Shelving in Your Living Room

by Gillian Markson | More from this Blogger

23 Jun 2006 05:03 PM

Most people choose to place shelving in their living rooms. Shelving can either be built in, or it can move with you from house to house. Here are some tips for your shelving to help ensure that it will fit with the house.

1. Mind the clutter. Shelves are meant to hold your items. This means that they will likely hold a lot of items that didn't belong anywhere else in your home, from old books to trinkets and items that really just gather dust. Because no one really enjoys looking at clutter, especially in a main room of your home like the living room, it is important that you take very careful measures to ensure that the space is properly cleaned and maintained.

Practice the art of throwing things out. If you have items on your bookshelf that do not add to the room or to your life, just throw them out. Chances are very high that you will never even know that they are gone. You can also give items to good will if you feel that they have any value whatsoever.

2. Once the basic clutter is gone from your bookshelves, the next most important thing to consider is the order. It is important that you keep the shelves in good order. Even if you do not have clutter, you can have items that are out of placed or not added properly to your room or shelf in general. Take an objective look at your shelf to determine whether or not it is truly orderly and well-maintained.

3. Lighting your shelf is important if you want to create and atmosphere in your living room. Your living room can be both welcoming and comfortable with the proper lighting in your space. Consider recessed or back lighting for your shelving. The offset lighting will help your space come across as colorful and well-planned.

To use recessed or backlighting, visit any home improvement store. You may have to contact your electrician to make modifications to your electrical work I order to accommodate the lighting. It is not very difficult, however, to hook the lighting up to a switch on the wall for easy access when you enter a room.

4. Shelves are also excellent places to hold and conceal stereo speakers. Many people install the speakers directly into their shelves, hiding them from public view, but ensuring that the room gets a very nice sound. You will have to determine the location of your speakers prior to installing the shelves for the best possible speaker arrangement in your room.

5. Built-in Shelves fit with your home and add a sophistication and flare that take-away shelves do not. If you are handy with the saw and hammer, then you will find that building your own shelves is not difficult and can be done with one day, as long as you plan well. You will need to have a good lay-out and all of the proper tools ready in advance in order to build the shelves quickly. Take-away shelves are a good investment though - so consider all options before choosing one or the other.

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