Book storage hacks for small spaces

First off, we should probably specify that although these book storage hacks are generally aimed at people who need to create space for their books in small houses and flats, they will work just as well for those with more room who just fancy some quirky and original book storage ideas.

As those who read a lot and like to keep their books will know: it can be hard to find the necessary space for all of your books.

‘Throw them away’, has been a suggestion you’ve heard, and abhorred, on numerous occasions. How can you give your favourite tomes away? Books can mean far too much to throw away. Not only will you be throwing thousands of pounds in the bin, what happens when you want to read the book again?

So, what do you do with them if you haven’t got the space for a dedicated library and the sheer number of bookshelves needed to house all your hundreds of books, but don’t want to store your books in boxes?

Here are our top book storage hacks.

Bookshelf room dividers

Flats that are, with a certain amount of creative licence, termed ‘studio apartments’ can be short on space and difficult to divide into ‘living’ and ‘sleeping’ areas without too much aesthetic damage to the space available. They can also be difficult to find space for books in.

Why not try a bookshelf room divider? They look cool, and give you much needed storage space, as well.

Make your bed into a bookshelf

You can buy beds that are intentionally mounted on bookcases and have bookshelves as heardboards and underneath them. But if you don’t fancy buying a new bed for your books to live in, then you can store books at the foot of your bed in a low, wide bookshelf instead. Great for saving space, and it looks great, too.

Cupboard libraries

If you’ve got a cupboard under the stairs, or anywhere else for that matter, that currently has the sole responsibility of storing a load of junk you don’t need, then chuck out the junk, stick a few shelves in the cupboard and make it into an impromptu library. Not only will this help you to keep the books piled on your floor to a minimum, they can look pretty good, too.

Make your hallway into a library

Hallways can be pretty boring; unadorned corridors with no purpose other than going from one room to another. If you have one, and have a boat load of books you need to store somewhere, then try making your hall into one long bookshelf (or a funky zig-zag bookshelf if your hall isn’t the standard long, straight one).

Bookshelves in nooks

Most flats and houses come with strange nooks that seem to have no real purpose. It could be a gap under a floating staircase, a corner that doesn’t lend itself to any particular use, or one of those weird niches that are a remnant of the house prior to remodeling the interior. Whatever it is, it could be the perfect home for storing a bookshelf.

Bookshelves in the rafters

Old cottages, although full of character and charm, can sometimes be a bit shy on space. But, if you have them, the rafters in your ceilings can provide you with a feature bookshelf that looks cool, enables you to store plenty of books, and helps you to make the most of your existing space, too.

High perimeter bookshelves

If your rooms are too small to dedicate entire walls to bookshelves, then why not use the space that you wouldn’t use for anything else, anyway, and install some ceiling height bookshelves? They might be a bit awkward to get to, but it keeps your books off the floor and makes a pretty eye-catching display of them, without taking up room that could have been used for something more practical.

Get a Kindle (other varieties of e-reader are available)

Ok, so this doesn’t address the problem of where to put the hundreds of books you already have and need somewhere to store. But, it does help to ensure the problem doesn’t continue to grow.

Granted you can’t make a stunning feature or library out of the books in your Kindle, but they are less likely to fade in the sun, get bent out of shape, go mouldy or be spoilt when you spill a drink on them… and, on top of that, they make it much easier when you need to take more than one book with you on holiday.

You can pick an e-reader up for as little as thirty quid these days, too.

If none of these book storage hacks inspire you, or if you’ve used them and still have too many books and not enough space in your house, then you can always check out what Store First can do for you.