As a commerce editor, I obviously love to shop. And I have absolutely no self control when it comes to a few things in particular: sneakers, makeup and books.
I love finding new memoirs, self-help books, novels, poetry — I even have some comic books in my collection. And unlike most of my friends (or most people my age in general), I don't really like reading books from a screen.
That's right, I am a 25-year-old millennial who would rather lug around a hardcover book in my purse than read from a Kindle or an iPad. It's likely because I'm a writer who grew up ripping out pages of magazines and filling up spiral notebooks, so I just love to hold and flip through actual books.
However, books take up space — a lot of it. Unfortunately, my tiny New York City apartment does not have room for a large bookcase (or any bookcase for that matter). So, when I came across invisible bookshelves while hanging out at a friend's apartment, I knew they would solve my book hoarding problem.
Storage Maniac 4-Pack Invisible Floating Bookshelf, $24, Amazon
These Storage Maniac invisible floating bookshelves were affordable, easy to install and exactly what I needed. Although I knew I wanted them because I had seen them in action at my friend's place, I still did a bit of research on Amazon.
This set seemed to have the most positive reviews for the best price. Although it only has about 150 reviews, they are overwhelmingly positive. The floating shelves have a 4.7-star rating and many of the glowing reviews also included photos, which is always a major plus.
They're easy to install
For only $24, I got four shelves. They are a very simple "L" shape and the back panel has four holes for the screws. It is extremely simple and self-explanatory to install. Just screw it into the wall and be mindful of spacing, since you will be stacking those small things with books.
They're sturdy
Each shelf is made of steel and can support up to 15 pounds of books. My main concern was that I would accidentally load it with too many books and the shelves would fall off the wall, but they've been up for almost a year and haven't gave out once! This was definitely the thing that impressed me the most.
They look great
Since I'm very limited on space, I love having my books somewhere that looks nice and is easily accessible. I think it adds a lot of character to my room and they would also work well in any style living room or office space. Plus, when you see them at a distance, they look like magic! I've actually had friends visit and ask me how they work. These shelves are a really smart way to save space and fill an empty wall.
Long story short, these $24 shelves turned my bedroom into the library of my dreams.
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