A metal rack is reliable, durable, and also inexpensive. For some reason, these structures are used mainly in garages and warehouses, but today they are more than appropriate in an ordinary city apartment. Metal shelving in the interior of residential premises is not only comfortable, but also fashionable, stylish, and modern.
Metal rack with wooden shelves
Metal rack of original design
Main types
You can choose different types of home shelving to best arrange your space. The main types of designs include the following:
- classic floor,
- with ceiling mounting,
- corner,
- built-in
A designer shelving unit is a convenient and practical piece of furniture that not only increases the level of comfort in the room, but also becomes a real decoration of any room. Such designs are widely used in the design of the following spaces:
- living room,
- cabinet,
- bedroom,
- dining room,
- children's,
- library,
- office rooms.
The designs are made from different materials, so it’s easy to choose the most suitable one for any room style. In modern interiors they are often used to zone space. With the help of a shelving unit, it is easy and simple to divide a room in a private residential property or arrange separate workplaces in an office, creating more comfortable working conditions for each employee in order to increase productivity and increase productivity.
Design advantages of metal shelving
In addition to versatility, metal cabinets and racks have another important advantage - speed of assembly. Such metal racks are assembled much faster than similar structures made of chipboard or wood. Prefabricated structures are especially convenient for transportation or moving. Everyone knows that dismountable furniture wears out very quickly, but metal cabinets and racks are designed for a large number of disassemblies and reassemblies. This is an indispensable modular option if you often change your interior design or move from apartment to apartment.
Original metal rack
Metal shelving partition
Not just any shelving unit can be used as regular shelving for home use. Heavy construction, massive racks have a significant load capacity, but you should not install them in relatively small rooms and turn the apartment into a warehouse. For everyday use, you should choose lightweight and compact versions of metal shelving.
Shelf rack made of metal Metal rack for dishes
It’s not difficult to purchase such racks; the assortment today is simply gorgeous. You can choose designs of any size and modification for yourself, for example, wall-mounted metal shelving can be simple straight or angular. There are also many color options, so it’s not difficult to find an option that will harmoniously fit into the interior of your room. If you do not want to buy a ready-made rack, you can assemble the structure yourself; all elements are sold separately. The assembly process is usually simple and does not require any special skills.
Metal shelving in the hallway
Metal rack with glass shelves
Metal racks for the home have another interesting advantage - the absence of creaky doors and glass in them.
All modern models, made of high-quality steel, are stainless, are not prone to deformation due to climatic conditions, and always withstand any temperature changes. Cleaning such shelves does not take much time; regular wet cleaning is enough. Metal shelving, in general, is much more convenient and practical in its functionality than traditional furniture, which is certainly inferior in terms of durability and strength. Metal rack in apartment zoning
Material used in manufacturing
Shelving in the interior looks stylish and impressive. A variety of materials are used today for the manufacture of such structures, including:
- tree,
- metal,
- plastic,
- strained glass.
Diversity allows you to choose the most harmoniously combined design for any chosen style of room. For example, for a classic style the best choice is wood, and for high-tech or loft - metal, which can either be simply stainless or coated with a decorative protective powder coating. Plastic is the most affordable and practical in cost; it is often used in office premises when they want to optimize design costs without losing quality.
What materials are the racks made of?
Racks are open storage systems. If you focus on the most expensive and environmentally friendly material, then this is wood.
MDF shelves are reasonably priced and look very decorative
Laminated chipboard is considered another material of good quality and appearance. The cost of such products is within the range of affordable
Metal shelving is strong and durable, and shelves made of tempered glass look light and do not take up space.
Plastic shelves are suitable for the bathroom.
Manufacturers allow a combination of materials, which makes the purchase even more attractive.
Shape and dimensions
On sale today there are shelves of various sizes and shapes. You can give preference to a ready-made rack or order a design made to individual sizes. What to do in each specific case, everyone decides for himself. If you are completely satisfied with the finished shelves in terms of size, shape, material and color, as well as installation method, you can buy them. At the same time, you can experiment not only with shape, but also with combinations of materials. For example, you can order structures made of metal and glass, wood and glass. This solution will provide a unique look to the rack, making it unique and capable of becoming a real decoration of the space. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment in order to create furniture for a stylish property that will increase its level of comfort.
With the help of such bookshelves, a variety of problems are solved in interiors. With their help, large rooms are divided into separate zones. For example, you can use such furniture in a bedroom or nursery to separate the work space from the rest area. It is not necessary to store books on the shelves. They are perfect for placing photographs, boxes, and other useful things that need direct access. Many people value this type of furniture precisely because it provides the opportunity to have everything they need at hand at any time.
Shelving by design: what are they?
A rack is by no means a boring design of the same type. Thanks to the manufacturers who approach their business with a bit of creativity. We can buy an original shelving unit to divide a room into zones or simply as a room decoration. It makes sense to consider the structural types of multi-story structures and note the best ones for yourself.
Floor shelving
Floor shelving remains a classic. The shelves are arranged either according to the rules of symmetry, or simply asymmetrically with respect to each other. This is an ideal option for any room.
Floor structures are divided into partitions, cylinders, mobile partitions, and gratings.
Floor partitions do an excellent job of zoning space
This is the modification that is purchased for studio apartments. It looks like a “high-rise building” with a row of shelves on guides.
The cylinder is used as a convenient place to store books or other things. Convenience lies in the rotation of the structure
A mobile partition will be a help to people who often change their interior or need a temporary screen. This is a design on small wheels. It is very easy to move it without damaging the contents on the shelves.
The lattice consists of racks and shelves, this is a standard type of such piece of furniture
Hanging racks
Suspended structures look the same as a floor grid, with the difference that they are located on the walls or suspended from the ceiling.
Usually these items look like rectangular designs, but there are creative solutions from designers that will appeal to those who are looking for something new for their interior.
Built-in shelving
Apartments with niches themselves beg for the installation of built-in shelving. It is used as a library or as a museum of decorative values that are dear to the owner of the room.
Niches in small apartments, thanks to multi-story structures, will save a lot of free space.
The built-in shelving can be placed under the stairs if there is no special niche
Convenient and aesthetically pleasing
Nobody forbids making shelves at different heights and even different depths.
Corner shelving for the room
The corner product is suitable for use in small rooms, storage rooms and corridors.
Even for non-standard angles there is a solution
This is a whole open storage system that makes the room cozy
And for corner racks there is a design with shelves at different heights
Colors
Due to the possibility of using a wide variety of materials and modern technologies to create a rack, it is possible to choose absolutely any color and shade. If we talk about wood, you can leave its natural tone and simply coat it with varnish to prevent the wood from darkening. You can also choose a tint for such a rack to give it the desired shade. The variety of paints and varnishes intended for wood opens up a wide range of possibilities for decorating a rack.
Decorative shelving made of metal can also be given absolutely any shade. Powder decorative coatings help to extend the service life as much as possible. Such compositions best protect the metal surface and prevent corrosion, which makes the shelf life practically unlimited. Separately, it should be noted the aesthetic appeal of such decorative protective coatings.
Today it is absolutely easy to choose the color of the shelves for any style concept of space design.
Advantages of shelving from Ikea
Depending on the needs of consumers, the Swedish company Ikea produces racks that are completely different in functionality. Their main advantages are:
- Variety of materials used in production. This allows you to store both relatively heavy and bulky items, as well as small ones.
- The use of open and closed drawers for shelves will hide from prying eyes or, conversely, will allow you to demonstrate collectible souvenirs;
- A wide selection of designs, including both wall mounting and mobile or stationary models without mounting.
The Ikea shelving catalog offers a wide selection of models that can fully satisfy any need, both in terms of design and functionality. Ikea shelves are widely used in kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms, pantries, and sometimes offices.
Location
Shelves in the interiors of living rooms and other rooms can be arranged differently. If we talk about the classic traditional installation, then the shelves are placed against the wall. They can be one of the sides adjacent to the corner or be in the center. If we talk about non-traditional use of the rack, then it can be installed in the center of the room or in another place without adjoining the walls. In this way, the space is zoned, individual places are allocated in it in accordance with their purpose.
Structures can also be corner or built-in, rest on the floor, or be suspended. The use of shelves in a room is possible for absolutely anyone in accordance with the design concept.
What should be the standard dimensions of shelving?
When it comes to choosing a product, you need to find out what sizes are considered standard. Yes, you can place an order to the manufacturer, but this will affect the cost.
Standard dimensions fit into the following parameters: 1.8 × 0.9-3.0 × 0.25-0.45 m, where the first value belongs to the height, the second to the width, and the third to the depth. Between the shelves, a height of 35-40 cm is suggested.
You should pay attention to modular shelving, they can be easily adjusted to your own space
Shelf styles
The style of the shelving is selected in accordance with the chosen concept of space design. Classic designs are made of wood, preserving its natural beauty or tinting it in the desired color.
For a living room or any other room decorated in high-tech, loft and other modern styles, you can choose appropriate design options. Products made of glass and metal will be the best solution, because they can fit most organically into the space.
Metal racks for flowers and books
Around house plants there is often dirt, and there is always high humidity. Flower racks are very easy to clean, so they will always be in order.
Metal shelving in Art Nouveau style
No problems arise if metal book shelving is used.
An unusual bookcase will harmoniously fit into the design of the entire room.
It will be very good if it is mobile, especially if the library is large and they use it actively. Bookshelves will help you create a beautiful large library in any room of the house.
Metal shelving in neoclassical style
Purpose and content
A shelving unit in the interior of a nursery, living room and other rooms is intended primarily for storing books, magazines and other useful or decorative items. These can be photo frames, dishes and more. How to fill the shelves, everyone decides for themselves in accordance with the design of the room and personal needs. When it comes to children's rooms, it is important to ensure the safety of the furniture. It is necessary that it be environmentally friendly and have no sharp corners. The presence of a rack will allow you to compactly store toys so that the space is always tidy.
If we talk about office premises, shelves of shelving structures are most often used for storing documentation. Such furniture has long been in demand in archives, libraries and other public places. It is valued for its affordable price, compactness, and direct access to all stored items, making it easy to find everything you need.
Shelving partitions: zoning rooms
When you need to visually divide a room into zones, there is nothing better than a partition with shelves. Before purchasing shelving for zoning space in a room, understand their functionality and decorative capabilities.
Let's talk about the functions of shelving partitions
We have already said that the decorativeness of a partition depends on its location and the arrangement of objects on it. The person himself decides what should be visible, because such a transparent screen is always in sight.
In addition to aesthetics, we are interested in such a function as the possibility of zoning. Such a partition divides the room into sections without losing a single image
The storage system becomes more convenient if you place the items that are needed in each of the divided zones
The partition will also perform a protective function against falls if it is placed and secured near the staircase descent.
You can see what a correctly installed partition in a room looks like in the photo
We divide the room into zones using a shelving unit
Where might a partition be needed? Yes, anywhere, even in the children's room. The main thing is that it should not interfere with free movement around the room and really be useful.
A design without a back wall will not make the space visually smaller, but it will highlight the necessary areas
In the living room, which needs to be combined with the bedroom, partitions separate the bed from the common area
The kitchen is also separated in the studio apartment
Room design using shelving for space zoning
Let's look at decent interior solutions in the photo selection.
We help with choosing a partition rack for zoning a room: the best solution, in the opinion of our editors
Let's highlight the information that will help you choose the desired piece of furniture and not make a mistake:
- First of all, we select the type of structure and pay attention to its stability.
- One has to wonder how this model will be consolidated. Models that are not secured in any way can become dangerous to the health and even lives of people.
- The number of floors and the distance between the shelves play a significant role: this is a direct obstacle to the path of light.
- You should pay attention to models with adjustable leg heights; there is a chance of incorrectly calculating the desired optimal height of a piece of furniture, and adjustable legs will eliminate this problem.
- Checking the material quality certificate should become a habit.
- First, we consider offers from the catalogs of trusted manufacturers who do not use low-quality material, even if it is a model at a higher price.
We wish you to choose the best shelving and properly zone the room!
Decorative options
Among all types of shelves, we should highlight decorative ones, which are invented by talented designers who try to fill the space with unique things. For example, glass can be tinted or sandblasted. Such designs can be decorated with forging elements, lighting and more.
Decorative options are developed individually for a specific interior concept. In this way, they create furniture that looks impressive and stylish in the room, becoming one of its bright decorations. The presence of such a rack in a space will help emphasize its originality and refined taste of the property owner. The use of decorative shelves is possible not only in private, invisible, in the living room or other room. This type is appropriate in the halls of restaurants, cafes and more.
Colors and inserts
Callax has a simple and versatile design. You can buy furniture in three colors:
- white matte;
- white glossy;
- bleached oak;
- black (black-brown).
You can make your shelving more interesting with baskets, drawers and glass shelves. There are also doors that turn the rack into a full-fledged closet with small cells for storing things.
Inserts in the form of doors and drawers take up virtually no space inside the cell, but make the furniture more functional.
IKEA's philosophy is to produce universal furniture in basic colors, which, if necessary, can always be repainted and styled to suit any interior.
Kallax, stylized as a classic cabinet Kallax repainted
Kitchen shelving
The use of shelves is possible not only in the living room. Having a shelf in the kitchen will be its advantage. You can install beautiful dishes or frequently used household appliances on it. Openness will allow you to quickly gain access to the necessary things in the process of preparing culinary masterpieces. This is very convenient, so every housewife will appreciate such furniture. You can also conveniently display herbs and spices on the racks to make them easy and quick to find. Such furniture turns out to be useful in absolutely any room.
Metal shelving for a home in a city apartment
Modern metal shelving can become one of the elements of your interior design in any room.
- In living rooms, it is most appropriate to install a rack for household appliances. Decorative elements can also be placed on it.
- A children's room needs a rack to store toys. It will be convenient for the baby to take everything he needs. Such a rack should not be high.
- The rack can also serve as a decorative partition, which is very important for a studio apartment or small-sized home.
- In garages or basements, various types of metal shelving are indispensable, as they are convenient for storing all tools and other accessories.
- In the bedroom you can put small metal shelves to place books, nice souvenirs, and cosmetics on them.
- In the bedroom you can also install a double-sided shelving unit and place, say, book holders or special rods for storing clothes on it. Although such a cabinet is mobile, it is structurally assembled with bolts, which gives the entire structure sufficient stability.
Forged rack
Metal shelves in the kitchen
Zoning function
Shelving is used by designers to zone a room and provide storage space. Furniture allows you to combine both functions, where zoning is the main one. Here are the rules:
- the design divides the space into two zones if it is placed in the middle of the room;
- visually zone the room by placing the shelving along the wall - to indicate the purpose of the zone, place the corresponding elements on the wall (figurines, books, equipment);
- the rack replaces a standard wardrobe - wardrobe items, books, and long-term storage items are placed on its shelves;
- if you use a back wall design, it will replace a blank partition.
Functional storage furniture
The structures act as the main furniture, which is placed along the wall . The rack will be used as a place to store your own things.
Correct installation of shelves in the living room
A modern compact shelving unit has advantageously replaced huge walls and cabinets. A shelving unit for a room is usually a multifunctional structure that accommodates: a bookcase, shelves for decorations (figurines, photo frames, etc.), space for a TV, cinema, video equipment and audio system.
A small narrow shelf will comfortably place books, magazines, newspapers and other everyday items.
The dining area in the living room will fit perfectly with a rack for beautiful dishes, cutlery and similar accessories.
This convenient design will also come in handy in the work area, where books, disks and work tools (pens, rulers, notebooks) will be placed.
In the sitting area of the living room, a small shelf filled with books can serve as a personal home library. And in the niche under the last shelves, located quite high, a sofa or armchair will fit comfortably.
It is very convenient to use a shelving unit in the form of a partition that separates one area of the living room from another area. If you make it high and deaf (close the back wall), then each zone will become an almost isolated individual room.
And a small structure, playing the role of a partition without walls, will be, as it were, part of the living room layout.
Racks on wheels are gaining popularity; by moving them, you can periodically change the geometry of the space.
The shelves are filled strictly individually, at the discretion of the owner of the room, adhering to his preferences and tastes!
Scheme and materials
To make a rack like in the photo, first of all, you need to draw a diagram and prepare materials for work.
First, we select and carefully measure the location where our piece of furniture will be placed. We decide on the height and width (for example, if it is located in the garage, it is more convenient to assemble a rack with a height from floor to ceiling in order to save space). The width should correspond to the width of the installation site minus 5-10 cm (to make it convenient to assemble).
Next, you need to decide on the width of the shelves. It all depends on the purpose of using the rack. The most common shelf heights are 21 cm and 42 cm (you can alternate the heights of the shelves with each other). But if you have to store tools on the rack, then you need to choose a higher height.
The same goes for the length of the shelves. The optimal length is 1-1.5 m. If books are stored on the rack, then the shelves are made no more than 90 cm long. Otherwise, they will sag and the structure will not hold up.
To place heavy objects there, it is recommended to additionally reinforce the rack with a metal profile. The depth of the shelves is usually 0.5 m, or it will be inconvenient to get items out.
It is best to choose bars made from natural material, since boards made from sawdust will not last long. Pine or oak will last a long time. You can choose mahogany boards. Before starting assembly, the wood must be treated with antiseptics and allowed to soak for a couple of days in a warm place.
Tools:
- Hammer, jigsaw, grinder, drill
- Wood glue, tape measure, pencil, wood varnish and brush, hammer
- Shelf holders, plywood, metal corners
Making a model of a children's rack with your own hands
Children's furniture sets do not always have the desired set of elements. Therefore, the need to supplement and make certain interior items with your own hands is quite understandable and justified. If you have no experience, it is better to start with simple designs. This is exactly what racks are.
To simplify this task, you can view photos of shelving for a child’s room offered on the Internet and choose the appropriate option. The main thing is to familiarize yourself with the manufacturing process; the dimensions can be easily adjusted to your liking.
Almost all boys unwittingly become car collectors, and some of them even do it on purpose. Storing this type of toys is quite difficult: they cannot be dumped in a box, stacked, or hung. Therefore, a “thematic” rack for oversized machines is relevant. To make it you will need:
- four boards: 90x30x3 cm – 2 pcs.; 131x30x3 cm – 2 pcs.;
It’s easy to make a rack for a children’s room with your own hands from wood, furniture panels, laminated chipboard and other materials
- plywood pieces: 125x25x0.6 cm – 4 pcs.; 90x25x0.6 – 5 pcs.;
- 8 dowels (wooden nails);
- electric drill, drill;
- jigsaw;
- wood glue;
- means for decorative and protective treatment.
Manufacturing sequence:
- Using a drill, make 2 holes in the boards for the dowels, taking into account that longer pieces will overlap the smaller ones on top and bottom.
- Apply glue to the holes and joints of the boards, insert dowels, connect the structure and leave to dry for several hours.
- To the middle of the width (15 cm), make cuts in the plywood blanks to the thickness of the material. Long stripes should be located horizontally, shorter ones – vertically.
- In places where cuts are made, the workpieces must be inserted one into the other. You will get a lattice.
- After the frame has dried, carefully insert the plywood structure into it.
It is better to use environmentally friendly paint for shelving in the nursery.
The result is a rack with rectangular cells, where it will be convenient to place children's cars. By increasing the size, such a shelving structure can be made for other purposes.
Helpful advice! It is better to apply decorative and protective coatings before installation, but after making cuts. In this case, the entire area of the workpieces, including joints, will be protected.
