Growing your book collection is a fun way to incorporate your interests into your home decor and display some of the most meaningful stories on your Goodreads list (or, if you’re anything like us, the endless pile of books you haven’t gotten to yet). While there aren’t many drawbacks to curating a personal library, shelf…
When it comes to organizing our bookshelves, we’ve tried many space-saving hacks. At some point, we always hit a wall (or, in this case, the end of our bookshelf) and are left to stack piles on our coffee tables or double up the display and risk hiding dozens of our favorite titles. But when we saw this bookshelf hack that uses egg cartons to elevate a book collection (literally!), we were pretty impressed.
Egg cartons are useful for all sorts of DIY projects, from seed-starting trays to perfectly crispy baked meatballs. And if your bookshelf is bursting at the seams, you can use egg cartons to maximize space and put your favorite stories on display.
Make the Most of Your Bookshelf Space
Start by removing all of the books and other knickknacks from your shelf so you can start with a blank canvas. (Now is a great time to dust your bookshelf, too.) From there, reach for an empty egg carton, make sure it’s closed securely, and place it toward the back of the bookshelf. A 12-egg carton — paper or foam works best as plastic tends to be slippery — has enough structural support to act as a riser to elevate the books on the back row of your shelf. This effectively doubles your storage while allowing you to see and access your entire collection.
Play around with different display methods. You can line the entire back row with egg cartons and place books on top, then cover them up with another row of books in the front. Or you can add just one carton to the back corner and mix and match display styles by lining books on top and in front of it, then stacking books vertically next to the carton for added visual interest. (Tip: This arrangement looks great with larger art and coffee table books.) You can also leave space in between some of these clusters — or on top of the stacked books — for decorative items such as framed pictures, small potted plants, and trinkets.
