Stop Stuffing Your Shelves: A Smarter Way To Store Books In Small Spaces

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Storing books in small spaces can be hard, especially when you don't have the room (or budget) for large bookshelves. It can be tempting to stuff your shelves until they burst, but doing so is rarely a good idea. Not only will it make your home look more cluttered, but the habit will ultimately cause damage to your books — which kind of defeats the purpose. Overfilling can even damage the shelves themselves, or increase the risk of a dangerous tip-over. Instead, try thinking outside the bookshelf (pun intended) and get creative with your bookish storage solutions. 

There are plenty of book storage ideas that will work for any style, and one cute and smart idea is to use the stairs in your home. By storing your books in the gaps between your railing, you are utilizing space in your home that already exists and avoiding the need to purchase more furniture. This saves both space (because furniture is bulky) and money (because bookshelves are expensive). And did we mention it looks adorable? 

This hack is fairly straightforward — all you need to do is place books upright on the outer edge of your stairs. If your stairs have a railing that is open, use the railing and the side of the stairs as built-in book ends. The original hack, featured on Apartment Therapy's TikTok, has books facing outward, spines peeking through the gaps of the railing. To keep your books a bit more secure, try using something like the Afoxsos metal bookends, available at Home Depot, on the railing side to keep your books more secure.

If you don't have an open railing on your stairs, you can still try this hack; you will just need to place your books a bit differently. For example, you could line the edges of your stairs with books. To do this, use the wall as a bookend on one side, and a metal bookend on the open walkway side. Although books should usually be stored vertically (no leaning), they can be placed horizontally as long as they are fully supported. You can also place your books facing forward to show off the colorful titles to anyone walking up the steps. 

Books make great decor, but it is important to be careful when storing them so that you don't accidentally damage them. Books should be kept away from moisture and stored in a way where they won't get bent or warped. In general, books should be stored in spaces below 70 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity between 30% and 55%. Too much sunlight can damage books over time, as can dust, heat, and lack of ventilation, so keep your stairs clean and ensure the area is well-ventilated.