The Best Bookshelves for Any Room

Personalizing your home is a lifelong process. You’ll go through different styles and color preferences, but your furniture can morph with your decorating phases. The key is to find pieces that work with your unique space. These are the best bookshelves for any room so you can buy them with confidence and use them for years.

1. Short Cubed Bookshelf

Cubed bookshelves are popular with families and anyone living in an apartment. They’re easy to construct, budget-friendly and durable. You won’t have to worry about juice stains or wedging the unit into a small space. They also have a straightforward design that ages with your interests without looking out of place.

2. Standard Tall Bookcase

You can never go wrong with a standard bookcase. The tall design is instantly recognizable and works in any room. It’s also easy to effortlessly arrange various decor elements like faux plants, picture frames or candles. They don’t have a bold design so they won’t clash with unique design themes or bold living spaces.

3. Chic Leaning Bookshelf

You’ve likely seen leaning ladder bookshelves on social media platforms. They’re sleek and chic, so you can find them in most stores. Use them to display your favorite fragrance oils without clashing with a minimalist decor vibe. You can also fit them in living spaces without making holes in your walls to stabilize the unit, which is a significant perk for any renter. 

4. Glass Barrister Bookcase

Experts carefully craft barrister bookcases to hold all of your favorite belongings. Each shelf sits behind glass doors that come in decorative settings. They’re easy to move and can have a vintage appeal if you want something with a timeless feel.

5. Industrial Metal Bookshelf

Many modern living spaces utilize industrial elements like piping, brick and ductwork. If you love that theme, find a metal bookshelf that uses piping as its frame. The shelves can be any material that works with the rest of your home, so check out the latest trends to merge your industrial dreams with popular design materials.

6. Glass Vintage Bookcase

Calling all mid-century interior design lovers — glass bookcases are back in style. They were popular back in the 1960s because they filled empty spaces in rooms without appearing bulky. Now you can find them in most furniture stores with wood accents or metal piping.

Think about which themes work with the rest of your home and where you want to show off your new bookcase. It’s a classic piece of furniture, but keep in mind that it will collect dust more evidently because it’s see-through. If it’s in a prominent place, you’ll have to dust it regularly to keep it polished.

7. Traditional Wood Bookshelf

Wood is always a trusty material for any bookshelves. It’s durable and easy to transform with any artful details that call to your sense of style. Find one that’s short enough to double as a side table in your living room or an accent piece in your entryway. You could also find one built into a desk to improve your remote work life without requiring more space in your home office.

8. Contemporary A-Frame Bookcase

If you like the look of a leaning bookshelf set but don’t want to use your space like that, find a contemporary A-frame bookcase. It has an A-shaped frame that grows wider at the bottom, which allows for more creative shelving arrangements. You can also look into materials that match the experimental design of your bookcase, like laminate shelving or matte paint.

9. Floating Single Bookshelves

Don’t have much floor space? You can still find room for all of your favorite books by hanging floating shelves. The best advantage to this option is working with whatever room you’re trying to decorate. Space each shelf out around existing picture frames or windows. Arrange them in tiers or use one shelf on each wall.

You can also make your own shelves if you don’t find any that you like. As long as you have drywall anchors and a shelving platform cut to your desired dimensions, your new bookshelves can match other hanging shelves that double as closet storage space or hanging side tables.

10. Curved Corner Bookcase

People often think of corners as wasted space, but a bookcase can fit there too. Look for corner cases with the right height for your intended room. They can stretch from ceiling to floor and create new shelving opportunities in places you could never have decorated before. Use them to hold accent pieces, picture frames or other tiny trinkets to emphasize your interior design theme.

Find the Best Bookshelves

These are some of the best bookshelves for any room, so think about which space you want to redecorate. With a bit of thought and creativity, you’ll find the best design, materials and size for your newest storage system.