8 Totally Ingenious Book Storage Ideas for a Super Small Home

Morgan Goldberg
·5 min read

Finding storage solutions for small spaces is rarely fun—unless you’re trying to store books. Unlike clothing or extra linens, books can double as decor, so you can get seriously creative with the ways in which you place them throughout your home. You can cover your coffee table with your favorite art references, carve a niche into your bedroom wall for novels, or build a bookshelf-dining bench hybrid in your hallway. Here, eight inventive book storage ideas for a compact home.

Use bookshelves as room dividers

The relationship between this entry, the living room, and the primary bedroom was reimagined thanks to a custom bookshelf that provided order to the floor plan and gave structure to the apartment’s layout.
The relationship between this entry, the living room, and the primary bedroom was reimagined thanks to a custom bookshelf that provided order to the floor plan and gave structure to the apartment’s layout.
Sergio Pradana

Instead of tearing down and putting up walls, Carlos Tomás of Estudio Reciente used custom bookcases to reimagine the layout of this 753-square-foot Madrid apartment. The floor-to-ceiling shelves work double duty as room dividers and storage for the owner’s large collection of art and history books, which he wanted to have on display.

Store your books up high

“When I get a glimpse of a book, I can remember the characters in it. And, for me, that’s very comforting,” says Jesse. “I’m definitely a collector. I have a lot of small things and I can’t help myself around them. I’m really attracted to color, but I don’t really wear that much color. So it ends up being in the space.”

Multidisciplinary creative Jesse Hammer only has 183 square feet in their Los Angeles A-frame, so floor space is precious. That’s why they decided to store their books up high, on an original wall-to-wall ledge and a floating shelf they built above their desk, both of which are reachable using strategically-placed climbing holds and little stools. “If you’re a reader, there’s this feeling like you’re hanging out with your friends when you see your books,” Jesse describes.

Carve a book niche into the wall

The walls and ceiling are painted in Clair de Lune (Ressource Peinture).

In a 646-square-foot Paris apartment, interior designer Lauranne Élise Schmitt created a luxurious primary suite where the old kitchen once was. She painted it terra-cotta, added cornices to match the originals throughout the home, and carved a recessed niche into the wall to host books, a clever way to incorporate storage when space is limited.

Cover your coffee table with books

Lily’s living room is a mix of personal finds and passed on treasures.

Generated image

Lily’s living room is a mix of personal finds and passed on treasures.
Meghan McNeer

Lily Sullivan, the brand consultant behind the newsletter “Love and Other Rugs,” is constantly rearranging the vintage furniture and beloved knickknacks in her 550-square-foot Brooklyn apartment. She has so many books that some always end up stacked neatly on her cork and chrome coffee table, where they look intentional and collected.

Build a bookshelf-dining bench hybrid

An antique Italian pendant from Barovier & Toso hangs above the dining area, which is accented with vintage Bertoia chairs from Knoll and vintage grain sacks found in London’s the Cloth Shop.

Banquettes are known for their ability to make the most of small dining spaces, but the bookshelf-dining bench hybrid in this 650-square-foot West Village studio takes maximization to a whole new level. The brilliant built-in, which features a cozy seat for two, six cabinets, and open shelves styled with novels, magazines, and photography books, is the brainchild of interior designer Christine Ward of Ward & Gray.

Stack your books on a pedestal

On the bronze mantelpiece by Marie-Anne, a photograph by Dominique Nabokov of Yvon Lambert’s living room (which appeared in the book Paris Living Rooms, Assouline, 2002). In front, a coffee table by Jean-Michel Frank. On the left, a faux marble pedestal.

As a decorator and set designer, Marie-Anne Derville spends her days crafting beautiful spaces, so it’s no surprise that her own 592-square-foot Paris apartment is a work of art. The chic home is filled with picture-perfect vignettes, including a faux-marble pedestal with quirky feet that is topped with a stack of books. There’s no more whimsical way to store them.

Buy a corner bookshelf

“We chose the color palette to help the eye relax,” says Juan. The living room brings together high-end furnishings alongside work from both local artisans and up-and-coming artists, like photography by the Ritsch Sisters.

Furnishing a long, narrow living room is never easy, but interior designer Juan Moreno López-Calull and graphic designer Pieter de Groot make it look like a breeze in their 600-square-foot Barcelona apartment. With a Sant Gervasoni sofa and a Jean Prouvé coffee table, the sitting area is relaxed yet sophisticated. The best part, though, is the smart, low-slung corner bookshelf, which turned dead space into storage.

Fill your movable island with books

A movable island on wheels offers a multifunctional solution for cooking and hosting in small spaces.
A movable island on wheels offers a multifunctional solution for cooking and hosting in small spaces.
Tessa Neustadt

Interior designer Melanie Burstin knows that even with 1,000 square feet, every inch counts, so she squeezed as much storage as possible into her client’s Echo Park house. She equipped the blueberry-colored kitchen with a movable island whose base is stocked with cookbooks, so the homeowner’s go-to recipes are always on hand.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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