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Best bookcases for displaying your home library

From small and large to oak and pine, these practical and stylish pieces are a useful addition to your home

Ali Howard
Thursday 29 February 2024 10:25 GMT
<p>Our selection of the best bookcases comprises a variety of shapes and styles to accommodate home libraries big and small</p>

Our selection of the best bookcases comprises a variety of shapes and styles to accommodate home libraries big and small

Our Top Picks

Whether you’re feeling the weight of hundreds of well-thumbed paperbacks, or you’re keen to display your best-loved design books among the house plants and decorative objects, there’s a bookcase to suit your needs.

Of course, your choice of shelving unit not only depends upon the number of tomes you have but your available floor and wall space.

Thanks to their fully assembled dimensions, most bookcases – even the high-end ones – arrive flat-packed so do be prepared to roll your sleeves up. However, this is a relatively easy furniture piece to put together so don’t let that put you off.

If you’re a bibliophile with an ever-growing collection, consider an extra wide unit, or even a series of column-style bookcases that, side by side, span the width of your living space, keeping your tomes together. You’ll also up your Zoom room game with an expansive book wall to admire.

How we tested the best bookcases

Our selection of the best bookcases comprises a variety of shapes and styles to accommodate home libraries big and small. We put our edit to the test looking for form and function, top craftsmanship, and that all-important bang for our buck.

The best bookcases of 2024:

  • Best bookcase overall – Mack + Milo arlo bookcase: £479.99, Wayfair.co.uk
  • Best budget bookcase – Habitat Jessie bookcase, oak: £125, Habitat.co.uk
  • Best modern-looking bookcase – Made Anderson narrow shelving unit, mango wood and brass: £949, Made.com
  • Best for cookbooks – Cotswold Co. Chester dove grey tall slim bookcase: £399, Cotswoldco.com
  • Best compact bookcase – Oak Furnitureland parquet small bookcase: £449.99, Oakfurnitureland.co.uk

Mack + Milo arlo bookcase

mack + milo bookcase.jpg
  • Best: Bookcase overall
  • Dimensions: H527cm x W101cm x D40cm
  • Material : Manufactured wood and solid wood
  • Why we love it
    • Scandi charm
    • Generous space
    • Adjustable shelves
    • Stylish and practical

Mack + Milo’s offering is full of Scandi charm with a nod to mid-century modern design. It is a functional bookcase with six generous and adjustable shelving spaces as well as a solid back, which holds books securely if the unit isn’t precisely flush against the wall. We loved the contrast between the unit’s white interior and its pale blond wood exterior, which gives the illusion of more space. We’re given 40cm of extra floor space, too, as the Arlo is elevated with elegant angled legs. Stylish and practical.

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Habitat Jessie bookcase, oak

Habitat case .jpg
  • Best: Budget bookcase
  • Dimensions : H 189cm x W 66cm x D 31.6cm.
  • Material: Oak veneer
  • Why we love it
    • Stylish mid-century aesthetic
    • Handy cupboard attachment
    • Great price
  • Take note
    • Needs to be firmly attached to a wall

Offering a sleek and stylish mid-century aesthetic, the wooden Jessie is finished in pale oak veneers and offers extra storage space by way of a nifty cupboard. We loved the tray-like shelves, which kept our books, bits and bobs in place, while the cupboard comes in handy for tidying away those things we don’t want on show. Due to its slender design – and of course, its height – this one needs to be firmly attached to the wall.

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Made Anderson narrow shelving unit, mango wood and brass

made bookcase.jpg
  • Best: Modern-looking bookcase
  • Dimensions: H180cm x W80cm x D35cm
  • Material: Mango wood with brass accents
  • Why we love it
    • Sturdy and functional
    • Open and enclosed storage space
    • Glamorous

This is a sturdy and functional bookcase with a brick-like pattern of open and enclosed storage spaces – and it manages to be utterly glamorous in the process. It’s crafted from a rich mango wood that has a natural golden shimmer in its grain. This catches the light and beautifully complements the unit’s brass insets. How much of the shiny metallics you want on show depends entirely on how you intend to fill the piece up: this one looks great with the odd house plant and objects breaking up the book spines.

  1. £949 from Made.com
Prices may vary
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John Lewis & Partners calia bookshelf, oak

john lewis bookcase.jpg
  • Best: Simple bookcase
  • Dimensions: H200cm x W90cm x D40cm
  • Materials : Solid oak, oak veneers, metal
  • Why we love it
    • Sturdy
    • Casually cool look
    • Versatile

Ladder bookshelves are not all created equally. By its very nature, this is a design that’s made to look casually propped against the wall. Holding a good weight of books and decorative objects, you’ll want to ensure it’s a sturdy furniture piece that belies its laid-back look. The calia, with its industrial welded iron frame and its solid American oak shelves, is as sturdy as they come. Increasing in both size and maximum capacity from top to base, the shelves offer a versatility that allows us to get creative with our display.

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Oak Furnitureland parquet small bookcase

oak furniture land .jpg
  • Best: Compact bookcase
  • Dimensions : H110cm x W90cm x D33cm
  • Material: Solid oak
  • Why we love it
    • Great for those with less wall space
    • 100% solid hardwood
    • Handy surface area on top

Sometimes all you need is a compact design when it comes to book storage. This one is small but mighty and is from the brand that specialises in stylish furniture pieces made from 100 per cent solid hardwood. Mixing open and enclosed storage space, the warm oak unit offers a homely, traditional feel with a mid-century edge. We loved the arresting parquet patterning on the front of the drawer, alongside the chunky wood pull handles and the tapered, angled legs. Thanks to its diminutive stature, this one offers a handy surface on top, too.

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Cotswold Co. Chester dove grey tall slim bookcase

Cotswold Co bookcase.jpg
  • Best: For cook books
  • Dimensions : H180cm x W58cm x D29cm
  • Material : Natural waxed oak
  • Why we love it
    • Space saver
    • Plenty of storage space
    • Great for a kitchen

This is another space saver of a bookcase, thanks to its slimline design. Yet at 180cm in height, it’s both imposing and offers plenty of storage with five adjustable shelves creating six generous spaces for books and ornaments. Painted in a tasteful light grey with the shelves and top in contrasting natural waxed oak, it is one elegant furniture piece. We found it suits living rooms, bedrooms and even kitchen spaces (the perfect home for our growing collection of cookbooks). Expect high craftsmanship from this company.

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The verdict: Bookcases

Mack + Milo’s Arlo bookcase won us over for its sleek design, its top-quality craftsmanship and its pleasing contrast in painted and natural materials. It offers plenty of book storage with a secure back but, elevated with mid-century-inspired angled feet, it’s as handsome as it is functional. We also loved Habitat’s Jessie bookcase for its stylish mid-century aesthetic and great price.

Looking for something to fill those gorgeous bookcases with? Check out our review of the best books to read this year

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