How to Choose the Best Wall Shelf?
Table of Contents
Top Best Wall Shelves Based on Reviews and Price
Why You Need a Good Wall Shelf?
Simply designed and less bulky than a traditional shelf, the wall shelf takes up only a small space. Decorative and functional, the wall shelves are the trendy pieces of furniture in modern homes. Mostly found in the hallway, living room, bathroom, and kitchen, there are many types and styles.
In this article, we’ll walk you through on how to choose the right wall shelf. In doing this, we’ll give you advice on the criteria and features you need to consider before making your choice.
6 Things to Know Before Buying Wall Shelves
1. The Different Types of Wall Shelves
Living Room Shelves
The living room is the most decorated room in the house since we welcome our guests there. As part of the decorative furniture, the wall shelves easily find their place in this room. The forms, styles, colors, and depths allow you to personalize the living room, in various materials. These materials can be plexiglass, Formica, MDF panel, among others. This type of shelf generally has several shelves and storage compartments with design configurations. This gives a more aesthetic touch to the room. All kinds of objects can be placed on the living room wall shelves to decorate them. They can hold bowls, flower pots, CDs, books, trinkets, candlesticks, stemware, etc.
Wall Shelves for Bedroom
These famous shelves are used to store your personal items. These can be your photo frames, magazines, souvenirs, alarm clocks, etc.
The current trend is choosing cubic shapes in modules to allow wide use. These modernist wall shelf models are often made with medium density fibreboard.
Wall Shelves for Kitchen and Dining Room
These places are notably the most frequented rooms of the house. Instead of the bulky sideboards, more and more households are betting on wall shelves. This is because they are both more contemporary and save space. For a rustic effect, they are made of wood with fewer shelves and boxes. This type is used to arrange the kitchen accessories that we should have on hand. On them, you can have the salt shaker, the pepper shaker, the sugar bowl, and the napkins. You can also have the trivet and other cutlery that we use daily. These are simple shelves in the classic format. They are fixed to the wall by hooks or brackets.
Wall Shelves for Bathroom
It is undoubtedly the smallest and most discreet of all. These shelves are made of MDF or glass for easy cleaning. This is especially since they will be exposed more often to water and humidity. It’s a real extra piece of furniture for putting your electric toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and hair clips. You can even have your wipes and devices such as clippers, razors, hairdryers, and many others.
2. Construction Material: Wood, Metal, Honeycomb, or Tempered Glass?
The wall shelf is above all a shelf, or even a board which is fixed vertically to the wall. Among the construction materials used are wood, plastic, glass, metal, and wicker.
Wood Wall Shelves
The wooden models exist in several varieties.
- Raw wood: In natural decoration, wood is often used in the raw state to keep its original color. The standard shelves are thus made, in pine, fir, or oak. They measure approximately 18 mm thick. Both economical and easy to cut, the raw wood shelves lend themselves to more functional than aesthetic uses. You can use them as storage in the garage, cellars, and basements.
- Solid wood: This other variety of wood comes from pine, fir, and others, without knots. The possibilities of finishes are also wide. You can have them in patinated versions, chocolate, brown or gray cement. Otherwise, the thickness can range from 18 to 34 mm. These shelves are ideal for an entryway, a living room, or a dressing room.
- Melamine: It is available in thickness between 16 to 18 mm. These tablets are among the most economical on the market. The melamine shelves are available in white, but also in glossy lacquered finishes imitating wood or other materials. This material has the advantage of having high scratch resistance.
- MDF wood: Medium density fiberboard (MDF) consists of fine particles of wood and a synthetic resin. These materials are then hot-pressed. As it will be lacquered thereafter, the MDF is adorned with all the colors in the trade. These can be white, red, black, blue, pink, gray, green, yellow, etc. It should be noted that some MDF shelves have rough surfaces. So, future users can paint them.
Metal Wall Shelves
Although it is rare, it is possible to choose a metal shelf, mainly in chromed steel, steel, or aluminum. To guard against the risk of cuts, their edges are folded down. This also helps to ensure the rigidity of the structure.
Honeycomb Panel
The honeycomb panel has a solidity and lightness which can be used for a wall shelf. Widely thick, the honeycomb measures 38 to 60 mm. It has a lacquered, melamine, or high-gloss PVC finish depending on the model.
Tempered Glass
It is mainly found in the bathroom or children’s bedrooms. The end result is a transparent glass on which frosts or lacquer are added. These shelves are the thinnest. They can be only 5mm thick.
3. Choosing the Fixing System
The wall shelves can have two fixing systems: invisible or end caps.
- The invisible fixings: The invisible fasteners have one or more metal plates welded to the end of two perpendicular rods. They are to be screwed and pinned horizontally in a wall or a plate. This allows threading the rods at the thickness level without being visible.
- The end fasteners: The end fittings are threaded at the ends of a shelf. The pieces thus symmetrically cover the side edges thereof. This system also serves to fix the structure to the wall. It can sport a satin nickel finish.
4. Choosing the Style of Design
Going from the classic to the sophisticated style, graphic, and refined style, there is a large range of styles. Sometimes, the shelves have asymmetrical lockers and sometimes aligned boxes. The cube wall shelf is also all the rage in the world of interior design.
5. The Shape of the Wall Shelf
This criterion is defined depending on where you plan to install the shelf. If you intend to use the shelf to dress a corner of the house, a corner shelf will be ideal. In addition, it has a practical side. It provides additional storage space without cluttering the space. However, the usual square and rectangular models offer more surface area than the corner wall shelf.
6. Choosing the Color of Your Wall Shelf
A very practical decorative element, the wall shelf is more modern than ever. This is thanks to the wide choice of colors on offer. White, black, or even red wall shelf? Which version and which colors will you go for?
The Basic: White Wall Shelf
The white wall shelf for the living room or bedroom allows you to add storage space to the wall. It is ideal for creating a refined decoration. You can place books, decorative items such as a vase, a plant, candles, and stuffed animals, especially in a child’s room. The white model is easy to combine with the existing decoration in the room. It will go well with modern furniture, such as a lacquered coffee table, a fabric sofa and much more.
The Sober And Modern: Black Wall Shelf
These help to add a touch of modernity to your room or to complete your furniture in the same color. Offering sobriety, this model will stand out fine on a white or plain wall. If robust, you can place many objects in it to create a universe that suits you. Whichever style you choose, you can place it in a bedroom as well as in the living room, office, or hallway. It will go very well with a child’s bed, a living room furniture or office furniture.
To Add a Touch Of Color: Red Wall Shelf
The bright color of the red wall shelf is a perfect choice for brightening up a wall. It is ideal in children’s rooms. You can combine it with the curtains or even the bed linen. It will go just as well in a kitchen. You just need to marry it with the tone of other kitchen furniture. Whatever room you decide to place it in, your red shelf will make all the difference in your decor!
Conclusion
In addition to being functional, the wall shelf brings a design touch to the decor. You can use it to have decorative items such as a flower vase, candle holders, and trinkets. In the office, it can accommodate books. You can have the wall shelves on the entrance side, in the hallway, in the kitchen. It can also be above a headboard in the bedroom or sofa in the living room.
The wall shelf is available in several versions, both in terms of its shape and its material. You have to find the one that best fits your interior. But above all, you need a well-fixed shelf that can support some weight without damaging the wall. You will also need to choose the right set of hardware that will be used to hang it. Otherwise, it will be impossible to use it as a shelf requires fairly robust supports.
Note that the wall shelves can be sold in a batch or separately. This is because the needs of each user are not the same. Some rely on the design side of the accessory. Others are looking for extra storage to put objects of all kinds.
2Wood, tempered glass, and metal are the main materials used by manufacturers in the making of wall shelves. Choose natural wood for a classic style and metal or glass for more modernity.
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