Floating Shelves Inspiration

A living room with floating shelves and a yellow pac man bookcase.

With space becoming a rarer and more precious commodity in Interior Design, and in people’s lives, using walls as storage space has become a must.

Circular floating book shelves.
Rustic Unique Shelving

In fact, whereas one would traditionally place most of their surplus objects and trinkets in cabinets or wardrobes, shelves are now been increasingly used to ‘gain’ extra secret space around the house. In fact, when using shelves, the space occupied to place objects on remains free to use on the floor (so you can use both a table, and storage at the same time).

A white wall with floating bookshelves and a soccer ball.
Cool white abstract design

Of course, one incurs the risk of having their flat or house looking untidy if the bookshelves are not kept pristine and in good order. That is why it is a good idea to use handy ‘baskets’ to slip into the shelves for the more individual and smaller of pieces (or simply something you want to keep away from dust and indiscrete eyes).

A living room with floating shelves and a yellow pac man bookcase.
Pac-Man shelf designed by Mirko Ginepro

Floating shelves are one of the most modern of alternatives. Differently from a traditional shelf, a floating shelf will not have the unsightly brackets supporting it underneath. It will in fact appear as if the shelf is simply ‘floating’ on the wall. Most retailers offer shelves which are self fixing or floating. Effectively this works by having an interior metal bracket that supports the weight of the shelf from the inside rather than from the bottom.

A floating shelf with books and a lamp on it.
Invisible floating shelf

Floating shelves needn’t be Spartan. Of course you can have a simple slab of wood for a minimalist floating shelf, but there are dozens of more ideas around to spice up the idea.
They can be in different shapes, colours, depth, dimension, and curves. Also, they can combine to form a unique image, or even a personalised one (i.e. you could fix the shelves to spell your name, or the initials of your family members).

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A floating wooden shelf with books and a vase on it.
Curved Floating Shelf

Traditionally, books and CDs (and DVDs and BluRays) belong on shelves, but why not experiment with a vase with fresh foliage or even flowers? If not a potted plant would also freshen up the look. If you don’t think you have green fingers, you can always place artificial plants and flowers, for a very similar look. Small statues, busts, and figurines are also a great addition on a floating shelf, as well as trophies (if you are as lucky to have any to showcase), ceremonial mugs and cups, as well as scented coloured candles.
If you are used to DIY projects, then you might fix the floating shelves yourself (especially if purchasing them from a flat pack kit which includes all the screws and tools). However, if you are uncertain of this, it is very dangerous to have precarious or unbalance shelves around the house as they can collapse any moment. This becomes a serious hazard if there are children around the house who like climbing around furniture. Be sure to have them fixed securely by a professional, and keep them safe and clean.

1 thought on “Floating Shelves Inspiration”

  1. Hi…. I love the ‘Cool white abstract design’ floating shelves in this article…. Do you know where it can be purchased?? Thanks

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