Shelves are great problem solvers. Not just in reference to where to store your things but also to add a lovely element to your home. Paradoxically, they have the power not just to empty your house of your knick-knacks but to fill it up as well!

The best part is that shelves are so versatile and come in so many shapes and sizes, that there is one for everyone! You can choose to have a uniform shelf theme across your house or liven each room with a different style of shelving – fixed bracket shelves, built-in shelves, floating wall shelves, top hung shelves or free-standing shelves. If you’ve been keeping track of the latest trends, you would have noticed the growing popularity of floating wall shelves. But if you are not sure why it is, we are going to share more on that later. Before we get to that, let’s talk about the different kinds of shelves.

​Shelf Options

​Fixed Bracket Shelves

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Also called suspension shelves, are fixed on to the wall. Their individual brackets made in wood, metal or plastic are clearly visible. Their greatest advantage is that they are very simple to install and uninstall. Hence, you can easily remove them and place them elsewhere in your house. This helps you add a dynamic element to your home’s design that can refresh the look of the house without much ado. Pretty much all you need is an empty wall.

Another big plus is that there are many options and choices in these shelves. You can get them in wood, plastic, metal, glass, fiber, etc. And in a variety of colors and finishes.

​Built-In Shelves

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Built-in shelves are amazing for all spaces in your home. Whether it is your living room, the kids’ room or the office. The shelves are fitted in to the wall structure. They can be easily made by fitting wooden or plastic structures in the depressions in your empty walls. Since they make use of open spaces on the walls, they do not protrude too much or eat in to your room space. In fact, they are particularly great in making dead spaces, like corners, usable.

You can create these shelves in multiple and odd sizes, as per your requirement. The different sizes add a unique charm tothe shelves as well. The only downside of the built-in shelves is that it is very hard to uproot the shelves from their spot and place them elsewhere.

​Corner Shelves

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​The corner shelves are probably the best in utilizing dead or inaccessible spaces in the house. Just prop them up in any unattended corner between any two wall junctions and see its energy change. Along with saving space and up-doing your corners, the shelves have another advantage — they are available in a choice of colors, materials, shapes and designs. Plus, you have the flexibility of choosing a freestanding piece or one that is fixed on the walls.

​Top Hung Shelves

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​You’ll often find these in schools and office spaces and are a great way to bring an element of creativity in to your home as well. Just bear in mind that they are not meant for lightweight walls. They are usually made of metal sections fixed to the wall. The shelf is actually hung from these fixtures. Since they are great to store books and stationery, they are a good choice for your kids’ study.

​Free-Standing Shelves

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Free-standing shelves add aesthetic value to your home and offer functionality as well. They are easy to move and set up and offer ample storage as well. Further, they are also wonderful space dividers, to create two sections of a large hall or room.

Since the shelves are open on two sides, they do not look cumbersome even in the middle of a room. And you can use the shelf to decorate both sections of the room by displaying your items facing each side. You can also use the free-standing shelves to add a design element in to a minimalistic room.

​Floating Shelves

​Floating shelves go right on to your wall without any visible attachments. Thus, they look really great, ‘floating’ against the wall. And you need very little experience to install them! The colors, styles and options available in them can solve most of your storage problems. In fact, they are so great that their popularity is unparalleled to any other storage option.

​Why Floating Wall Shelves Are Popular Lately

Floating shelves have become the demand of today’s home decor. These super functional shelves have unlimited beauty and grace with which they blend in to any environment. But there’s more to what makes them everyone’s favorite. Here are the top picks that answer why.

​Cleaner, Minimalistic Looks

​The structure of floating shelves is so compact that they take up little space on your fall and give it a clean and minimalistic look. This is particularly beneficial when you don’t want the attention to be taken away from your decor items.

​Light and Airy

​The sleek structure of the floating shelves leaves a lot of space around them. This allows free flow of light and air. Hence, it does not feel looming or cumbersome even if the shelves are placed above the seating area. This works really well for homes with small spaces.

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​Aesthetically Pleasing

​The sight of a shelf floating against a wall, unsupported, unhooked is a pleasant one. The inherent style of the floating shelves adds to the beauty of your walls and house. Because they are strikingly so different from the traditional shelves, they attract more eyeballs. Their linear shape artistically aligns the shapes and sizes of your rooms.

​Good for Small Spaces

​Floating shelves do not encroach upon your floor space. Hence, they are perfect to decorate small spaces that would usually lie vacant and useless. This is particularly good for the corners around the house.

​Fit Everywhere

The possibilities of a floating shelf are unlimited. They go just about anywhere in your home. From the bathroom to the kitchen to the living room to the bedroom to the office to the kids’ room. You can even fix them up in your balcony to place some planters on them or in the garage to store your tools. Wherever you want to put them, you’ll find enough options in colors, styles, sizes, etc. to match them with the rest of the decor of the house.

​Easy Installation

If you have a ready-to-go floating shelf, installing it is very easy with the need of only a few instruments and tools.

​Strong and Durable

Floating shelves can be very deceptive in terms of their endurance level. They seem sleek and delicate, however, they are quite strong and last longer. Since their brackets are screwed on to the wall, they have ample support that holds them in place.

​How to Fix Your Floating Wall Shelves

Now that you know why floating shelves are so good for you we are sure you must be yearning to order a set for yourself.

Before you do that, we have some super tips for you on how to fix your floating shelf by yourself.

• ​With the help of a stud finder, find a wall stud around the spot where you want your shelf to be. The aim is to try and get minimum one fastener in.
• ​Take a pencil and mark each fastener’s position on the wall. With the help of a level ensure that they are all in a straight line.
• ​All that remains is fastening. If you are not fastening into a wall stud, then you are going to need anchors. It is a good idea to select anchors that can carry a lot more weight than what you intend to use your shelf for.

​Where Can You Put a Floating Wall Shelf

We’ve already shared how versatile floating wall shelves are in regards to use. Here are some great places where floating shelves can prove functional yet beautiful.

​On Your Windows

​​If you don’t have the place for extra shelves in your room, but do have nice windows with enough place for an anchor, thenfloating shelves look great across a window. Especially in the kitchen. In fact, you can put up little herb planters right there.

​Break the Monotony

​​You can break the monotony in your home decor with floating shelves. For instance, a dark shelf against a pastel wall or a white shelf against a brightly colored wall. If your wall’s pattern is very busy, then putting a simple floating shelf will break down the confusion.

​Flow with the Corner

​​Let your floating shelves flow with the corners of your walls. Let them go around from one side to another for a very stylish and elegant look

​Nooks and Crannies

​​Turn a dead space in to a useful and beautiful section by fixing small floating shelves there. Go for a single one or put up many in the form of a ladder.

So you see! Floating shelves don’t only leave behind the other shelves in terms of beauty and ease of storage, they are multi-purpose and go well just about anywhere in the house. So the next time you want to up your storage game, do give these humble little shelves a serious thought!