if you keep children’s toys or movies on a shelf then it may be helpful to have doors since children tend to wear out their toys quickly which takes away from the appearance. You may decide that your room looks nicer if your shelves have doors on them.

Materials

Bookshelves tend to be made of different materials. The materials ultimately determine how the shelf looks and also its strength. When you are picking out a bookshelf, you should try and think about the materials that are used to construct it as some materials are more suitable for certain situations than other materials. Ultimately, you are going to need to go for materials that match your room and provide you with the proper amount of strength so that you can put all of your items on the shelf.

Wood provides you with the most traditional and furniture-like look. One of the wood’s main advantages is that it offers a lot of strength so you will have no issue putting everything that you need on the shelf. It can be stained and sanded with different finishes or it can even be painted so that it will match your room. It’s important to understand that not all wood shelves are actually made of wood. Many of the inexpensive shelves are made of particle board or MDF which is an engineered wood-like material. These materials look like wood, but they are nowhere near as strong as actual wood so you will need to check the weight requirements.

Metal is the other popular option. They tend to be less bulky than wood and offer an industrial look and feel. This means that metal may not be suitable for your home or office. However, its extremely strong and will allow you to store just about anything that you can want on the shelf. Like wood, metal tends to be heavy so it may be more difficult to move the shelf when it’s made of metal.

Durability & Quality

Much of the furniture sold today is made overseas so quality tends to be an issue for many people. You should always be on the lookout for signs of poor quality since it can lead to your shelves falling apart and damaging the items that are stored on the shelf. There are a few different ways that you can assess the quality of the shelf in case you have concerns about them.

The materials used to make the shelves can be one of the best ways of determining the quality of the shelf. If the shelf is made of real wood or metal, then it’s more likely that it will cost more but it will normally be better made than a shelf that is made of particle board or a similar material. When it comes to furniture, you generally get what you pay for and bookshelves are no exception.

The assembly is another area where you can tell if the shelves are well made. If you are putting the shelves together and notice things such as missing hardware or holes that do not line up properly, then you may want to consider exchanging the shelves for something that is better made. A company that has made mistakes such as these has most likely made mistakes in other areas that may not be immediately clear until you have finished putting the shelves together.

A final sign of low quality is shelves that are not level or square. This is typically a result of things not being measured or cut properly during the manufacturing process. Nobody wants to own a set of shelves that lean to one side or are wobbly. You should always make sure that the shelves are well made so that you can count on them when you need them.