Monday, January 17, 2011

Shelving: Using Under-the-Window Space

bench with bookshelf underneath

Rooms with lots of windows can be delightful, with all that natural light, and often some inspiring views: a cityscape, a lovely yard, etc. But sometimes those rooms present storage challenges - and that's when under-window bookcases can come in handy. Low shelves can also be good for storing things you want younger children to be able to reach.

Let's look at some options - there are many styles available - going from the shortest to the tallest. All of these would fit under the window in my home office.

We'll start with the Offi bench box, at only 22 inches tall - 23.5 inches with the optional casters.


low bookshelf under window

Then there's the Mission under-window bookshelf from L.L.Bean, at 24 inches tall. A very similar (if not identical) product is the under-window bookcase sold by Manchester Wood.


low bookcase

Levenger's No-Room-for-a-Bookcase Bookcase is also just 24 inches tall. Update on April 15, 2014: Levenger no longer sells this bookcase.


 window bookcase, short

If you have a bit more room, there's this window bookcase from Rush Industries, which is 26 inches tall.


low bookcase

Lilly and Lolly, in Australia, is the source for this bookcase; it's 69 cm (about 27.2 inches) tall.


shelf, low, green, with curved sides

The Curvee shelf, available in seven different colors, is a bit taller at 27.6 inches. [via Apartment Therapy]


low bookcase with colorful orange backing

The TrueModern low bookcase is quite a bit taller - 30 inches. The backing comes in your choice of three colors.


low bookshelf, teak

Scandinavian Designs also has a bookshelf that's 30 inches tall, available in three different wood finishes.


6-cube low bookcase

Land of Nod has a six-cube bookcase that's 31.25 inches tall.


oak low bookcase

And here's a solid oak bookcase that's 800mm - about 31.5 inches - tall.

Modular shelving units might also work - more on them soon!

3 comments:

JustGail said...

I like these short bookshelves, I have 1 window in the kitchen I'm considering adding something like these. But all I've found locally is picture-of-wood-on-wood-by-products type shelves. They are OK for temporary shelving, but I'm looking for something a little nicer, and some of these might just do the trick. I'd like to do something similar in the living room, but there's a baseboard heater under that window. So I most likely use a wall-mounted shelf.

And of course we can't forget the other important function for shelves that are window sill height - a place for the kitties to gaze out over their empire.

Jeri Dansky said...

JustGail: How could I have neglected to mention the kitty-perch benefits? Thank you for adding that!

Pauline Wiles said...

The bench is my favorite option, mainly because I have a long standing fantasy of living in a house with a built-in window seat. It's not just kitties who like to gaze out at the world!