In order to end up with the bookcase best suited to your needs, you have to clearly understand what you are looking for and what options are available to you. This is done by researching in two areas.
Firstly, you research the market to find out what kinds of bookcases are available, familiarizing yourself with the different features, styles and price ranges etc. Secondly, you examine your own unique requirements in a bookcase.
Research the market: Bookcase essentials
The first part of the research step is to investigate just what's available in the bookcase market. The range of options can seem daunting, but you can make a good start by understanding the following major features:
Styles: Bookcases are available in a wide range of styles, shapes and sizes. Explore the possibilities in terms of color, material, and other stylistic features such as special finishes. Some general styles of bookcases to consider include rustic, executive, country, vintage, classic, contemporary and handcrafted.
Features: Some bookcases may be more useful or convenient due to special features such as folding for ease of storage/moving and glass doors to protect books or fragile items on display. Other bookcases may offer lighting for display, stacking for versatility, optional doors for a neater appearance, or a hutch design to be used on a desk for saving space.
Materials: Traditionally bookshelves have been made of wood, and there are many different sizes and styles available today in a range of timbers, including cedar, oak and pine. Other materials include glass, steel, and laminated or manufactured wood products such as MDF.
Assembly: Shelves may be fully assembled, partially assembled, or arrive in a 'flat-pack' requiring complete DIY assembly.
Cost: Bookcases can be found to suit any budget. To keep costs low, consider bookcases you assemble and finish yourself, and furniture warehouse outlets or online deals offering wholesale pricing.
Research your needs: Questions to ask yourself
Now it's time to determine what your requirements are in a bookcase. For example, will you use the bookcase only for your university reference and textbooks, or to also display pottery and other works of art?
You can start this process by considering the following questions - as well as any others you think of yourself - and recording your answers.
| Have I owned a bookcase before? |
| | If you have, work out what you did or didn't like about the bookcase. You may be looking for one exactly like it, hoping to upgrade, or even trying to avoid any particular features that you found inconvenient. |
| What is my decorating style? |
| | Take a look at your personal decorating style, both in terms of your current décor, and your ideal. You might be trying to match furniture you already own, or you could be interested in exploring new directions in interior design. Perhaps you have a favorite furniture style or you might need to find out what kind of bookcases appeal to you. Your decorating style will reflect both your personal tastes and your lifestyle requirements. |
| What will I use a bookcase for? |
| | Although the answer may seem obvious, bookshelves can also be used to store or display other items in addition to books. You may already have enough books to fill a bookcase, or you might be interested in using the space to display collectibles, art, or photographs. If you could use a convenient way to store less aesthetically pleasing collections such as piles of magazines, consider a bookcase with doors to conceal the lower shelves. |
| How much space do I have? |
| | Bookcases are available in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Decide if you are looking for a unit that will fit into a small space, or one that will fit in as part of a multi-component storage system. There are many options available to help you make the most of your space. |
| How much do I want to spend? |
| | Your budget will depend on a variety of factors, including current living expenses, the priority you place on furniture purchases, your decorating taste, and so on. Quality furniture will last many years and be something you value, or perhaps you are looking for a more temporary storage solution. Take your lifestyle needs, and both short and long term goals into account. |
| Where will I put the bookcase? |
| | A bookcase may be located in numerous different rooms in your home, or even a hallway. Think about whether your bookcase is going to be prominently featured in your living space, or tucked away somewhere. This may influence how particular you are about the style, quality and cost of your bookcase. Specific dimensions may also be important, such as if the bookcase will be located under a windowsill, at the end of a hallway, and so on. |
Understanding your needs is the key to a successful purchase and you can revisit your list of needs at any time during the buying process.
Once you complete this Research step, having informed yourself about the essentials of bookcases and identified your needs, you are ready to move on to the next step: Evaluation.
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