Off the shelf
Gabriel Roberts hunts out some of the best storage solutions around
Shelves might not sound like the most scintillating of storage solutions, but designers have come up with plenty of cunning ways to make them indispensable in the home.
From giving them highly-defined roles to injecting a sense of humour to their design, shelves are definitely on the way up.
Stores now have everything from cheap birch shelves to funky curved glass numbers and there is plenty of choice to suit most budgets.
The first thing to work out is what your space requirements are and the size of your budget. It is also important to decide what you are looking for. Will it be modular, free-standing or wall-mounted?
Modular units are available either ready-made or in kit form. Some are freestanding but some will require you to fix them to the wall or floor - as well as to each other.
Look at Ikea for the best cheap shelving solutions. These units look best crammed with possessions which will draw the eye away from the rather basic construction of the shelves.
An expensive but flexible shelving system which has a huge amount of storage space, equal to two or three times the space of normal shelving units, is Ocean's Beech Extending Shelving Unit.
It consists of two parts which are pivoted together and the unit can be extended to nearly six feet in width. When used pivoted, the system has a great dynamic look that is ideal as a room divider or to break up a long expanse of wall space. Start saving now, though, because this giant shelving unit costs £695.
A truly modern and stylish shelving unit for the living room is an elegant, slim, glass shelving system from Ocean (£295) which has been designed specifically to hold a hi-fi and CDs but can be used wherever a compact slim shape is needed. All 13 of the shelves are the same width except the middle shelf which is double the width to hold a compact hi-fi system.
McCord offers some really quirky shelving designs to store CDs. The Zorro CD Wall Rack takes up to 100 CDs. This unobtrusive, natural wooden rack part blends into the background, exhibiting a zig-zag of CDs climbing up the wall. The affordable price - £19.99 - means there is more money to spend on your sounds.
An attractive way of displaying your favourite bits and bobs is solved in an instant with the Treasure Display Boxes from McCord for £44.99. These natural beechwood boxes come in a set of three different sizes, all 15cm wide and deep, which may be hung in any configuration to create a stunning wall display. Fixings are supplied and the lengths are 45cm, 35cm and 15cm.
A truly Curly Wurly way to display your favourite books is to order a Bookworm from Purves and Purves.
Created by Ron Arad, this is talking-point design at its best. The price depends on the length you choose, with three metres costing £195.
Another curvaceous option is units in ash veneer by Tom Schneider, also from Purves and Purves. At £1,815 altogether these are definitely at the luxurious end of the market, but at least they will be assembled for you. So they should, for that money.
As you would expect, The Holding Company has a good selection of shelving. Look out for the industrial range of chrome shelving products. Designed for industrial kitchens, warehouses and hospitals, the shelves are built to withstand heavy loads. The kitchen rack is a great contemporary look for the kitchen or pantry with loads of space to store all your canned goods, plates, pots and pans. The unit has six shelves for maximum storage and costs £343.80.
Bathrooms are well catered for in the shelving department. Space is always at a premium so make good use of corner space with bathroom corner shelving from The Cotswold Company (£59.95). Attractive bottles, bars of soap and candles displayed on the shelves can help to give the bathroom a luxurious feel.
The Next Directory is a good place to look for off-beat shelving designs. Look out for the wave shelves, which consist of a steel frame with glass shelves for £119. Also good are the chrome and glass wall mounted shelves for £19.99 which are pleasingly curvy and have a useful towel rail at the base.
Stockists
Ocean - 0870 242 6283
McCord - 0870 908 7005
Purves & Purves - 0207 580 8223
The Holding Company - 0207 610 9160
The Cotswold Company - 01276 606080
Next Directory - 0845 600 7000
PICTURE: Zorro CD wall rack £19.99, from McCord
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