How to Store Books in a Small Bedroom: The Ultimate Guide

Book lovers and booksellers who live in small apartments often face a huge challenge: how can they store their ever-growing collection of books? Many start storing books in their bedrooms – but this can be tough, especially if you’ve got a lot of other belongings.

You can store books in a small bedroom using the following methods:

• Use creative wall shelving options.
• Create a nook in your headboard.
• Use window ledges and mantelpieces.
• Get a mini-bookcase.
• Get a wheeling cart.
• Store them under your bed.
• Make a table out of your books.
• Use empty drawers and containers.

The rest of this article will cover all of the ins and outs of storing books in a small bedroom:

• How to choose the right shelves for storing books
• Innovative places to store books
• How to store books in a variety of containers
• How to stack and organize your books properly

Choose the Right Shelves

It’s tempting to get the traditional horizontal bookshelf or bookcase that is a common feature in many booklovers’ homes.

But, when you’re working with limited space, you need to think outside of the box when it comes to shelving. As such, you should look for shelves that can be mounted on any spare wall space so that they don’t use up precious floor space.

Fixed Bracket Shelves

Fixed bracket shelves are shelves that are mounted onto a wall. To install them, you place them on top of brackets that have been nailed into the wall.

Because of this sturdy installation method, these shelves are unyielding and can bear the weight of extremely heavy books.

Floating Shelves

Floating shelves are similar to fixed bracket shelves in that they are broad flat shelves that can be mounted onto a wall, saving on floor space. But instead of having visible brackets, the brackets are hidden into the shelves, making them more aesthetically appealing.

If you want to install some floating shelves in your bedroom, I recommend these BAYKA Floating Shelves (available on Amazon).

Ladder Shelves

Ladder shelves resemble ladders in that they’re super thin and space-effective. But, their ‘rungs’ are flatter and broader when compared to a traditional ladder. This additional width allows you to stack books or decorative items on them.

These shelves have to be placed standing vertical against a wall. However, they are more versatile than a traditional bookshelf because they can be placed against the wall at an angle, allowing you to utilize the space beneath them.

If you want to store books in a smart and versatile manner, I recommend picking up the Casual Home 5-Shelf Ladder Bookcase (available on Amazon).

Corner Shelves

Corner shelves are designed to fit snugly in the corners of rooms.

They typically offer less storage space than wall shelves but are great when you have limited space, as they make use of space, which would have otherwise been left empty.

Look for multi-tiered corner shelves that stack upwards, as they’ll give you more space on which to store your books.

You may have to stack your books horizontally on a corner shelf, as many don’t have siding to support vertically stacked books.

If you want a corner shelf, I recommend buying the Furinno Turn-N-Tube 5 Tier Corner Shelf (available on Amazon).

Cube Shelves

Cube shelves are sets of cubes that can be assembled and mounted on the wall. They’re like floating shelves, but offer a bit more flexibility in book placement.

Cube shelves allow you to make use of any empty wall space you have and are great for storing horizontally stacked books.

Before you head out to buy cube shelves, make sure that you have measured the amount of space you have on your walls so you can match those dimensions to the cubes you buy.

If you think cube shelves are the best storage option for your books, I recommend getting these Floating Shelves – 10 Squares (available on Amazon).

Innovative places to store your books

If you can’t afford to buy a new set of shelves, or if you’ve used up all your shelving and still have tons of books to store, there are several other solutions available.

Store books under your bed

If you have storage space under your bed, consider storing your books under it.

Or, if you have a high bed but don’t have built-in storage, neatly horizontally stack your books under the bed frame – it’s a great place to store them, and it also adds to the decor of your bedroom!

Store books behind your bed’s headboard

Your bed likely has a headboard – most headboards are thin and wooden and add an aesthetic touch to your bed. Use some planks and carpeting tools to construct a small nook in your headboard, which will be perfect for slipping in some of your favorite bedtime reads.

Store books in dressing table drawers & wardrobes

There’s probably already of furniture in your room that offers storage space. If you have extra space in your wardrobe or your chest of drawers, then use them as book holders.

Either put the books directly into the space or add partitions and shelves to help you be more organized.

Store books on window ledges and mantelpieces

Any flat surface is fair game for storing books. Consider artfully displaying your books along a windowpane to make the view out of your room more appealing.

Or, if you have a fireplace, swap out the decorations on top of it with books. If you are doing this, make sure that the heat from the fireplace is not going to reach your precious books!

Store books in baskets and containers

Use baskets, containers, and crates to store books that you don’t read very often. Once you have filled your basket, place it under your bed or another part of your room.

Store books in a wheeling storage cart

You can pile books and magazines into a wheeling storage cart, which you can then place anywhere in your room – even in front of your wardrobe or bathroom door. Whenever you need to access your closet or bathroom, you can simply wheel the cart out of the way.

Make sure that the books that you are putting in the cart are light so that the cart is easily maneuverable.

If you want a wheeling storage cart, I recommend the SPACEKEEPER 3-Tier Slide Out Storage Cart (available on Amazon).

Make a table out of your books

If you have enough hardcover books, you can stack them against a wall to fashion a side table of sorts.

Stack the books smartly to ensure that your ‘table’ is at an even height. You can then use it to display vases, photographs, and other items to break up the visual impact of so many books in one place.

Note: If you’re selling books online, making a table out of them is not a good idea. You’ll have to “disassemble” the table every time one of your books sells. Therefore, book tables are best used for decorative purposes only.

Store books in a mini-bookcase

If you have some free table or console space, get yourself a mini bookcase that you can shelve books in.

A mini bookcase is similar to a regular bookcase in design but is small enough to perch on top of flat surfaces. It’s great for organizing books on top of furniture or in a small open area of your room.

If you want a mini-bookcase, I recommend the Furinno 3-Tier Open Shelf Bookcase (available on Amazon).

What else do you need to consider?

On top of innovative storage solutions, there are a few other considerations to keep in mind if you’re storing books in your small bedroom.

Stack your books right

We often want to arrange and align our books vertically, as it’s the traditional way of doing things. But, if you stack your books horizontally – one on top of another – you’ll be able to arrange them vertically, which will give you more space to store books.

When arranging your books this way, make sure that you are facing the spine of the books towards you so that you can read the titles.

Make sure you’re organized

When trying out new storage solutions, it’s helpful to use a system that will allow you to remember which book you’ve put where. Use labels or color codes and store your books according to genres, titles, authors, or the frequency of which you read them.

If you’re selling books online, sorting your books alphabetically or by SKU number is your best bet.

Also, it would help if you spent some time working out what organization pattern you like. Figuring this out will save you hours of toil when you try to find a particular title under your bed, on your window sill, or on the shelves that adorn your walls.

Final thoughts

With some organization and an understanding of the various ways you can store your books, you’ll find that there’s plenty of space in your bedroom if you get creative.

To recap, here are the ways you can store books in a small bedroom:

• Use creative wall shelving options.
• Create a nook in your headboard.
• Use window ledges and mantelpieces.
• Get a mini-bookcase.
• Get a wheeling cart.
• Store them under your bed.
• Make a table out of your books.
• Use empty drawers and containers.