AKICO, bookshelf edition
Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 01:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
So! After half a year, my new apartment is almost (almost!) ready for shelving! I.e. I have gotten nearly all bits of other furniture in place so I can squash shelves into every remaining space.
Anyone have shelving recommendations? Stuff available in the US, especially Bay Area California preferred.
Preferences:
Anyone have shelving recommendations? Stuff available in the US, especially Bay Area California preferred.
Preferences:
- I do not like deep shelves or double stacking.
- I am good with separating out trade/HC from mass markets for optimal shelving sizing.
- I have a lot of manga.
- I do not like shelves with doors, windows, glass panes, or anything that gets between me and my books.
- I do not like shelves that waste vertical space.
- I like longer horizontal spaces. I.e. I don't like really really really short shelves, a la Ikea's Expedit or those skinny DVD shelving towers.
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Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 08:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 08:49 pm (UTC)... this is when I think I probably should not ever live in earthquake country.
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Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 10:50 pm (UTC)That said, all the rentals I know about don't look too kindly at renters drilling into walls. In which case a board-and-cinderblock structure, or similar, is the same principle without the drilling.
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Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 11:01 pm (UTC)That thread has a couple of alternate suggestions, though, including the ever-popular "troll Craigslist and be patient" option. Speaking as someone who spends a lot of time on Craigslist, I will say that you can indeed find good shelves in hardwood (i.e. that don't bow). But to find them in a floor-to-ceiling bookcase is always expensive. Have you considered an open-front hutch? It'll be a drawer or two and a cabinet below, and open shelves above. I've seen them as big as 6' wide and 8' tall, but you'll probably want a bit smaller than that.
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Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 11:12 pm (UTC)My problem with most bookcases isn't the price necessarily, it's that they're almost all built to be 12" deep, which basically means double stacking. And a lot of commercial bookshelves give you about a foot or so of vertical room, which is also wasted if you're shelving manga or mass markets.... I know you still have to bolt the shallower shelves to walls, but hopefully not studs?
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Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 12:10 am (UTC)(You can't attach wallmounts to wallboard without anchors, because they'll just rip off when they get any weight on them. Wallboard just isn't that strong a material.)
Do have a look at some of the older hutches, if you want shallow shelves. A lot of them, the bottom part is deeper (16", 20") but the top is meant for dishes or even plate display, so they're often quite shallow. Not adjustable for height, usually, but 8" or 9" vs. 12" may make a difference to your perception of their usefulness.
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Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 12:18 am (UTC)I mean, okay, it is a hideous example unless you, like, want to store all your fishing gear or bobbins in one massive unit. But you can see how much shallower the shelves are than the lower cabinet portion.
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Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 06:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 06:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 09:28 pm (UTC)---L.
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Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 09:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 11:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Aug. 27th, 2012 11:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 12:10 am (UTC)(Dang it, I kleep clicking the wrong button.)
---L.
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Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 12:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 06:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 11:01 pm (UTC)Boards definitely warp fairly quickly, but you can get a four-foot width of these put together in a day really easily.
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Fri, Aug. 31st, 2012 04:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 03:55 am (UTC)For the IKEA Billy Bookshelves, you can buy extra shelves to make better use of the vertical space--that's what I did when I lived in CA. I got 8 rows out of a tall shelf rather than 6. It's pretty good but not perfect for manga (taller sizes of manga didn't quite fit on some of the rows, IIRC).
I got my current manga shelves at an unfinished wood furniture store. They were meant for DVDs, but the bookcases are a full 24" wide. Also, all the shelf heights are adjustable, so I have some super short shelves for mass markets and some taller ones for larger GNs. They're just the right depth for manga, but they are a bit tippy (and I have cats that try to scale walls), so I have them attached to studs with earthquake straps. If (or when?) there's an earthquake up here, everything will probably fall off them, but at least the entire unit won't come down on my or my cats' heads.
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Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 04:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
Tue, Aug. 28th, 2012 06:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Wed, Aug. 29th, 2012 02:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Fri, Aug. 31st, 2012 04:43 pm (UTC)