Reading books is the perfect hobby for people who want to escape the formalities of real life. These reading materials are filled with lush storylines and interesting subplots aimed to tickle the imaginations of their readers. Storage appears as the only problem attached to reading books. Of course, if you had a bookshelf, keeping and locating novels wouldn’t be such a chore.

Wood is Good

Bookshelves are made from various materials, although the wooden bookshelves is the most popular. Metal bookshelves are hard to assemble by hand, while plastic bookshelves are simply not as durable as their wooden and metal counterparts. You are better off turning lumber into book compartments rather than molding, shaping and welding metal. Besides, you can always color a wooden bookshelf to suit your home’s theme. You can even make it look like a plastic or a metal bookshelf.

Typical Homemade Bookshelves

Bookshelves have hundreds of possible designs. Let’s narrow down your choices and focus on the typical ones and a nifty deviation. Feel free to customize any of the shelves, if you think that some tweaking can improve the design further.

• Open Faced Bookshelf
• Easy Bookshelf
• Curtained Bookshelf
• Glass Door Bookshelf
• Invisible Bookshelf

Making bookshelves requires clever woodworking and carpentry. Better touch up on your carpentry skills to lower the possibility for errors.

Open Faced Bookshelf

The open faced bookshelf is the bookshelf’s basic form. It appears as a wooden cabinet that has several sections where you can fit and arrange your books. You can stylize this shelf to have curtains, glass doors or intricate patterns. Ideally, you should know how to make this item before you can come up with deviations for wooden cabinet-type shelves.

Materials Used:

• 4 wooden boards (2 x 2 inches)
• plywood (½ inch)
• measuring tape
• hammer
• finishing nails
• handsaw
• pencil
• paper
• varnish
• tall book
• sandpaper
• planer (optional)
• chisel (optional)

Procedure:

1. Measure the height of a tall book. Add one half inch to the measurement. It will represent the space between shelves. The ideal size is about five inches.
2. Base the bookshelf’s height and width on the size of your tall book, the number of your books and the design of your room. The standard measurements of a regular bookshelf are six feet in height, 22 inches wide and 10 inches deep.
3. Purchase the wooden boards and the plywood from a lumber shop.
4. Saw four planks from the wooden boards to form the bookshelf’s base. Follow the standard measurements for the planks, if you did not pre-plan your shelf.
5. Smooth the planks with a planer, if necessary.
6. Saw four two-inch squares from a wooden board. They will serve as your bookshelf’s legs.
7. Cut three 22-inch (ideal size) strips of plywood.
8. Nail the corner edges of the planks together to form the base.
9. Nail the squares on the bottom corners of the base.
10. Attach the plywood strips inside the base using a hammer and finishing nails. Make sure that the strips are roughly five inches apart.
11. Sandpaper the bookshelf’s surface if there are any rough portions.
12. Apply varnish. When it dries, you can start stacking your book collection.

This procedure is for an upright open faced bookshelf. If you prefer a horizontal version, you can base the length of the plywood strips on the structure’s height. The rest of the procedure is pretty much the same.

Easy Bookshelf

What the easy bookshelf lacks in style, it makes up for in the ease of assembly. No carpentry is required with this type of bookshelf. All you have to do is stack the materials until you create your bookshelf.

Materials Used:

• 8 lightweight concrete blocks
• 4 wooden boards (1 x 6 feet)
• varnish/paint

Procedure:

1. Select a sizable portion of your room where the bookshelf will be situated.
2. Stylize your bookshelf by varnishing or painting the blocks and the boards.
3. Lay a wooden board on your chosen spot.
4. Place one concrete block near the ends of the board.
5. Set another wooden board on top of the concrete blocks.
6. Repeat steps two to four until you have formed the bookshelf.

If you find this bookshelf too hard to construct, you’re better off stacking milk cartons for bookshelves. Nothing can get easier than that.

Curtained Bookshelf

Curtains provide elegance to any corner blessed enough to accommodate them. These flowing fabrics that hang by window panes give the impression of comfort and relaxation. Remarkably, curtains also have the same effect on bookshelves. A curtained bookshelf is perfect for homes with stylish living rooms.

Creating a curtained bookshelf is nearly identical to an open faced bookshelf. The only difference is, you must affix a curtain rod on the front portion of the structure. Let’s just focus on installing the curtain rod since you can simply follow the rest of the procedure for creating the open faced bookshelf.

Materials Used:

• curtain rod (size depends on the bookshelf’s width)
• power drill
• curtain fabric
• scissors
• measuring tape
• sewing needle and thread
• curtain rings

Procedure:

1. Measure the width of your open faced bookshelf.
2. Go to a furniture store and purchase a curtain rod. The rod should be one inch shorter than the width of your bookshelf.
3. When you have secured the rod, purchase a satin sheet or any elegant fabric from a textile shop. It should be at least two inches longer than the rod.
4. Cut the fabric, so it matches the height of your bookshelf.
5. Use the drill to bore holes on the fabric’s top portion.
6. Fit the curtain rings into the holes.
7. Drill a hole on the opposite sides near the top of your bookshelf.
8. Affix the curtain rod into the holes on your shelf.
9. Attach the rings, along with the curtain, to the rod.

The curtained bookshelf is both ornamental and functional. It carries your favorite books while beautifying your room. It may be trickier to construct as compared to the other bookshelves, but it is certainly worth all your effort.

Glass Door Bookshelf

Just like the curtained bookshelf, the glass door bookshelf is more of an add on to the open faced shelf rather than an independent structure. You can follow the entire creation procedure of the open faced bookshelf before installing the glass doors.

Materials Used:

• 2 sheets of glass (as large as the open faced portion of your bookshelf)
• power drill
• 4 glass door screws
• 4 small hinge screws
• 4 glass door hinges
• 2 magnetic hinges
• door magnets
• small hinges
• measuring tape

Procedure:

1. Measure the length and the width of your bookshelf’s open faced portion.
2. Purchase glass from a furniture store, according to the dimensions of the open face, then grab the rest of the materials at a hardware store.
3. Fit the door hinges on the glass sheets.
4. Drill holes near the ends of the open face’s top and bottom portions.
5. Fit the door hinges into the holes. The magnetic hinges should be opposite each other, once the doors are installed.
6. Drill two holes one inch behind each magnetic hinge.
7. Screw the door magnet, and the small hinges into the holes.

The glass glimmers beautifully when light makes contact with its surface, making this bookshelf perhaps the most elegant looking among the bunch. If you are pretty adept at carpentry, the glass door bookshelf is your logical first option.

Invisible Bookshelf

The invisible bookshelf provides an optical illusion that is sure to wow your family and friends. Your books seem like they are floating on thin air when they are placed on this nifty structure. Unlike the previous shelves, the invisible bookshelf is hung on a wall or used as a section divider for standard bookshelves.

Materials Used:

• Large ‘L’ bracket
• 2-inch thick book, hardbound
• flathead screws
• screwdriver
• measuring tape
• glue
• power drill
• box cutter
• stack of books
• pencil

Procedure:

1. Open the two-inch book’s back cover, then set the L bracket at the middle portion.
2. Outline the bracket on the book, including the holes for screws.
3. Drill two holes near the outline, then attach two screws. Make sure that the connection is tight. If not, you can drill through the holes of the ‘L’ bracket, then attach screws.
4. Apply glue on the portions surrounding the bracket.
5. Close the page and stack several books on top. Let the glue harden for about 24 hours.
6. When the cover is completely attached, position the other end of the ‘L’ bracket onto the wall.
7. Drill through the holes on the bracket, then attach screws.
8. Stack other books on top of the two-inch book to conceal the other end of the bracket.

To use invisible bookshelf as a section divider for regular shelves, simply remove the ‘L’ bracket’s attachments and set it inside a bookshelf. Its size fits most bookshelves and its width provides distance between books belonging to different sections.

Make Your Own Bookshelf Bargain

The bookshelf is the primary means of storage for books. It can come as a large cabinet or a tiny divider inside your home’s storage compartments. Bookshelves are sold at furniture stores, where you will find an assortment of styles and designs. You can also customize some of them to suit the theme and the contours of your room. Purchasing a shelf is always a good idea, but perhaps constructing one yourself is an even better idea, given its current market price.

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