Invisible shelves

Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash.com

​I know I keep saying you don’t need more bookshelves but I absolutely had to do something with my daughter’s bedroom.  She has a tiny bedroom compared to everyone else in our house but reads more than anyone I’ve ever met.  It’s not uncommon for her to have bookmarks in 4 or 5 books at any given time.  When she’s in trouble, the only threat that she cares about is the threat of locking all her books in a trunk.  The only thing that has prevented me from doing it at times is the sheer volume of them.  
​
To finally wrangle some of the piles of books, I found some shelves that worked out pretty well.  I love these "invisible" shelves.  I ordered a three pack of these Umbra Conceal floating bookshelves.  They come in two sizes and you can order either a three-pack or individual shelves.  I love their simplicity and that fact that when you stack a few books on them, you can't see them.  They’re also fairly inexpensive yet seem really sturdy.  They allow you to basically make art out of your book collection while keeping them easily accessible.

​If you’re wondering how they hold the cover closed on the bottom book, there are small hooks that hold the cover.  This means also that the bottom book must be large enough for the shelf to slide into so the cover can go into those hooks.  That’s why they come in two sizes.  It wasn’t a problem for us.  Additionally, I used a stud finder and longer screws to mount each one directly to a stud.  They’re not going anywhere even with several hardcover books on them.  If I wasn't attaching them directly to a stud, I think I would still use longer screws with drywall anchors.

I still suggest you pare down your book collection as much as possible before buying more shelves, but books are something that I’m OK with having around.  Maybe it has something to do with the years I worked for Borders book stores.  If you’re interested in buying some, below are affiliate links to get them on Amazon.  Thanks for reading.

---