Looking for input, developing bookshelves for sale

[jwatriss.livejournal.com]

Hi all.

I've been working on putting myself out there as a furniture builder. One thing I keep hearing in here is that there's a sustained need for GOOD bookshelves/ bookcases.

You guys are my current target market... I'm trying to stay local for now. I know there are a lot of academics and bibliophiles in the area, so I wanted to put this in the Davis board to see what you all had for ideas and requests.

So far, I have the following things that I think should be incorporated somehow.

-Solid wood, no plywood, particle board, or MDF. It costs a little more, but it's more durable, looks nicer, and the shelves are much stronger, meaning less sag over time.

-No drywall screws. I know that the unfinished furniture shops have plenty of quickly bolted together shelves from who knows where. I'm going for something a little nicer than what I used to have in my college bedroom.

-Modular. I've seen plenty of tall bookcases, and my one gripe is that they really don't move very well. I think that most of my friends move at least every few years, and I'd like to put out something out that is readily movable, and will work with all the old spiral staircases we have to deal with around here.

-Some fixed, some adjustable shelves. I know adjustability is always a desired feature, but a few fixed shelves in there will help make for a much sturdier, durable bookcase.

-I've been bouncing around the idea of a separate pedestal base, with adjustable casters/feet, and a built in level...because who in here actually has level floors? This way the base can be put in and leveled out, before putting up a huge heavy pile of books.


Pricewise, I've been told that the primary choices right now are either $60 target garbage, or super high end $2500-ish custom stuff. I don't think that I'll be anywhere near the $60 mark. I need to make a living. But I think it's possible to build solid, lasting bookcases for less than $500.

So, ignoring pricing for the moment, what are you all looking for in a bookcase/ bookshelves?

Comments

[inahandbasket]

Built-in ones, but I'll probably do them myself. ;-)

The existing lower-end options that I've seen locally are mostly unfinished one-by pine that are dadoed together and then tacked in place with pneumatic brads, leaving little square holes all around the edges. Then they take a router with a 3/8" roundover bit to the whole front of the thing.
They cost a bit more than Ikea stuff, but less than good quality finished shelves.

I think the separate pedestal base is a lovely idea, but expect it to be an expensive add-on rather than default.

If you can do nice shelving with decent fit&finish (no brad holes) for a few hundred bucks, you'd probably have a decent market for it.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I agree about the separate base. I think that's something I wouldn't really have much need for, but which would make the whole thing cost more than I'd be willing to spend. I have one of the lower-end ones you describe, inahandbasket, and would adore it if it had some adjustable shelves. It's served me well. Adjustable shelves with a little extra support (instead of just resting on four teeny pegs) would be very awesome. Maybe some sort of braces?

[zmook.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I own a couple of those, too, and while I'm quite happy with them, my income has gone up and now I wouldn't mind if my next bookcases were not made of cheap, poorly-finished pine. (The poorly-finished part is my own effort -- I bought them unfinished). They do have one triumphant feature, though -- one is 2' wide, 7' tall, and has no fewer than ten shelves perfectly sized for paperback books. Believe it or not, I had to get that by special order. It is a continuing puzzle to me why it is nigh impossible to find pre-made bookshelves for paperbacks. I can't believe they are such a rare and exotic thing to want to store in a bookshelf.

But anyway. I have a couple crappy crappy pressboard shelf things I'd like to replace. I might be in the market for the kind of thing you're talking about. The two form factors I like are low-n-wide (27-30" tall x 3' wide) and narrow-n-tall (24-30" wide x 7' tall). Seems to me those are about optimal for fitting into random New England apartments.

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

Hello! I'm a member of the science fiction community, and like many fans, I own lots of books. I am thrilled to see someone asking for input on bookshelves!

Casters to adjust for un-level floors would be wonderful, but I would really like to see a book case that has a 1.5" gap from a wall that would run up a foot or so, to allow the book cast to rest against the wall but go over the board that runs along the base of the and protects it from being kicked. You might also want to consider building custom book shelves that will fit around chair-rails, but almost all homes have kick protectors, while only soem have chair rails.

I would suggest making modules that hold four shelves of paperback books with secured shelves, a module that holds four shelves of hardbound books with secured shelves, and a module the size of the hardbound shelves with adjustable shelf holes. Then all you would need is a way to interlock the modules, and people could buy as many of them as they need to hold their books of all shapes and sizes.

Also, I suggest making corner-modules that would interface with the four-shelf modules, so people could use two shelves for books without loosing space between them, or wrap their book shelves around a corner or piece of furniture. (I can sketch and draw plans for this if you would like; my e-mail is my username at gmail dot com.)

[thespian.livejournal.com]

Ikea's Billy bookcases have a divot cut at the bottom so you can run cables and put them flush to the wall over the baseboard, but it's only about 4", and I never have seen a need for more than that.

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

I've seen old houses where the molding goes up a good 10". Cut it at 12" and you're sure to be safe.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I've lived in a place with over 8 inch molding around the floors, yup.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I'm looking not only for modular, but foldable - there's the chance I'll have to move, every few years or so, and anything that folds flat for travel is great.

And I've already got my dream foldable ones.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

The idea of a pedestal with casters and a level is a beautiful thing.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

First off, it would probably be a good courtesy to cut this. It's a bit long.

Secondly, basically I want something that fits in my space, that's sturdy, and that holds up my books. Anything else is kind of an extra. I will note that if you offer delivery it'll really increase your business. :-)

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

oh my goodness that was funny.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Bwahahaha!

[infinitehotel.livejournal.com]

I'm furnishing right now, so some of these questions have been on my mind.

Real wood is awesome but expensive; I don't have strong objections to some MDF in places if the piece is built right overall.

A slightly more finished look is a good thing as well. Most of the affordable bookcases out there are plain boxes; it'd be nice to have the option of some molding or a finished top to make them seem more like real furniture.

Modular construction such that they can be moved more than once would be an excellent feature; with most of the cheap options you can only get a move or two out of them before they start to fall apart. Planned modularity between pieces might help with repeat business so buyers can expand as their needs do.

Good luck!

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

I don't need foldable/modular as long as it can be disassembled and reassembled without taking a lot of damage.... screw-together with pre-sunk metal anchors would be fantastic. And I agree about the cutout for floor molding; I think some Ikea models have that. (Your greatest competition here is going to be the Billy series, I think... world's most popular proper bookshelf. Most of the rest of their products are shelves, but not *book*shelves...)

Other thoughts: A bookshelf that actually holds books needs to have sides, so that books don't fall off it.

It doesn't need to be 18" deep. 12" is probably plenty.

If money were no object I'd have mid-sixties Danish teak modernist pieces like they have over at Abodeon.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

the only thing i can think of off-hand is offering a few different stains/finishes (dark, light, something in between...) and maybe a corner unit. also stormdotter's idea for a cutout to allow for the mouldings along the bottoms of walls is a good one. that way the bookcase could rest flush against the wall. i love your idea for modular bookcases, too.

[ifotismeni]

definitely what everyone else said about keeping mouldings in mind. if your market's this area, almost all these old houses have some kind of wainscotting or moulding that makes "generic" furniture kind of a pain in the ass.

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

My "KILBY" bookshelf from IKEA has a little notch to accommodate moulding. It was $40. It's made of cheap particle board, but it has withstood two moves so far.

For the OP, I have tons of books but am a poor grad student, so not really your target market I'm afraid. :-(

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

Plywood is just fine as long as you face it in real wood; skip the banding and put a strip of real wood on the edges. Joining lots of boards together will increase the cost a lot for very little gain. Also with all of the humidity changes the boards will tend to break apart or cup(unless you are making it out of quartersawn). Stay away from the crap they got at HD and go to a mill. I get my wood at Highland Hardwoods in Brentwood NH. Adjustable shelves should have a 1 to 1.5" deep facing to keep the shelf stiffer; 4/4 oak will even have a problem at 3' wide with hard covers, a simple strip of wood (twice as thick) on the edge will make it many times stiffer. I tend to use metal sleeves in the adjustable shelf pin holes so that they do not wear loose. A single fixed shelf and a 1/4" plywood back is sufficient to keep the unit very sturdy.

Ditto that.

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

Ditto everything that Mr. Pet said. Buy your hardwood at Highland--though if you went to NBSS you already know this--and a good source for fancy-faced ply is Boulter on Broadway here in Somerville. Though believe it or not, I've found better core (fewer voids) in ply products I've bought at Home Depot--go figure.

I put together shelving integrated with a desk using ply faced with maple and cherry with hardwood edging. The maple is glazed white and the cherry has an oil finish which together looks wicked sharp and modernista. It comes apart and is 10 times as strong as it needs to be. I went to IKEA, absorbed design ideas, and then knocked them off using better materials. I avoided the uneven floor and molding issues by putting the whole unit up on adjustable stainless steel legs, also from IKEA. If your target audience is Somerville, copying IKEA but making it better quality might be a good bet.

Re: Ditto that.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

Rockler has all of the knock down hardware but if you have access to a car, I tend to like Woodcraft in Woburn a little bit better.

[ron_newman]

This post inspired me to create a furniture ttag, something I'd been meaning to do for a while. Some of the earlier posts tthat I rounded up for this tag may be relevant, but I make no guarantees.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

When I have done cabinent work I have extended the side pieces back an extra inch. When I went to install I simply transfered the wall shape over and cut it out for a perfect fit. This means rabbiting in the back panel as opposed to flush nailing. I like doing this anyway since there are less nails to remove if you need to dismantle.

[rhean.livejournal.com]

I want something that will deal with the fact that I have some larger hardcover books and a ton of paperbacks. I hate both losing all the horizontal space when I only put in one row of paperbacks on a shelf, and the alternative of putting in two rows on a shelf (so you can't see or reach the books behind the first row). The only two fixes I've seen/thought of have been not-very-deep bookshelves (so a paperbacks-only bookcase), or a pull-out-on-casters shelf for double rows of paperbacks.

[ratushebarl.livejournal.com]

I agree, it's a problem with most shelves that they're too deep. I'm totally cool with filing my few hardcovers separately from the great mass of paperbacks, if it means I can have shelves that don't either waste lots of space, or tempt me to stack two deep which always ends up as a mess.

[nungnung.livejournal.com]

I LOVE the idea of shallower shelves, which would nicely accommodate CDs as well as paperbacks. Ready-made CD storage available current is incredibly dismal, and all too often includes little inserts that break your shelf into cubbies of 20 CDs each. Not so great when you have an excessively large collection.

[magid.livejournal.com]

If the shelves are deep enough to allow double-shelving, it would be worth having an extra 'step' that could be added behind so at least some of the spines of the books in back are visible.

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

I think your bookcases sound beautiful and some of the features you've got listed here are totally unique. You might also want to research your competition a bit. My husband and I bought some beautiful solid maple bookcases from the unfinished furniture store that's just on the other side of the railroad tracks near the Porter Exchange last year. I think it's called Bookcase Factory Outlet.We got to pick the height, width, wood, moulding and stain color. The ones we ended up with were solid maple with gorgeous moulding and adjustable shelves. The store custom stained them to match our kitchen cabinets. I think we paid about $300 for the set of shelves. They're about waist high and 5 feet long.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Years ago I had a friend who had a bookcase where a little over half of it was double-shelved. In other words, like, there was one set of shelves, and then in front of that there was a second set of shelves that was about 2/3 the width. And the front section could slide back and forth, so that you could see the books in the back. That was awesome. I described it really badly, sorry, but I would love to have something like that. I mean if I could afford it and all, which I can't. But still.

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

All the things you stated. I am peeved when the shelves bow...heck, I'd even put up with fixed shelves it it meant they would not bow. I want it to be movable and be able to take a little banging around without falling apart. I love the idea of casters.

As another high-end option, give them the possibility of adding doors so you can close it up like an armoire if you choose. My bookshelves tend to be messy, so I'd love that option.

[genevra-mcneil.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'd love to have one or two shelves that are only a few inches high to store my over-sized hardbacks horizontally without a huge waste of space. I got the idea from Martha, but it's worthy anyway. (http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=bc35c3984f32f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=type_1&autonomy_kw=oversized+books)

I second (or tenth or whatever) the idea of a cut out to allow for the kick plate around the base of the wall -- mine is 9 1/2 inches high and nothing ever fits over them.

Finally, I am also a paperback double stacker, so having a riser in the back is something I'd love.

[kjc.livejournal.com]

I have some exceedingly weird-shaped spaces in my house where I'd love to put bookshelves but can't fit traditional shelves or can't get them up our narrow staircase.

A friend and I designed some small paperback shelves (each unit has three shelves, slightly higher than the average paperback and about three feet wide). She built them and helped me install them on the walls. It's hard to describe, but we came up with a creative way to hang them (with the caution that they're ONLY to contain paperbacks as otherwise they'll rip out of the wall). They're awesome.

I definitely wish I had shelves that could deal with our gigantic baseboards.

And I wish I had something modular, so I could have a couple of feet worth of shelving that goes up seven feet, then space for pictures on the wall with shelves below, then a really short shelf to go under the window.

Being able to cope with uneven floors would also be amazing.

I've always liked those shelves that are deeper at the bottom, so you can keep your hardcovers down there, then shallower as they go up. More shelves that are about paperback book height and shallow so that they'd keep paperbacks and NOT collect dust (or tschotchkes) would be great.

[witzwurst.livejournal.com]

I like your features above, although I will agree with mrpet and say that good plywood is just fine. Other things I'd look for include reinforced shelves (don't just use a single board, please!) and an option to add doors to some or all of the module. Sustainable woods are also a big plus.