Bookcases!!!

[Totenkindly]

All right, my finances are low and I need to find places to put all the books I brought with me.

Can y'all share and/or brainstorm cheap and/or makeshift ways to present and store books in your home? i wasted an hour last night on the 'net looking around and just couldn't pick up anything useful, really.

Creativity and flair is good, ambiance is also important. (I.e., no cinderblocks... unless you can find a neat way to cover them up). And some of the books are those 12" suckers, so I need taller space for them.

If you won't do it for me, do it for all my books who are currently homeless and living in squalor.

 

[Hirsch63]

If finances are a concern...second hand stores such as GoodWill or Salvation Army can offer a relatively inexpensive solution. If you are at all handy, a bit of cosmetic work is all they need to be tolerable. Estate auctions are also good...but a long wait if the item you covet is at the end of the bidding...

Much of the cheap partical board cases readily available at a low price cannot support anything but paperback books. I have yet to find any servicable bookcases at the typical bargain stores...

I have not examined products from Ikea...I am sure others have though.

 

[Ivy]

Invisible Bookshelf From Umbra

 

[Ivy]

How To Build an Invisible Bookshelf | eHow.com

 

[Totenkindly]

Those invisible ones are cute.

Of course, I'm not supposed to be screwing hardware into the walls. (The landlords might have a cow.)

 

[Ivy]

Oh, blah on landlords! Screw hardware into them.

Sigh. Nevermind, I guess. Goodwill's a pretty good option, or Target has some real wood bookcases I think.

 

[Totenkindly]

Oh, blah on landlords! Screw hardware into them.

hmm.. i will need a good supply of band-aids first.

Or maybe I can just have them HOLD my books?

Sigh. Nevermind, I guess. Goodwill's a pretty good option, or Target has some real wood bookcases I think.

They do. I really liked the $99 espresso colored wooden ones they have for sale, I was very impressed with quality vs price.

It's just the money thing. Sigh. Might have to bite the bullet and get 1-2 of them.

 

[Ivy]

Hmm. I'd check secondhand stores first, before spending that kind of green on Target bookcases.

Or maybe you could build some? Or try an unfinished furniture store?

 

[SolitaryPenguin]

Not sure where you're located, but here in NY they have spring cleanup week in about a week or two from now, where everyone throws out all their useless old crap. I got my bookshelves from some ladies front yard last year, and all it took was some clean up and a fresh coat of paint.

Free is always the best option when you can get it.

 

[disregard]

Here is a nice bookcase for $20 from Ikea.

 

[Ivy]

4 Shelf Wide Bookshelf: Solid Southern Pine Wood NEW - eBay (item 300205608593 end time Apr-07-08 15:53:58 PDT)

We bought the kids' beds from that Ebay store (roomdoctor). They're Southern yellow pine, very nice wood (although a bit soft, it's harder than other pines) and sturdy as heck. Their bookshelves are very affordable and you could paint it if you wanted to. I think they're actually in PA so you could pick up at the store maybe if they're close enough to you and save the shipping. Worth a try.

 

[Hirsch63]

They do. I really liked the $99 espresso colored wooden ones they have for sale, I was very impressed with quality vs price.

It's just the money thing. Sigh. Might have to bite the bullet and get 1-2 of them.

Please my friend, I may be of (apparently) very limited use to this forum, but furniture making is my profession. I know of no Target furniture that is not made of partical board however cleverly camoflauged. As long as the shelves are at least 3/4 of an inch thick and no longer than 24 inches long they might be useful.

There are many discarded items that end up in Habitat for Humanity re-stores or the charity stores as mentioned, that can be dressed up to suit you style. I am working under a sort of "green" ethos so my concern for recycling lies there.

 

[Wolf]

The best bookcases are made with large concrete blocks and good wooden planks. I have found that the blocks are the perfect height for most books, though your really tall books might be a bit too tall.

Just get two or three large concrete blocks and a 16" wide board of wood (use your best judgment based on weight and thickness of the board used) for each layer of shelf space. Should cost about 10-15 bucks per 8' section of bookshelf space, mattering on your locality.

The only downside is that they're not very portable. My dad and I built a bunch of them in his house and garage...



Ikea is also pretty cheap for stuff like this, but the only stuff worth buying is made of real wood (not particle board) and will probably be marketed as a storage organizer. Something along the lines of the one they call "GORM" would probably be very suitable, costing less and being more reliable than a particle board bookcase.

 

[CzeCze]

Really nothing on CL?

I got a schweet bookshelf from the As-Is dept. at Ikea. I think that is my no. 1 Shopping Destination b/c I pick up so much junk discounted furniture there. I got the remains of a computer shelf that is normally $180? for $30. It was an excellent deal because it was pre made, fit into my car, and I think nice looking. It's an excellent bookcase and I feel it was find.

You can build a bookshelf pretty easily with ply wood (heck, I jury rigged a futon bed into a real bed by nailing legs into it, I'm AMAZED it stood up to the test of time among other things)

And similar to Solitary Penguin, just wait until colleges are letting out. The streets will be lined with GOLD, I tell ya, GOLD. Seriously, the stuff college kids throw out or else sell extremely cheaply is amazing. I bought a single size bed that normally goes for $150 at Ikea for $35 a desk that goes for $35 for $15 and a free chair.

 

[Ivy]

Oh I would do SO much shopping at Ikea if we had one nearby. As it stands the nearest ones are in Atlanta and DC and their website shipping is preposterous, so I don't own a single Ikea item besides the silicone ice cube trays I bought there once. And the big yellow shopping bag my father in law stole for me. Sigh.

 

[Wolf]

I have one of those blue ones they sell at checkout. They're like 50 cents and useful for all sorts of things, like keeping the rain off and carrying recyclables. Much sexier than the yellow, too. Curiously, I never bring it with me when I go shopping there (which is, I admit, rather rare).

It's worth the trip just for the Swedish meatballs and lingonberry preserves, in my humblest.

 

[Ivy]

Blue IS sexier than yellow. And I didn't know you could buy them. I was kind of enjoying the idea of my FIL as a shoplifter... of things that aren't for sale. I guess he probably bought it then.

 

[Wolf]

Blue IS sexier than yellow. And I didn't know you could buy them. I was kind of enjoying the idea of my FIL as a shoplifter... of things that aren't for sale. I guess he probably bought it then.

I don't think they sell the yellow ones. I was pretty sure the yellow ones were only for in-store use.

 

[Ivy]

Sweet. He's degenerate again! Nice.

 

[skip]

Freecycle.