32 Built-In Bookcase Ideas to Take Any Room from Boring to Bookish
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We’ve all dreamed of a sweeping wall of bookcases filled with literary classics and a rolling library ladder for reaching the top shelf, where your next perfect read is waiting. And while there are many ways to display your books and collections (like floating shelves, free-standing bookcases, or even as stacks on your coffee or bedside table), nothing comes close to the form-meets-function of well-appointed built-in bookshelves.
So if you’re a lover of books, a collector of trinkets, or have a more-is-more sensibility, you’ve come to the right place (there never seems to be enough space for those treasures that spark joy!). Traditionally built-in bookshelves have been confined to living rooms, family rooms, home offices, and studies, and, of course, libraries. But designers are getting more creative, with book nooks sneaking their way into unexpected and delightful places like dining rooms, at the end of hallways, and even bathrooms (you know you read in the bathtub!). So keep scrolling to see beautiful ideas for adding new a built-in bookcase to your home or upgrading the bookshelves you already have. That library ladder is calling.
Here are even more design ideas for book lovers and trinket collectors alike:
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Paint Your Woodwork a Pretty Color
In this family room, designer Cameron Ruppert took a cozy stone space with wood beams and added style and function with
wall-to-wall blue-painted bookcases with custom strawberry vine needlepoint panels. The space is outfitted with an antique trestle table and chairs that serves double-duty as a workspace or gathering spot for playing cards or board games.
Get the Look:
Bookcase Paint Color: Stone Blue by Farrow and Ball
RELATED: The Top 100 Paint Colors For Every Room in Your House
Work with Your Architecture
Designer Mark D. Sikes dreamed up this happy little corner in a home in Birmingham. Working with the quirky slant of the roof, he embraced the shape of this room and added a happy assortment of books and trinkets. Spines arranged by color add to the happy spirit.
RELATED: 70 Stylish Kids’ Room Ideas That Even Grownups Will Love
Think Beyond Books
When temperatures drop in autumn, homeowner Justin Reis stacks firewood along the bottom of his living room built-ins, which are painted a deep navy that took three tries to get right.
Get the Look:
Wall and Bookcase Paint Color: Dark Navy by Behr
RELATED: Tour More of This Connecticut Georgian Colonial That is an Old House Lover’s Dream
Use Reclaimed Wood
Reclaimed barn boards add cozy texture to the walls of this primary bedroom, which features built-in shelves and an antique Swedish desk topped with a collection of tramp art boxes.
RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Buying and Using Reclaimed Wood
Create a Multi-Use Room
No library? No problem. Inspired by Irish pubs they visited during their travels, Minnesota homeowners Jeff and Jill Murphy created what the family calls its “Dibrary,” a dining alcove lined with bookcases.
Get the Look:
Wall Paint Color: Deep Caviar by Benjamin Moore
RELATED: See More of This Dream Cottage on Minnesota’s Lake Pulaski
Create a Campy Space
Homeowner Kelly Gray counts old camp movies like On Golden Pond as major style inspirations for her choices, such as this living room’s rattan chairs that have drink and magazine holders. The perfectly crammed built-in bookcases add to the campy spirit of the room.
Balance with a Window
Homeowner and Country Living Editor-in-Chief Rachel Barrett filled her original built-ins in the family room of this former hunting lodge with antique treasures. The symmetrical casing with the window on the right side of the room brings balance to the fireplace wall.
Get the Look:
Sofas: "Madeline" by Kathy Kuo Home
Sconces: "Flea Market" lantern from Circa Lighting
Vintage Books and Trophies: from Palladio Home & Garden
RELATED: Tour more of this before and after former hunting lodge in Mississippi.
Keep It On Theme
Homeowner Carter Smith embraced the mystery of his coastal Maine cottage (and indulged his Scooby-Doo obsessed niece!) when he dreamed up a secret revolving-door bookcase that leads to a powder room. Keeping on theme, he filled the shelves with his collection of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries.
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Don’t Overlook the Kitchen
This inset, channel-back banquette off the kitchen created the perfect narrow space for a built-in shelving nook used for storing cookbooks and extra kitchen knick-knacks.
Get the Look:
Kitchen Wall Paint Color: Dark Night by Sherwin-Williams
RELATED: Tour More of This Wisconsin Cabin That Feels Like Happy Hour
Try the Cocoon Effect
Painting your built-ins the same color as your walls and trim can make any room feel more modern and cozy. Bonus: The cocoon effect can really help your books and antiques sing. Here, a vibrant green paint color compliments the warm wood floors and antique desk.
Get the Look:
Room Paint Color: Arsenic by Farrow & Ball
RELATED: More green paint colors than will liven up your rooms.
Think Outside the Box
If we’re honest, one of life’s great joys is reading a book in the bath. Here, built-in bookshelves in a bold blueish-black hue keep books nearby for just the occasion. Tip: Drop-in, alcove, or undermount tubs like the one shown here are best suited for this look, as they provide a natural base for built-ins.
RELATED: Dozens More Ideas to Help You Add Soul to Your Bathroom
Add a Library Ladder
When the Wright family turned a welding factory into their family home, this library/music room was created to connect two larger sides. The dressed up the simple white built-in shelving with a brand-new rolling library ladder. The nestled-in piano dates back to 1914.
Go with Dark Paint for High Contrast
Homeowner Jeannette Fristoe takes a “more is more” approach to decorating. Here, dark black built-ins showcase a collection of creamy white books and patinaed silver under the careful watch of a flock of antique sheep.
Get the Look:
Bookcase Paint Color: Jet Black by Behr
RELATED: Find treasures galore in this serene Maryland bungalow.
Make it Modern
In this Massachusetts cabin, the homeowner set the scene with pickled knotty pine walls and simple bookcases. Filling the shelves with neutral books and objects helps the texture of the wood shine and the graphic tin “B,” part of an old gas station sign, pop.
RELATED: Wood Walls Are Back! Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Knotty Pine.
Use as a Bedside “Table”
Skip adding a nightstand to your bedroom and add a floor-to-ceiling bookcase or built-in bookshelf unit instead. Then tuck a comfy reading chair and side table in front to create a reading nook for when you’re not quite ready for bedtime.
RELATED: The Most Comfortable and Cozy Chairs for Reading
Add Game Room Storage
Built-ins traditionally grace living rooms and libraries, but here they enhance a game room with much-need room for game storage. Additionally, the extra shelving makes room for more personal collections like the homeowners vintage National Geographic magazines, which provide a fun yellow punch.
RELATED: See more vintage finds in this Georgia lake house.
Surround a Window
A window can be a lovely anchor for a custom bookcase. The sunny view helps break up visual density and the space underneath the window can be turned into a upholstered window seat or small shelf depending on how deep the space.
RELATED: 35+ Cozy Reading Nook Ideas for Whiling Away the Afternoon
Create a Bookshelf Nook
Inside this Minnesota lake cottage, a mantel shelf that spans the length of the wall creates clever storage against a wall of moss rock. Besides providing a perch for displaying art and decor, it’s also accented with a built-in bookcase nook that holds the homeowners’ large collection of vintage vinyl records and music equipment.
Get the Look:
Blanket: Wool Throw by Faribault Mill
Rug: Braided Jute Hand Woven Rug by FHYGGE
RELATED: Tour More of this Dream Cottage on Minnesota’s Lake Pulaski.
Tuck Them Into a Corner
Tucked in the corner of the family room, a built-in bookcase—painted the same color as the walls for a calming, cohesive feel—holds the homeowners’s collections of leather books, earthy pottery, and copper accents. An over-sized upholstered reading chair placed irreverently in front helps the space feel layered and inviting.
RELATED: See More of This Dreamy Alabama River Cottage That Beckons You to Slow Down and Savor Every Minute.
Go Floor to Ceiling
In this welcoming living room, the homeowners opted to skip lower cabinets and instead ran the built-in shelving from floor to ceiling allowing for even more space for books, artwork, and antiques.
Get the Look:
Wall, Millwork, and Ceiling Paint Color: Mouse’s Back by Farrow & Ball
RELATED: Tour More of This Charming Cottage That is Proof that the Best Things Come in Small Packages.
Create a Wall of Built-Ins
DIY-loving duo Victoria and Marcus Ford teamed up with Country Living to breathe new life into their 1970s Dutch Colonial–style home. Inspired by their love of reading, they transformed a long, awkward space into a cozy library-like living room by adding built-in b0okcases and a tufted leather sofa.
Get the Look:
Wall and Millwork Paint Color: Endless Sea by Sherwin-Williams
RELATED: See More of the Ford’s Home Makeover.
Add Character to New Builds
This new home built in a historical style in South Carolina’s Low Country uses built-ins to add layers of character. The architecture firm Historical Concepts and interior designer Barbara Westbrook used cypress paneling to create this warm and refined office space. A spindle-leg farm table used as a desk adds more history and charm.
RELATED: Tour More of This New Build That Embraces Old Country Charm (You Have to See the Kitchen!)
Fill with Monochromatic Treasures
Wood walls bring the cozy to this game table corner of the living room, but a collection of mostly green treasures filling the shelves, including framed antique art with green mattes to coordinate with vintage books, helps break up the warmth.
Get the Look:
Frames: by Framebridge
Vintage Lamp: Adams Antiques & the Potager
Add Character with Collectibles
If an artful arrangement is what you’re after, collectibles and small-scale objects can help create interest and corral your books. Here, no tools or supplies are required for these petite bookends! Simply buy a matching pair of small vintage corbels (these are 10 inches high) and place on a bookshelf with your favorite titles sandwiched in between.
RELATED: 100+ Best Places to Shop for Antiques and Vintage Online
Add Unique Lighting
Take a new or existing built-in bookcase to new heights with the addition of lighting. Built-in bookshelves in this colorful kids’ room are complemented by red shaded wall sconces. The center placement of the fixtures gives the space an extra punch of personality and provides lighting for books, art, and keepsakes.
Get the Look:
Sonces: For similar, Linlithgow Plug-in Armed Sconce by Everly Quinn
RELATED: The 3 Types Of Lighting Every Room Needs
DIY Custom Built-Ins
Just off the dining room, homeowner Bambi Costanzo carved out a 7- by 7-foot space for a pocket-size library. She customized one wall by adding molding to four Ikea bookshelves to make them look built in. Mossy green paint and inexpensive brass sconces she customized with patterned fabric glued onto plain shades gives the room an English country look.
Get the Look:
Green Paint Color: Pinetop by PPG Paints
Sconce: for similar, “Lysed” Wall Sconce from Amazon
RELATED: See more of the big personality in this tiny West Virginia cottage.
Embrace Old Home Quirk
Homeowner Mary Barrett embraced the narrow shelving original to her vacation home in Maine’s Boothbay Harbor, artfully filling the “funky little nooks and shelves” with an assortment of books and nautical knickknacks. New custom built-in shelving might be wonderful for storage, but this shelving nook proves that the original character of a home is worth holding on to.
RELATED: 40 Coastal Decor Ideas That Will Make Major Waves in Any Interior
Add Whimsy with Wallpaper
A small nook in a shared boys' room is transformed into a creative space with the addition of built-in shelving. A woodland-patterned peel-and-stick wallpaper adds youthful spirit to standard shelves and helps them feel more custom.
Get the Look:
Wallpaper: "Wild" in Gold/Cream by Chasing Paper
RELATED: Top 10 Best Removable Wallpapers, Tested by Our Editors
Repurpose a Hallway
The owner of this California home turned a 15-foot-wide section of hallway into a snug spot for reading with the help of rich, navy blue paint, simple recessed bookshelves, and an antique leather club chair.
Get the Look:
Wall Paint Color: Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball
RELATED: The Best Dark Blue Paint Colors for Any Room in the House
Recess Built-In Shelving
Unused attic space is now this kid- and adult-friendly hideaway complete with a pillow-filled bed, books, and a reading light. The recessed shelving holds beloved childhood toys and books. “You can always find at least one kid curled up here,” says homeowner Megan Duncan.
Get the Look:
Sconce: “Exeter” Wall Sconce by Hudson Valley Lighting Group
RELATED: Step inside more of this cozy Wisconsin lakeside cabin.
Pair With a Window Seat
Flanking a scenic view, these built-in bookcases also frame a warm perch above the radiator that is topped with a cushion covered in a romantic cabbage rose fabric, which is repeated on the window’s Roman shade.
Get the Look:
Cushion and Roman Shade Fabric: “Roses” by Kate Forman
Add a Glass-Paned Door
This quirky, built-in glass-front cabinet is original to the house, trimmed in the hallmark Victorian-style millwork. “The contractor had that taken out, but we put it back in,” says homeowner Claire Zinnecker of the cabinet that she uses for display and books.
RELATED: See inside more of this charming farmhouse that was purchased on Facebook for $15,000.
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