10 Reasons To Use Shelves: Why It's A Must-Have!

There’s a good reason why I recommend using floating shelves in every home.

Putting shelves in a living room, bedroom, kitchen, or bathroom can enhance the overall aesthetic of your space but also provide a practical and functional storage solution.

So, if you have a hard time coming up with ideas on how to decorate your empty walls or maybe you need a cool way to organize items, this one is for you.

In this article, I’ve listed all the important reasons why you should use shelves, be it floating shelves, open shelves, or built-ins, there are plenty of benefits to gain from them.

Below we get into the actual details, here are 4 major shelf benefits:

Shelves provide extra storage in a stylish way
It can be used to level up your organization skills
They create a unique and interesting display
It’s in keeping with modern trends and will boost the aesthetic appeal of your space

Now, that’s just scraping the surface.

Here’s a list I’ve put together listing every single pro feature of having shelves in each room of your home.

Take a quick look and then we can dive deep into the core of why any shelf is a must-have.

Table of Contents

Pro Features:

1. Living Room

Creates a striking focal point and visual interest.
Can display art, photos, collectibles, achievements, and family memories.
Shelves will keep DVDs, games, accessories, and electronics organized.
Utilizes vertical space in smaller living rooms. Ideal for condos and apartments with limited space.

2. Bedroom

Adds a personal touch to the space with special accessories and items.
Display sentimental items and artworks to add character and personality.
Showcase your cookbook/cutting board collection or vintage/classic kitchenware.
Shelves eliminate the need for additional furniture and create a spacious and uncluttered look.

3. Kitchen

Can be used to display dishes, glassware, cookware, and utensils in style.
Showcase your cookbook/cutting board collection or vintage/classic kitchenware.
Shelves create a sense of space in a small kitchen and store rarely-used items for display purposes.
Saves on countertop and cabinet space for other cookware.

Compelling Reasons To Use Shelves

1. Offers maximum storage space

Shelves offer a neat and efficient way to organize and store items without appearing bulky or boring.

A space can quickly and easily be transformed into a clean, minimal space when the shelves are used to hold, store, and display decorative items, books, devices, and other items.

How awesome does that sound, am I right?

With a living room, kitchen, and let’s not forget the bedroom and bathroom, this must-have feature ensures your space always remains presentable.

I absolutely love having shelves in the kitchen.

It gives me more storage space and makes certain kitchenware such as pots, pans, plates, or even cooking boards easily accessible while enhancing the overall aesthetic.

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Using the shelves for this purpose works great for keeping organized and on track.

Floating shelves are the trendiest way to make a room appear modern and functional.

Out of all the reasons to have shelves in your space, this is definitely a noteworthy one.

2. A way to showcase your personality

Shelves can be used to showcase and display your interests in a unique style.

Floating shelves also offer a means to create a striking focal feature on any empty wall or corner of the room.

It can also be used to naturally draw your attention to certain elements in the space, especially with the use of a beautiful display of colors, textures, and the arrangement of the shelves and items on the shelf.

I’m a creative person by nature. I love to paint, draw, and explore other hobbies and shelves are the best way to showcase my latest artwork.

I can always display my latest creation or artwork and every time I walk past, the artwork on the shelf gives me a dose of joy and inspiration.

To decorate any shelf, simply curate them by choosing the best items such as books, art pieces, ornaments, collectibles, and accessories that will give your living room wall character and interest.

3. Display, organize and store books

Tired of having those large, bulky bookcases? Well, there’s an easy solution to this.

Floating shelves are a great way to showcase your collection of novels.

This saves on floor space and creates a more open feel with a modern and trendy touch.

There are many layouts that range from color-coding to organizing by genres or authors’ names that provide an aesthetically pleasing and striking display.

This creates an integral feature in the living room by adding an intellectual charm to the space.

4. Improve the entertainment center

Another great reason for having shelves in the living room, especially near the entertainment hub can be used to store, organize, and keep cords or device clutter under control.

And trust me, without an organizational system or some means to disguise the devices, it’s so easy for this area to become messy and embarrassing with frequent use.

This provides a neater, cleaner system that improves the overall quality of your living room’s appearance.

Shelves also lend a helping hand with hiding and concealing items you don’t want in plain sight.

This could be for storing DVDs, gaming consoles, board games, throw blankets, and other devices especially if you store them in fancy woven baskets!

5. Shelves define zones

If you want a certain area or zone highlighted in your home, make use of shelves to accomplish this.

They can partition or create a designated visual zone for instance a reading zone or work area in the living room simply by displaying certain decorations that will exude the ambiance and feel of the space.

This creates a modern, functional, and stylish design element that improves your space.

6. Provides a home for your plants

If you’re a fellow plant lover like me, you’ll love displaying your prized collection on a few floating shelves.

This adds a sleek new feature to any space but also includes a natural aesthetic that gives a refreshing feel to the room.

You can place them literally anywhere in your home, even the bathroom!

7. Optimizes your space

Another obvious feature of having floating shelves or built-in shelves is its ability to optimize and organize your space.

For instance, you could use shelves to optimize your closet, kitchen, or garage.

Vertical shelves allow for easy access that frees up floor spaces and keeps your items at eye level.

Placing everyday items on these shelves will be more convenient and easy to use.

You won’t have to dig through tons of pots, dishes, or a closet full of shoes heaped together to find the one you’re looking for when it’s displayed nicely on a shelf.

8. Eye candy

Shelves simply look good. I think there’s no better reason than this to have shelves in your home.

When decorated with items, artworks, or unique pieces, this adds an extra level of interest and depth.

It’s a fantastic way to personalize your space

9. Easy to maintain & affordable

The great thing about shelves is that they are pretty flexible and can adapt to your needs. They can be uninstalled when needed and moved to other areas such as corners, niches, or unused areas.

FAQ

Where do you put a shelf in a living room?

The best places to put shelves is a personal choice and this is dependent on the available areas in your home.

However, there are a few ideas that we can take from to gather inspiration or to piggyback off someone else who has successfully integrated shelves into their own in an artistic way.

With that said, I think shelves look best when placed:

On an empty wall, be it in the center, corner, or next to another feature. This adds a decorative and focal piece.
Above the sofa is another great option
Near a window or above the entertainment center.

These few areas tend to go well in most living room spaces.

How many shelves to put in a room?

I like to look at the area or room I’m decorating and then decide from there just how much space is needed. You could also consider the style or look you’re going for. If you’re setting out to decorate a large empty wall with a layered look, you might need 2 to 3 shelves. However, sometimes you may only have to put one shelf in a room. The number of shelves should serve well in terms of aesthetics and use.

How far apart should living room shelves be?

The spacing between shelves will determine how the shelves appear on a wall. It’s recommended to leave between 12-18 inches of vertical space between shelves but you could go with less or more. This will give you ample room to display larger items such as picture frames, artworks, or large sculptures but it also gives a balanced aesthetic.

Conclusion

There are many good reasons to put shelves in your home and I’m sure you agree.

If you’re like me and you love having a functional yet beautiful space, I honestly think shelves are definitely an essential feature.

You don’t have to go wild with stuffing shelves everywhere. Try incorporating just one or two shelves for now, whether that’s to showcase your fun, unique style or to use it as a bookshelf in the living room.

This will easily complement your existing decor while adding a striking new feature.

So, what do you think? Does having shelves in your home sound like a good idea?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

10 Reasons To Use Shelves: Why It’s A Must-Have!