I finally remembered to take a few quick pictures of the Ikea spice rack bookshelves that we installed in the big boys’ room a few weeks ago! After initially debating rain gutter bookshelves vs. fabric book racks to no avail, I decided to research other options.
I was SO excited to discover that there was a pre-made option that was only going to set me back $3.99 each! The racks come in bare wood so you can paint, stain or decoupage your heart out. My boys have their own brightly colored artwork hanging over their beds, so I decided just to give our shelves a quick coat of warm honey varnish to match their beds (but I do still have another set to play with for Simon’s room!).
I can’t even tell you how much these inexpensive little shelves have revolutionized our nightly “can we read a book in bed?” routine! The floor stays exponentially cleaner, but the best part is that we never waste another 15 minutes waiting for the boys to choose a book or two from their large bookshelf. I just swap out the titles every few days, and everything moves like clockwork. Easy peasy!
Ariel says
I just got some of these for my toddler’s room and I’ve been debating whether to leave them plain, stain, or paint them. Now that I see your stain, I think I might go in that direction. Do you remember what you used?
Heidi says
Hi Ariel! I’m usually a huge fan of painted wood, but I really love the way that these shelves look in the natural wood color. I didn’t actually stain the wood, but I used a semi gloss Polyurathane sealer (by Varathane) that has a hint of color to it. I believe it was called “Amber Glow” or something similar. With this method you essentially give the piece a light golden stain and protective finish in one step – easy peasy! š
Ginger says
awesome have to lookj for few spice racks awesome, clever idea!
thecrunchysoup says
I’ve been seeing this everywhere lately. Looks like a trip to Ikea is in order. Thanks for the (continued) inspiration! Cheers!
Sara says
I have wanted to do something like this for so long and this is perfect! I love the price. I went to IKEA today and got my spice racks. I am so excited to paint and hang them. Thank you!
Lissa (Bellenza) says
What a great, resourceful idea! Looks so attractive…plus it shows the covers of the books for the little ones to choose from!
Cherine M says
This looks fantastic!!!! I so agree with this quick pick tidy method. We made a similar book rail for our bedtime favorites that we rotate out. We made ours out of scrap lumber…free is also good in my books…if you’d like to see it…http://makingmontessoriours.blogspot.com/2011/04/book-game-storage-at-our-house.html
Jessica says
Oooh…great idea! May have to get my boys some of those! We have a huge “book basket” on their floor…but like you said, you can’t find anything in it and if you do…it takes forever!