Bookcases & Shelving

Choosing a bookcase or shelving unit

A bookcase is the most forgiving piece of furniture in the house: it holds books, but also the baskets, boxes, frames and plants that make a living room or home office look lived in, and a tall one gives a room with low lounges and a low entertainment unit somewhere for the eye to go up. The pieces here are solid timber and metal bookcases and shelving units that arrive assembled, not flat pack, so the shelves stay square under a full load of books.

Bookcase, library or shelving unit?

A bookcase is a closed-sided unit of fixed or adjustable shelves, sometimes with drawers or cupboards in the base for the things you do not want on show. A library is a bookcase taken to the full height of the room, often in a double or triple width with a rolling ladder, and it turns a wall of a living room, hallway or study into something close to a built-in at a fraction of the cost. A shelving unit or open shelving is the lighter version: open at the sides and back, usually on a metal or timber frame, so the wall shows through and the room feels bigger. Choose the bookcase for books and storage, the library for a feature wall, and open shelving for display and smaller rooms.

Height, width and the ladder question

Measure the ceiling. Standard bookcases run 180 to 200 cm tall and 90 to 120 cm wide; a library with a ladder is 220 cm or more and needs a clear run in front of it for the ladder to travel, so allow the width of the piece plus about 60 cm. A low bookcase around 90 to 110 cm tall works under a window, behind a lounge or as a room divider in an open-plan space. Depth is 30 to 40 cm for books; choose the deeper shelves if you want baskets and boxes on them. Look for adjustable shelves, a solid back panel for stability, and fixing points so a tall unit can be anchored to the wall.

Timber, white or metal

A solid timber bookcase in oak, Marri or reclaimed timber suits a traditional study, a Hamptons living room or a country home, and takes the weight of a full shelf of hardbacks without bowing. A white bookcase is the Hamptons and coastal choice and makes a wall of books look tidy. A metal and timber shelving unit, with a black or industrial frame and timber shelves, suits a modern apartment or a home office and is the lightest option to move. Match the timber to your desk in a study, or to the console and coffee table in a living room.

Styling the shelves

Shelve books both ways, standing and in short stacks, and leave a gap on every shelf for a bowl, a plant or a frame so the unit reads as a display rather than a storage wall. Keep the heaviest books on the lowest shelves, put baskets or boxes in the base for the things with no shape, and repeat one colour across several shelves to pull the whole unit together. Books by colour look striking but are harder to find; by subject is the one you will keep up.

See them in a Perth showroom

The Furniture Gallery is WA owned and family run, with showrooms across Perth and regional WA. Load a shelf, climb the ladder and compare the timbers and whites in natural light, then measure the bookcase against your wall and ceiling. When you have chosen, add it to your cart and enter your postcode for a delivery price; our white-glove delivery team will carry it in, position it and take the packaging away.