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Bye-Bye, Boring Bookcase: Inventive Ways to Store Your Reads

Discover book storage as wild as a thriller's plot twists and as useful as a how-to manual

Christine Ciarmello April 15, 2013

Houzz Contributor; creator of cciarm.com. I enjoy traveling and being inspired by local crafts and the design sensibilities of different places. Frankly, I'm obsessed with design-y hotels. I've worked as a travel editor and writer at magazines for the past decade.

Houzz Contributor; creator of cciarm.com. I enjoy traveling and being inspired by... More

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We’ve talked endlessly about “the book problem”; one contributor even referred to Overreaders Anonymous. Sure, using her tips to declutter is one way to go. You can also buy a standard bookcase. But we've got four creative tips and plenty of outrageous examples of unusual "bookcases" that add some dazzle to those tomes. Let's dive in.

1. Consider a multipurpose piece. Coffee tables, beds, chairs — all of them are just waiting for clever overreaders to rethink them as alternatives to the bookcase.

Is there another way to store books besides the ordinary bookcase?

For example, the Ofo. It almost redefines what we mean when we call a chair a Lazy Boy. That's because from this undulating seat, you can reach around for a book. No getting up necessary. It comes in a variety of colors and is made by Maria and Igor Solovyov, industrial designers in Belarus.

nobody&co

Bibliochaise

Made in Milan by a duo whose issue may sound familiar — “Twelve years ago, we lived in a tiny flat full of books but with nowhere to sit” — the Bibliochaise solved their problem.

Available from SJ Studios in Santa Monica, California, the chair comes in a black or white finish with cotton or leather cushions in hundreds of colors. And it is on wheels. Thankfully. The name of the designers' studio is Nobody&co; the chair is available in Europe and Hong Kong.

lisafinster.com

This wood coffee table by San Francisco architect and furniture designer Lisa Finster is one clever multifunctional piece. This is the tabletop or, if you prefer to not have your book spines lose a contest to a glass of water, it's the side (see next photo).

If someone borrows a book and doesn't return it, you'll have to find another one with the same profile. The table is made out of poplar, and Finster customizes each one.

Juniper Books

2. Convert empty spaces to book storage. Wherever you look, there is air waiting to be filled. Or clogged with books. But do it neatly.

Clever points for this solution, from Thatcher Wine of Juniper Books in Boulder, Colorado. Thatcher is obsessed with finding solutions for many residential libraries (and hotels). Here he takes advantage of stairs.

Louise Lakier

Here we see the ceiling beams being used ingeniously. Another space that was waiting to be filled. And right in the kitchen — a room not often thought about for books.

Brenda Olde

3. Forget the ho-hum shelf. No need to go straight-on rectangular or square. Use your imagination or use a product designer's imagination for a statement-piece bookshelf.

Here the bookcase frames stained glass and a view.

papazian-ra.com

The infamous Eyebrow House from the TV series Portlandia sports a space-age bookcase that blends into the staircase. Or is that a portal to the mothership?

Marco Antunio

Not only is this bookcase circular, with the soothing look of a color wheel, but it frames the wilderness beyond.

From the designers of the unusually named Ofo (first photo) comes the slightly less unusually named Pinta. You can structure the modules into your own wall art.

Chris A Dorsey Photography

It's called the Cloud Bookcase, but I get more honeycomb out of it. It's an Italian design available at Hive Modern.

Contemporary

4. Turn the books into art. Maybe you just need the right coverings for your books — and the right books to fill them. Juniper Books does many customized book sets with artful covers, but I'm partial to the old red, white and blue. It makes a library look patriotic.

More: Put a Mini Library in Your Front Yard | Browse photos of home libraries