How to Create a DIY Home Library

Select the Perfect Site

As you make plans, look at different rooms with a librarian’s eye. The sun porch seems inviting, but too much light and humidity take a toll on well-turned pages. Your comfy chair in the den is a good place to start if it’s not next to family foot-traffic lanes. Select a site that’s quiet, easy to clear out and simple to fill in. Moving a few pieces of furniture to self storage frees up plenty of space for organizing your library.

Choose a Shelving System

A built-in shelving project offers the ideal starting point for building your collection. If you’re not ready to knock down walls just yet, consider these imaginative alternatives to free-standing shelves:

• Hanging shelves suspended from the ceiling speak volumes about contemporary styling.
• Tall display cases with glass doors are elegant housing for your historical research.
• Crystal clear Lucite wall shelving puts the focus on your books with the illusion of space to spare.
• A refinished cable spool becomes a rustic, circular table for small folios of favorite fiction.

Organize your books by author, subject matter or even cover color. It’s your system, so you get to set up the classifications and call the cards.

Create Your Quiet Zone

Take a cue from our beautiful Cross Estate Gardens by bringing that outdoor tranquility inside. Create a quiet zone for your in-home library with flowering plants that keep the air fresh and spirits calm. Soft window drapes filter natural light, protect your collection and help hold down noise. Extra space in nearby storage units gives your library and your mind plenty of relaxing room to expand.

Close the Chapter on Clutter

Spend this summer staying cool at home in your own library. Designate it as your personal reading retreat, or throw monthly book review parties for friends. Enjoy the space, and remember you always have extra room for closing the chapter on clutter with our convenient Bernardsville, NJ storage units. Access Self Storage is proud to serve as your off-site archives, and we’re here for you year-round.