Dear AT,
I keep seeing bookcases that go against the wall and showcase the front of the books. Do you know where to get one?
Thanks for writing in, Claire. We think showing off beautiful book covers is a great idea and also an easy way for kids to find their favorites quickly.
We like this bookcase from Pottery Barn Kids ($249). It comes in four colors - white, navy, honey and red - and has metal label holders on each shelf so your little librarian can group books by category or age level.
Another option is the Sling Bookcase which holds books in canvas pockets. It's smaller and cheaper ($60) and can be purchased here.
If you want to go really small and just highlight the all-star books in your collection, this one from Land of Nod fits the bill. It's $49 and come in three colors.
It also seems like you could make your own by affixing wood dowels to the front of a regular bookcase. Has anyone tried this?
Other posts to check out:
Buy Magazine Holder by Anne Krook
Have a good question for us? Send it to nursery(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I want face-out shelves for our kid, too, but our budget is really tight. I found a post on another site where a family used rain gutters as face out shelves. cheap diy; check it out: http://duaneco.blogs.com/duanecoblogs/2007/01/index.html
(scroll down...)
view Rebecca_South's profile
If you look at school supply stores, you can also often find face-out bookcases. Some are even double-sided, so they can display twice as many books and may be used as room dividers.
view laura in la's profile
I just wrote a blog entry on this; see my post entitled Storing and Displaying Children's Picture Books.
view Jeri Dansky's profile
Martha Stewart's website has directions to make your own (of course!):
http://tinyurl.com/38gyxa
view Liz's profile
I plan to use some cheap wooden spice racks from IKEA for this purpose. I stained them and plan to mount them low on the wall where my son can easily reach them.
view jubgulia's profile
Thanks for this! I really love the rain gutter idea! I had originally wanted to make these shelves after having seen them in one of Martha's first baby magazines (sadly discontinued). Of course, they used a purchased plate rail that was no longer available... There is also a rather simple modern version in Judith Wilson's Babies Rooms from Zero to Three. Lately, we have been wondering about buying some aluminum trim that they sell in hardware stores here as a rail, perhaps adding those IKEA curtain wires stretched across to keep books in.
Here are 2 rather expensive versions of the aluminum rail idea that I have come across, in case anyone is interested -- http://www.stylegarage.com/products/accessories/al-picrail/al-picrail.shtml
http://www.stylegarage.com/products/accessories/st-picrail/st-picrail.shtml
We are considering the metal because we have no tools here in Switzerland (and it doesn't make sense for us to buy any), and we need something we can basically just affix to the wall.
view mschatelaine's profile
The IKEA KLANG shelf is a cheaper (albeit not quite as nice) version of the style garage aluminium rail.
http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/50072259
I havent actually used these yet but I think they would do the trick.
view Harry&Otis's profile
The KLANG shelf does indeed work. We did two to set out small-ish toys and books at toddler eye level for my daughter. We rotated toys and books in and out every couple of days to keep her interested. Literally she would walk into the living room and shout out whatever toy was on the shelf that day happily. Now that she's 3, she can get out toys herself and I don't think we have a place to hang the shelves, but maybe I'll figure something similar out for the next munchkin when he gets to be a toddler.
view KatieD's profile