The main objects of the Glass Wall Shelves
- What are wall shelves?
- Types of material
- Mounting types
- Scope of wall shelves
- Variety of shapes
- Tips for choosing wall-mounted shelves
- Advantages and disadvantages
The design of wall shelves is by far the most unimaginable, ranging from classic horizontal shelves to wavy shapes or labyrinth shelves.
The types of wall shelves are also very diverse: bookshelves, shelves for the bathroom or for the kitchen, shelves exclusively for decor or functional shelves for a children’s room.
To make the right choice that will combine external beauty and aesthetics with strength and durability, you need to be well oriented in basic criteria. Let’s consider everything in order and from the very beginning.
1. WHAT ARE WALL SHELVES?
As Wikipedia says, a shelf is a piece of furniture without a front wall, with or without a back wall, for storing books or other items. Shelves can be made of materials such as wood, chipboard, MDF, glass, metal, drywall, or combined. Can be with LED back light. There are also different types of mounts: hidden, open, removable or modular.
2. TYPES OF MATERIAL
The choice of material will determine, firstly, the purpose of the shelf, and secondly, the style of its execution. Also, the choice of material depends on the room in which the shelves will hang.
- Wood, chipboard, MDF. A safe bet for almost all interior styles, there are and always will be wooden shelves. It’s a timeless classic. Such shelves guarantee safety and environmental friendliness, with proper processing it is easy to take care of this material, the tree has a pleasant appearance and texture, and most importantly – such a product will last a very long time!
Plastic. The only drawback of plastic is its unnatural composition. Otherwise, it is almost a universal material. It is lightweight, durable, moreover, it can easily externally imitate various types of coatings, such as wood or stone, and even be textured. The price of plastic products will also please.
Metal. This material is very durable, products made from such material are very durable and reliable.
The cost of a metal product will also be within reasonable limits, unless, of course, you opt for shelves with wrought iron elements.
Such products look very expensive and interesting, but you need to choose them only if the style of your interior is fully consistent with them.
Wrought iron shelves, combined with the overall classic interior, will look out of place. The only “but” is corrosion, which will begin to appear on the metal over time, so do not forget that the shelves made of iron must be painted.
Glass. Glassware deservedly fell in love with both designers and ordinary people.
3. MOUNTING TYPES
The strength and reliability of your shelves will depend entirely on the choice of mounting them to the wall.
Be guided depending on the degree of workload of future shelves. Different mounting options can also be used to achieve different visual effects.
It is up to you to focus on the fastening and specifically emphasize it or not. Consider the main types of wall shelf mounts:
- Rigid fixation. In this case, the shelves are attached to the wall using special fittings, this type of fastening is the most durable.
The shelves can be attached both to the wall and simultaneously to the ceiling and floor.
This makes it possible to load the product from the heart and not be afraid that the shelves will sag or not at all withstand the load and fall off.
This is the most successful solution for bookshelves, especially if they look more like a rack, or for shelves in the kitchen, because kitchen utensils are also not the easiest thing.
- Removable fixation. In this case, the fastening is carried out using special brackets and hooks.
The hooks are attached to the wall and the brackets are attached directly to the shelves.
Then you can either simply put hooks on the shelves, or use a more interesting option.
If you place the brackets not only on the back side of the shelf, which is adjacent to the wall, but also on the front, and add a couple more hooks to the wall, you can make, as it were, a hanging shelf, but at the same time, it will still be strong and stable.
You can hang such a shelf on leather belts, on a decorative chain or rope; you can also adjust the length of these elements by choosing the height of additional hooks. With this type of attachment, you will not have any difficulties if someday you want change the location of your shelf.
- Modular mount. This is a very convenient and modern type of fastening, which gives you the opportunity to independently choose the number of elements and, if necessary, remove and replace some of them. The fastening principle is very simple – the upper elements of the composition are strung on the lower ones.
You can create your own unique composition.
- Concealed mount. With this type of fastening, the shelves are attached to the wall using special hidden fittings, which makes them completely invisible.
These shelves look like they were glued to the wall. When choosing this type of mount in the future, you may have difficulties with dismantling, if suddenly you want to outweigh them.
And the installation of such shelves is not an easy task and you are unlikely to be able to cope without the help of a specialist, if you yourself are not an expert in the manufacture of furniture. But the visual effect, of course, deserves credit.
- Scope of wall shelves
When choosing a product from this material, pay special attention to the edges of the shelves. They must be chamfered and smooth to the touch, this will help you avoid numerous cuts both during installation and during subsequent cleaning.
You should also pay attention to the thickness, shelves with a thickness of 5 mm or more will be durable, choose products made of tempered glass, and this will give them additional strength.
With the help of glass shelves, you can visually relieve space and create light, weightless compositions.
- VARIETY OF SHAPES
The choice of form depends entirely on the purpose of the wall shelves and their placement. Consider the most practical and common options:
- Cantilever shelves. Basically, but not necessarily, such shelves are designed to store dishes or various utensils. There are 1, 2 or 3 levels with the ability to independently adjust the distance between levels.
- With a back wall. These are multi-level shelves, which are divided into sections and have a back wall. Such shelves, in their appearance, are more reminiscent of racks that fit perfectly into a dressing room or personal library, or are suitable for built-in appliances, for example, for a TV and speakers.
- One of the most common types of wall shelves. Depending on the material chosen, you can get both a classic wooden shelf and a more interesting glass one or with forged fixtures. Such shelves can be either single, or make up a composition of several shelves located diagonally with a certain pitch. Can be used to position any items.
- More roomy and more compact than the previous ones. By placing such shelves around the sofa, and at the same time using different heights between the sections, you can arrange beautiful vases, books, and photographs and abandon the wall in the living room.
- They can be mounted on both inner and outer wall corners. It looks especially interesting and original when the corner external shelf is a fragment of the wall.
- This is probably the most compact type of shelves. Such shelves will be indispensable in small rooms or in the bathroom. No less beautiful and varied, both in shape and in the combination of materials. They can have both practical and purely artistic applications. It all depends on your preference.
Original shelves. Do not think that only famous designers can create original shelves.
You just need to show a little imagination, and your apartment can be decorated with a wall shelf and the most unimaginable materials at hand, with or without illumination, or even with a built-in aquarium, made by hand!
There are no limits to your imagination. On the Internet, you come across photographs on which shelves even make their old TVs or pianos, and after all, someone invented it all! One thing is for sure – such a shelf will never go unnoticed by your guests and never get bored.
6. TIPS FOR CHOOSING WALL-MOUNTED SHELVES
- Before purchasing, you must know exactly the future location. After all, if you come home, it suddenly dawns on you that you probably should have hung the shelf above the sofa, and not on the opposite wall, and you have already purchased a product that is almost the size of the entire wall, then you will at least have to exchange it, and then think again before next purchase.
- It is also necessary to clearly determine the size and number of the distance at which the shelves will be attached to the wall should depend on the items that will be located on them. Think ahead of what your wall shelves will serve you for, measure the tallest object and add a few centimeters for the stock. This will make it easier for you to place items on the shelves and they will not rest against the top shelf.
- And most importantly, the style of execution of the wall shelf must fully correspond to the style of the room in which it will be located. Better not to experiment, otherwise you risk losing it.
7. PROS AND CONS
Undoubtedly, the advantages of wall shelves are not small!
- They can easily replace cabinets, while they will look much more compact and more interesting.
- Shelves, even a few, are much cheaper than
- Suitable for use in any room.