Posted on: September 23, 2009
By the Books
Take control: Keep books at hand and hazards at bay with easy storing ideas
Image courtesy istockphoto
Too many books, not enough home?
Take a page out of Mervyn Kaufman's latest book, literally.
Don't let your stacks of books rule the roost any longer - read on for accessible, simple solutions.
-The best way to store books is by subdividing them: Separate them into categories and shelve them near where they are likely to be used.
-Every kitchen should have a cookbook library - a stack of shelves that contain cookbooks in current use. If space is tight, such books could be stowed just outside the kitchen - on laundry-room shelving, for example, or even on the upper shelves of a broom closet.
-You can have built-in shelving installed wherever you need it, but keep in mind that stock bookcases in a dizzying number of sizes are available at big-box stores and also at retail outlets where unfinished furniture is sold. An unfinished piece can be stained or painted to blend in with the color and style of whatever site you choose when placing it.
-Distribute book storage to the most suitable areas: light reading or the latest bestsellers in nightstands or on small shelf units in a bedroom; reference books and how-to manuals in the family room. Books of personal interest that have been read but need to be kept can be displayed in public places - in the living room or entry hall.
-Work with youngsters to help them organize their bookshelves; it's a way of underscoring a need to be respectful of every kind of book.
-It was once considered fashionable to create a chair-high stack of books to place beside an armchair. Although that arrangement looked good in magazine photos, in reality it would be hazardous: Knocked over, it could damage the books as well as anything else in its path.
-Think of books as decorating elements: They present interesting shapes and, with their jackets on, also present an incredible array of colors. Books enrich rather than overwhelm wherever you put them.
Excerpt from Store It!: Where to Put all the Things You Need to Keep (Filipacchi Publishing, 2009). (c) Filipacchi Publishing.