Efficient Storage Of Books In Bedroom

[gohyongkwang 0]

Hi,

I have many books and reading materials accumulated from my courses, which easily fills up 20 empty A4 printing paper boxes. Currently, I'm using some old boxes (old boxes for electrical electronic products, and some in A4 printing paper boxes) of different sizes and colours, and so my room looks absolutely like a storeroom.

Recently, I'm thinking of organising this mess and making the room look cleaner. My first thought is to bind all the loose stack of papers and course notes into bound books with a comb binding machine.

Given the size of my room (about 3.9m x 3.9m), and inspired by storage beds and ottomans, my first thought was to get a bed, and shove all those boxes under my bed frame to maximize the use of the empty space beneath my bed, which probably will not be used anyway, and to reduce the number of storage cabinets or racks required. But according to feng shui, it's a taboo thing to do. So I have to keep the space unused.

A second problem is finding proper furnitures to store these 20 boxes of books/documents/papers. I already have 2 book cases from IKEA, which are overloaded and the panels bent in the centre for some. To provide storage for these 20 boxes, I would probably need at least 2 half-height (waist level) storage cabinets or 1 full height. Also, how do I design a storage system that is:

1. modular
2. cost effective
3. suitable for bedroom

These are the required furniture in my bed room. Trying to fit in all these without making the room look very narrow or "tight" or full of furnitures, and yet keeping my bedroom cosy w/o turning it into a office or warehouse.

1. Bed (Single)
2. Table/Desk (For Computer and Writing)
3. Book Cases (2 units, 65 cm x 180 cm x 20 cm)
4. Chair
5. Bedside Table

I wonder if there's any recommendation or strategies to optimise the use of space for storage, while leaving the flexibility to rearrange the furniture layout as the needs change?

I have been looking around for ideas about how people manage storage.

Idea 1: Use storage racks

Pros: Cheap, racks are usually sturdy enough to handle heavy weights when books are packed and stacked tightly together.

Cons: Bedroom ends up looking like garage, storeroom or warehouse, with the metal beams and legs exposed to view. Contents are not covered by doors as well, may gather dust over months and requires taking everything off the racks for cleaning and putting them back on.

Idea 2: Use storage cabinets

Pros: Can blend in with other bedroom furnitures; keep bedroom cosy while hiding all the mess behind cabinet doors.

Cons: Storage cabinets may not be designed to handle the densely stacked piles of papers/books; panels may warp or bend. May not be able to get more cabinets of same kind in future if storage grows further. May not be cheap if 2 or more cabinets are required.

Idea 3: Use office storage like metal cabinets

Pros: Sturdy storage option, sometimes cheap

Cons: Grey metalic surface does not blend in well with wooden bedroom furnitures, giving the room a cold industrial office/warehouse look

Idea 4: Use plastic storage boxes

Pros: Cheap, readily available from supermarkets. Average about $10 - $20 per box, easily can get 10 to 20 boxes for the price of 1 storage cabinet. Modular and scalable, can easily buy and add boxes as need grows. Can be stacked in various ways to create interesting patterns or to align to surrounding furnitures' heights.

Cons: Looks out of place with its plastic look. Looks cheap and breaks the overall impression and look of the bedroom.

From idea 4, it seems like a feasible idea, and I was thinking of buying a piece of wooden table top from IKEA to stack on top of the plastic boxes to "hide" them and use the wooden table top like some display shelving. But from the front and side can still see those plastic boxes beneath.

Still stuck at how to make full use of storage and yet make things look consistent and pleasant...

Any advice?

[applefreak 1]

how about getting solid wood cabinets?

they can handle the weight and yet blend in with the rest of your furniture

[ryan13680 0]

How often do you refer to your course materials? I have been doing my courses and I found that I can find the information on the internet if I remember the name of the theory/subject. So I have thrown most of the notes from my short courses out.

That should get rid of the bulk of the stuff so you find you don't really need extra storage. If you do, buy a book shelf and display the books properly. Try and get a solid wood one. Though expensive, they look nice and the shelves will not bend as much when using chipboard materials.

Can also consider installing built-in shelves so they cover one entire wall. This gives the room cleaner lines and it reduces clutter. To make the room look even airier, go without doors. If you want to make it easy to clean, go with mirrored doors. Doubles up as a wardrobe mirror.

[cecilathome 0]

Hi Gohyongkwong,

May I know which Model of Bookcase that you had bought from IKEA? I am currently thinking about buying a bookcase from IKEA but scared of bending of shelfs too. Hope you can advise soon.

Hi,

I have many books and reading materials accumulated from my courses, which easily fills up 20 empty A4 printing paper boxes. Currently, I'm using some old boxes (old boxes for electrical electronic products, and some in A4 printing paper boxes) of different sizes and colours, and so my room looks absolutely like a storeroom.

Recently, I'm thinking of organising this mess and making the room look cleaner. My first thought is to bind all the loose stack of papers and course notes into bound books with a comb binding machine.

Given the size of my room (about 3.9m x 3.9m), and inspired by storage beds and ottomans, my first thought was to get a bed, and shove all those boxes under my bed frame to maximize the use of the empty space beneath my bed, which probably will not be used anyway, and to reduce the number of storage cabinets or racks required. But according to feng shui, it's a taboo thing to do. So I have to keep the space unused.

A second problem is finding proper furnitures to store these 20 boxes of books/documents/papers. I already have 2 book cases from IKEA, which are overloaded and the panels bent in the centre for some. To provide storage for these 20 boxes, I would probably need at least 2 half-height (waist level) storage cabinets or 1 full height. Also, how do I design a storage system that is:

1. modular
2. cost effective
3. suitable for bedroom

These are the required furniture in my bed room. Trying to fit in all these without making the room look very narrow or "tight" or full of furnitures, and yet keeping my bedroom cosy w/o turning it into a office or warehouse.

1. Bed (Single)
2. Table/Desk (For Computer and Writing)
3. Book Cases (2 units, 65 cm x 180 cm x 20 cm)
4. Chair
5. Bedside Table

I wonder if there's any recommendation or strategies to optimise the use of space for storage, while leaving the flexibility to rearrange the furniture layout as the needs change?

I have been looking around for ideas about how people manage storage.

Idea 1: Use storage racks

Pros: Cheap, racks are usually sturdy enough to handle heavy weights when books are packed and stacked tightly together.

Cons: Bedroom ends up looking like garage, storeroom or warehouse, with the metal beams and legs exposed to view. Contents are not covered by doors as well, may gather dust over months and requires taking everything off the racks for cleaning and putting them back on.

Idea 2: Use storage cabinets

Pros: Can blend in with other bedroom furnitures; keep bedroom cosy while hiding all the mess behind cabinet doors.

Cons: Storage cabinets may not be designed to handle the densely stacked piles of papers/books; panels may warp or bend. May not be able to get more cabinets of same kind in future if storage grows further. May not be cheap if 2 or more cabinets are required.

Idea 3: Use office storage like metal cabinets

Pros: Sturdy storage option, sometimes cheap

Cons: Grey metalic surface does not blend in well with wooden bedroom furnitures, giving the room a cold industrial office/warehouse look

Idea 4: Use plastic storage boxes

Pros: Cheap, readily available from supermarkets. Average about $10 - $20 per box, easily can get 10 to 20 boxes for the price of 1 storage cabinet. Modular and scalable, can easily buy and add boxes as need grows. Can be stacked in various ways to create interesting patterns or to align to surrounding furnitures' heights.

Cons: Looks out of place with its plastic look. Looks cheap and breaks the overall impression and look of the bedroom.

From idea 4, it seems like a feasible idea, and I was thinking of buying a piece of wooden table top from IKEA to stack on top of the plastic boxes to "hide" them and use the wooden table top like some display shelving. But from the front and side can still see those plastic boxes beneath.

Still stuck at how to make full use of storage and yet make things look consistent and pleasant...

Any advice?

[gohyongkwang 0]

I bought the FLÄRKE N bookcase. The product can be found here: http://www.ikea.com.sg/catalog/product_dis...401673-93363588

Actually the product is OK, and given the price, you get what you pay for. This is true for IKEA's products. It's just that I didn't follow the instructions on the maximum recommended load per shelf (20kg) from IKEA, that's why they bent. I believe they're good for some paperback books, and that the bookcase is not fully stacked and filled to the brim.

Hi Gohyongkwong,

May I know which Model of Bookcase that you had bought from IKEA? I am currently thinking about buying a bookcase from IKEA but scared of bending of shelfs too. Hope you can advise soon.

[cecilathome 0]

Thanks for your reply I think I will consider other solid wood rack instead ...

I bought the FLÄRKE N bookcase. The product can be found here: http://www.ikea.com.sg/catalog/product_dis...401673-93363588

Actually the product is OK, and given the price, you get what you pay for. This is true for IKEA's products. It's just that I didn't follow the instructions on the maximum recommended load per shelf (20kg) from IKEA, that's why they bent. I believe they're good for some paperback books, and that the bookcase is not fully stacked and filled to the brim.