Shelving Units

Our shelving units run from modular steel systems that grow with a library to architectural single-piece bookcases in solid walnut and oak. Each design is chosen for the balance of display and storage, the way shelves space around different book heights, and how the silhouette reads when the shelves are empty as well as full.

  • - 15% OFF
    Mu Floating Shelf 40cm Mu Floating Shelf 40cm
    By Gazzda
    From £95 £112
  • By Vitra
    From £65

Most paperback and hardback books sit comfortably on 25 to 30cm deep shelves, while oversized art and cookbooks want 32 to 35cm for a clean line. Shallower 20cm shelves suit paperback-heavy households and save floor space, though they leave large-format books overhanging, which reads as untidy over time.

Adjustable shelves reward changing collections: moving the shelves up as you add a run of tall art books, tightening them for a paperback shelf, or opening one up for a piece of ceramics to sit proud. Fixed shelves give cleaner lines and more structural rigidity for heavy book loads, so the choice depends on whether you collect or display.

Open shelves bring a room to life with colour and material variety, provided they're kept edited rather than overflowing. Pairing two-thirds books with one-third objects, such as a vase, a framed photo or a ceramic bowl, gives the eye places to rest between the dense spines and avoids the catalogue-shelf feel.

Start with the books themselves, arranging in colour blocks or height rhythm rather than strict alphabetical order. Leave 10 to 20 per cent of each shelf empty as breathing room. Mix vertical and horizontal stacks of books so the eye doesn't hit a wall of spines. Finish with two or three pieces of sculpture or objects on different shelves, offset rather than centred.