Old-style bookshelves find no space in modern homes

Of all pieces of furniture in homes and offices, the bookshelf is one that has not undergone a lot of design changes. For years, bookshelves have adopted the shape of free standing rectangular pieces with horizontal slats.
But the changing designs and modern living have demanded that creative furniture options be adopted, as a way of using space well.

It is easy to come up with unique pieces in which reading lights and piped music are embedded.

Harun Ombeki, who runs a furniture design shop along Nairobi’s Ngong Road says that customers are increasingly becoming specific with their design choices, something that has allowed him to make interesting pieces.

“Most of our new customers have been exposed to different styles and when they pitch their designs to us, we have to think out of the box in order to deliver what they want,” said Mr Ombeki.

Contemporary furniture makers appreciate that any design that can be thought of can be executed in exciting and functional ways as bookshelves.

For instance, thin pieces of glass can be screwed into walls, and at different levels, to form impressive “invisible” bookshelves.

David Wambui, the founder of Stardom Interiors located in Nairobi’s Karen says developers are also are increasingly settling on own designs.

“While some settle on inbuilt bookshelves to cut on cost and to maximise on the space, there is another group that wants interesting designs like hanging bookshelves,” he said, adding that the price per unit depends on the dimensions of the design.

Furniture shops in Nairobi have different bookshelves designs on display with prices going up to hundreds of thousands of Kenyan shillings.

Ayanah Furniture and Interiors showroom in Karen have interesting free-standing designs on display that include irregular shaped bookshelves retailing at Sh105,000 and a two glass door design selling at Sh65,000.

Furniture Palace free-standing bookshelves available for sale retail between Sh20,000 to Sh50,000.

Vintage bookcases

“Open bookshelves design are more popular with clients, this is because most orders that we get from clients are open designs , very few clients will order bookshelves with doors as they call them old school, open bookshelves are trendy and modern,” said Esther Zapharani, a sales manager at Ayanah Furniture and Interiors.

Others are going for Steampunk designs, most of which are made using old industrial pipes and other metal wastes.

Interestingly, with proper tools and a creative spirit anyone can make a shelf that will make for an interesting discussion points for visitors, while keeping their books tidy.

You can decide to give the room a rustic design by buying hanging bookshelves that are made of solid twisted wires that are joined together. The end result is something that looks more like a clothes rack.

Bespoke design

Mikado bookshelf design developed by French Architect Jean-Francois Bellemere is another interesting design that uses narrow planks of wood, or metal, positioned at different angles to create space for books to sit on.

Depending on the available space, the shelves can either be stuck to the wall or allowed to stand on the floor.

The design is ideal for bespoke designs that are fitted to give empty walls colour.

Home owners can also create interesting dividers to serve as bookshelves in studio apartments. The modular bookshelves and room dividers are free-standing and allows for positioning where needed in the room. And the designs can be tailored to one’s own aesthetic desires.

Mimic a growing tree, with the books forming the leaves by settling on a tree bookshelf design, a creative minimalistic design.

This option uses solid wood to form an aesthetically-appealing piece that still serves the function of holding and showing off your books.

Cover entrances

Covering the entrance to a hidden room, bookcases can be positioned with different swing, slide channels, allowing them to shift position allowing access to room.

These kinds of book cases are ideal for covering entrances to rooms that have little traffic, for instance home offices, because they tend to get heavy once books are loaded on them.

They also tend to be quite delicate in their adjustment because in an ideal situation, the books should remain intact after the door has been opened.

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