Creating more storage for our at home office space by setting up a bookshelf in closet for built in storage solution with style.
When we moved into this house, I knew that I needed to have my office set up in a much smaller room, since I had to let my gorgeous basement that I had set up previously go.
I have a lot of stuff that I need to keep organized, just call it working from home problems. 😉
Things like books, supplies and general office trinkets that had to find a home when we moved. I went into this much smaller office room trying to figure out what to do with this storage need, while also wanting to use the space the best I could.
Instead of hiding all of my things, because you know that I like to buy pretty things for the office after all! I wanted to make sure I had my carefully selected office supplies displayed.
I was searching for an option to mix form & function together in the best way I knew how…. so in one afternoon of organizing crazy, I removed the doors to the closet in the home office and created a built in bookcase closet room.
And all my organization dreams came to life!
Well at least my current dream to store printer paper in a pretty way came to life.
Why Would You Put A Bookcase In A Closet?
This move of putting our bookcase storage inside the closet did a couple things:
- It made our bookcases look intentional in the space.
- It made for a pretty built in designed look to the space.
- It freed up room space for other things than storage, like this Ikea built in window hack.
- And it allowed me to have the storage I was after without taking up precious floor or wall real estate.
One of the hard things with having bookcases in a small room is that you lose floor space in a lot of situations. This was a great way to make use of a closet that wasn’t going to be used for clothes, since this is my office after all. And to DIY a solution that looks as pretty as it is functional for daily use.
Just follow these simple steps and tips to create the bookshelf in closet look that we have here and get your space organized without any stress.
How To Build A Bookshelf In A Closet
To create our look, I already had bookcases that I knew I wanted to use. Mine are from Article, and they aren’t being sold any longer, but you can find other great options right here.
I like the look of these with a modern simple structure to them.
Another option would be to get bookcases from Ikea, the nice thing about this is that you’ll have a great chance to match your measurements combining products they sell.
If you use the IKEA bookshelves you can opt for a more built in look, which is also really beautiful. I went with the more industrial look & am happy with how it came out.
How To Make Your Closet Bookshelf Look Built In
We removed the closet doors and decided to leave the molding on around the closet in this room. I like that the molding on the closet frame ads to the texture of the space. This is personal preference and you might decide different based on the molding in your space and the look.
One thing to know about me is I don’t like closet doors. I actually remove them quite a bit… built ins or not 😉
After removing the closet doors and removing the track with a simple screwdriver, we put the bookcases inside the closet and secures them to the wall to make sure they stayed vertical and attached.
Don’t skip this step ever, please always secure your bookshelves to the wall.
After placing the bookshelf’s into the cubby space, I didn’t want to just to look like we stuck them in the closet as an afterthought.
Adding Details To A Closet Built In
So we did a couple of things to add some fun to the space.
First, I put pretty wallpaper up that matches the other bookcases in this room that go around the window. I just put paper on the top portion of the wall here, about 36 inches down. You could fill the entire wall with paper as well if you’re so inclined, I was nervous it would be too busy that way. So our pop at the top is a fun way to add design, but not overwhelm the space.
I love how the wallpaper came out, it makes it look like a really intentional design. Ending the wallpaper line at the bottom with molding that matches the outside of the closet molding tied the whole look together.
I also hung up a cute pink painted coat rack that I used to hang Garland’s and lights & other fun things on.
We made the space seem even more intentional by hanging up photos and in the corner where there was free space, I stored my collection of wrapping paper in a large fun bin. This creates a look that feels fun and festive but still very lovable and functional.
How To Style Closet Book Shelves With Function
To style bookcase shelves I love to use pretty boxes for storage. I have a number of different boxes, my favorite place to find these is normally Home Goods. They have a whole bunch of them in various sizes all year long.
Here are some things I store in the boxes:
- Pinter paper and work from home supplies
- Party supplies
- Craft tools and supplies
- Office supplies that I don’t need to have out every day like printer toner
- I also use a couple of different bins that holds things like ribbon, tape and daily use items
I topped the bookshelf in closet design off with fun accessory details that make the space feel unique to us. This is also a great way to hold items throughout the year that I might want to use out on the mantel or on the table in other seasons.
I have a couple magazine holders on the shelfs to hold office supplies, magazines & business documents I might need to access easily.
I also have some my favorite books on this bookshelf, both design books and just books that I really love reading like the ones I’m now sharing every Sunday.
I like to store my office supplies my pens and pencils and stuff and cute little vases throughout the space.
The overall look of having the bookshelves in the closet is one I’m super happy with and I would easily do again.
I love that it hasn’t taken up valuable floor space in my tiny home office, but instead has given me so much storage space in this room with great function.
I hope this post has given you some ideas for creating your own bookshelf in closet built in ideas for the design, the DIY and the styling of it all.
Happy working from home!
