Shelves in the living room - design
A shelf is one of the simplest inventions, which makes it possible to compactly arrange objects and things in a specific order. Today, shelves are used in the interior of many rooms, where they act not only as a functional item, but are also an important element of decor. Shelves are suitable for many design areas, so they can be found in many modern living rooms. For example, in spacious living rooms shelves of small sizes are often used, which become a real highlight of the room, combining different pieces of furniture, especially if the room has a square or oblong shape. In this article we will talk about shelves in the living room, the design of such details.
to contents ↑Book
Classic book shelves are used in the interiors of many modern living rooms. In many houses, books are stored either in ordinary bookcases or in Soviet walls. But today, experts in the field of design recommend placing books on hanging shelves, which can be wooden or metal. Combined options are also used, which consist of both materials.
Important! To give the interior a special sophistication, designers are developing unusual versions of bookshelves. For example, they can be in the form of several crosses or located at an angle.
The shapes of such pieces of furniture are different. Let's look at the most common of them:
- Single-tier or consisting of several levels.
- With side or rear walls.
- Closed or open.
- With horizontal or vertical arrangement.
- Refined or massive.
- Rounded, oblique or with right angles.
to contents ↑Important! The appearance of the shelves must necessarily be based on the general design direction used in the design of the room.
Over furniture
When designing modern guest rooms, the main emphasis is on maximum space, however, at the same time, too much free space can be harmful.
The weakest point is the bare wall above the armchairs and the sofa, on which family photographs or paintings are usually hung. Such a solution can not always effectively solve the problem of the problem of empty space, and in some design areas it is completely inappropriate. Instead of an art gallery, designers advise placing several narrow items above the sofa, and when asked what to put on shelves in the living room, you can place several family photos.
Important! The interior can be very original if you place the shelves in a checkerboard pattern. And so that the composition does not look too massive, it is better to choose narrow and short shelves, while their length should not exceed 1 m and width should be up to 15 cm. But, if you still decided to decorate the wall with family photos, then start planning changes after reading our articles:
For rooms that are decorated under Pop Art or Art Deco, shelves are used that are equipped with hanging elements. As a rule, they are placed over chairs, sofas and other pieces of furniture.Under the ceiling they hang a long and massive shelf, down from which long multi-level shelves can go.
to contents ↑Important! So that objects do not overload the interior too much, but organically complement it, designers recommend using shelves of light colors.
Between the slopes of the window
Window shelves are a rather unusual option for decorating living rooms. Such a decision would be appropriate for those people who knowhow to decorate an apartment with indoor flowers in flowerpots.
It is not necessary to block the entire window opening with shelves, practically depriving the room of sunlight. Compact options can be used here, in which the flowers will stand on special shelves that occupy only part of the window opening.
to contents ↑Important! On such pieces of furniture cyclamens, violets and other types of small flowers will look very good.
In the wall niches
If your living room has wall niches that can be used for your specific needs, you can build in them nice little shelves. They will be able to hide the shortcomings of this architectural element, while making it the highlight of the whole room.
Important! However, if everything is the other way around in your house - there is no niche, but I really want it, this is fixable, see our master class: How to make a niche from drywall.
It is advisable to select the width and length of the shelves, depending on the parameters of the wall niche. And the material on the style must necessarily correspond to the general interior. Let's look at the general tips of designers on embedding shelves in wall niches:
- To make the niche look more colorful, you can equip it with LED backlight.
- If the niche is small, it is better to fully equip its space with shelves.
to contents ↑Important! In addition to shelves, a niche can be decorated with some textured finish, and the lighting design should differ from other elements of the interior of the room. What really decorates the shelves, in this case, is the speetodiode tape. Learn how to do it correctly from the article.Do-it-yourself lighting of shelves with LED strip.
Floral
Many housewives love to grow flowers in pots, and some are truly passionate about this process. As a result, there may not be enough space on the windowsill, so hanging shelves should be equipped to place flower pots.
The advantage of this solution is that flowers will not prevent daylight from entering the room. In addition, if there are any defects on the wall, then flowerpots with flowers will help to successfully hide any flaws.
Important! With free time and a great desire, such shelves can be made independently.
For large plants, it is advisable to use shelves in the living room made of metal, since they can withstand heavy weight. Small flowers are well placed on small shelves decorated with decorative lace elements.
to contents ↑Important! In addition to living plants, artificial flowers look great on open shelves. Perfectly decorate the interior of climbing plants. Their branches can be scattered on the walls or ceiling, creating a corner of the living room under the "small garden".
Unusual shapes
Today, designers are developing many extravagant solutions for decorating the living room, including the shelf design. Specialists offer us the most unusual forms.
For example, shelves with an angle of 45 degrees, held on special racks, look very original. Regarding functionality, this tilt is useless, but it looks quite creative as a decor.
to contents ↑Important! Sometimes there are whole compositions from shelves, which are decorated in the form of avant-garde figures or geographical maps. And to finish such an interior decisionwall decorations in the form of geometric shapes.
Shelves in different styles of interior
Interior designers like to use ceiling compositions to divide rooms into functional zones. For each of the styles there is a special shelf arrangement system. Let's look at a few examples:
- High tech. For a living room of this style, metal or wooden products of a zigzag shape are used. Accessories should be present in a minimal amount so as not to overload the environment.
Important! Such shelves initially look original, therefore, when the question arises of what to put on shelves in the living room, it is better not to overfill them with many elements. It is enough to put a clock, a frame with a photo or a home phone.
- Modern. For this style, shelves can become a bulky element, however, there are many good examples of this design. As a rule, they are hung separately, but sometimes they can act as an integral part of a modular wall. The Art Nouveau style does not involve many different accessories, so on the shelves here you can put a vase, a figurine or put a few books.
- Provence. In this direction, open shelves are quite rare, and functional variations for storing things are not allowed at all. Often, only decorative glass shelves are used here. The material used is durable tempered glass of various shades, which, in combination with figurines and vases, looks very beautiful and elegant.
Important! Also in the interior in the Provence style, bleached shelves decorated with hearts and flowers look very good.
- Country. Village motives are applied in this direction. Traditionally, in village houses there were many different home-made pieces of furniture, among which shelves occupy a special place. Today, living rooms use painted wood products, and in terms of decor they are very simple, although forged variations with openwork design are sometimes allowed.
- Baroque. The interior in this style involves a large number of different decorative elements, so the shelves must be decorated with stucco molding, carved details or elegant patterns. It is important that they contain a touch of solemnity and luxury inherent in this style.
Stock footage
In the interior of many modern houses, shelves in the living room, the design of which is made in one or another style, play one of the main roles. Useful objects are stored on them, with their help they provide a single style of the room or harmoniously share the space. When properly designed, they can effectively transform the decor of the room. It does not matter if they are part of the furniture or as a separate composition. These items will always form the appearance of the room along with the rest of the items. That is why design specialists give them special attention in their work.