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15 Best DIY Bookshelf Ideas

15 Best DIY Bookshelf Ideas

When it comes to bookshelves, there’s no doubt they serve two important purposes in your home:

The first is pure functionality. They help get things organized, reduce clutter, and give you a sense of peace when you have a place to store and find your things.

The second of course is a design purpose. Of course, when you decorate your home, you wouldn’t just store (Read: display) your belongings in boring or unattractive methods.

Nothing beats a great looking or interesting bookshelf as a design piece. In fact awesome bookshelves go a step further and become complementary pieces to other decor items.

We don’t just store books on bookshelves, right? This makes shelving a central decor item in any home.

Check out these 15 DIY bookshelf ideas to inspire you enhance both your organizational AND home decor.

1. Plumbing Pipes Bookshelves

Iron piping you can find at any Home Depot or Lowe’s. The best part is this “rustic black” color is how these pipe come.

Cut pieces evenly to keep it all simple, screw together and mount on the top and bottom, and enjoy your new corner bookshelf that will be a talking piece with every visitor to your home.

 

See the DIY Tutorial: blurppy.com

2. Spine Bookshelf

It’s modern, unique and works with rustic decor too! They say it’s like sculpture hanging from your wall. The best part is it’s easier to make than you first think.

Spine stacked bookshelf
See the DIY Tutorial: shadesofblueinteriors.com

3. Wall-mounted Ladder Bookshelf

There really are a million and one ways to repurpose old ladders. Here’s a nifty way if you have a decent size library of books but don’t want a big piece of furniture like a bookcase.

Bookshelf from old ladder

See the DIY Tutorial: instructables.com

4. Wood and Brick Stackable Shelf

Can you imagine this bookshelf style in the same room as a matching brick fireplace? This one is so cool, but of course make sure you anchor it well to the wall!

Build a shelf from bricks and wood

See the DIY Tutorial: amazinginteriordesign.com

5. Invisible “Magic” Bookshelf

Talk about minimalism when it comes to floating shelves. This trick actually works and keeps you staring for a minute.

Add several of these across a large wall, or fill in little wall spaces in a small place. This one is super easy to do too.

Floating bookshelves

See the DIY Tutorial: instructables.com

6. Tree Trunk for Books

If you like woodsy decor, this one is definitely for you. A centerpiece that is so inviting for avid readers.

See the DIY Tutorial: forreadingaddicts.co.uk/

7. Toscana Rustic Shelves

One of the best DIY bookshelf ideas out there, but an excellent way to get a nice looking and sturdy bookshelf put together quickly with minimal effort.

DIY Truscan shelves

See the DIY Tutorial: jenwoodhouse.com

8. Industrial Pipe Shelves

Another great way to use pipes for shelving. These have been popular for a while now, and certainly a timeless style that will be around for a long time.

Pipe bookshelf

See the DIY Tutorial: designdininganddiapers.com

Our Favorite Ready-Made Shelf on Amazon

Like all nice decor pieces, you either pay big bucks for high-end designer stuff…or you make it yourself!

But sometimes, you just want it and don’t have the time or patience to DIY it.

Thankfully, there’s middle ground where you can save both money AND time.

So…here’s our favorite choice from Amazon. It looks amazing without the horrific high price you’d have to pay with our friends at Pottery Barn.

Vintage Industrial Bookshelf

Click photo to see more details

9. DIY Hanging Skateboard Bookshelf

An old skateboard  without wheels isn’t much on it’s own. But ad some rope and some cool anchors hanging from a wall and you have one of the most creative DIY bookshelf ideas out there.

10. Industrial Free Standing Bookshelf

A DIY modern twist to a bookshelf…literally. This one is a nice combo of wood and metal for a classic  industrial approach.

DIY standalone bookshelf

See the DIY Tutorial: babble.com

11. Leather Belt Wall Shelves

An ingenious way to use leather belts. Cut to size, secure to the wall and add your ledges for another unique DIY book shelf.

Shelf made from belts

See the DIY Tutorial: knockoffdecor.com/leather-belt-wall-shelves

12. Distressed Shelf That Spells “HOME”

You bet you’re going to pay hundreds of dollars for this type of shelf from a catalog store. But ask yourself, is it really that hard to spell the word “HOME” in a home-themed DIY shelving project? It isn’t!

Entryway bookshelf

See the DIY Tutorial: acraftymix.com

13. “The Tree” DIY Bookshelf

Artsy meets books. If you don’t like your world to be so symmetrical and have a little surprise to it, this tree bookshelf is the way to go.

Tree-like bookshelf

See the DIY Tutorial: instructables.com

14. Easy-to-Build Crate Shelves

Another classic DIY bookshelf idea. So simple, yet so lovely in nearly any decor style. And it doesn’t get any cheaper or easier to make either.

DIY Crates Bookshelf

See the DIY Tutorial: creatingreallyawesomefunthings.com

15. Repurposed Metal Basket Bookshelves

We’ve seen more and more of these the last couple of years. They can hold a lot of things, but books work great.

Make them removable, and you can lift off a basket and be on your way for a lazy afternoon reading session with your favorite current books.

Wire basket bookshelf

See the DIY Tutorial: rainonatinroof.com

Of course there are countless other DIY bookshelf ideas. We picked the above as a way to represent the extremely unique to the pleasantly creative to the simple and just plain practical.

If anything, let these ideas inspire your own thinking next time you’re ready to declutter your house and give it another notch up in it’s design.

 

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