Living room storage

Choose a bookcase for large books and safe fixing

A bookcase that looks spacious when empty can be too shallow for art books or overloaded by tightly packed volumes. Choose it around the books you want to keep, the room's access route and the installation it requires. Shelf count alone does not describe useful or safe capacity.

Sort books by their physical demands before shopping: tall books, deep books, ordinary paperbacks and unusually heavy volumes. You do not need to measure every title. A few representative stacks will show where a standard shelf spacing works and where an adjustable or deeper section would be useful.

Tailored Deals · Researched guidance · 5 September 2026

We may earn a commission from retailer links. This guide does not claim first-hand product testing. Our editorial approach

Measure the books and the available wall

Record the height and depth of the largest books, including any protective box. Allow enough room to remove a book without scraping its top against the shelf above. Compare that with the bookcase's usable internal depth, not its overall external depth. Measure the wall space around skirting boards, sockets and nearby doors, keeping access to electrical fittings as required. IKEA's shelving dimensions provide a useful starting point, but a product photo cannot confirm that your largest volumes fit. If you plan to add doors later, check that their hinges and closed position do not reduce usable depth. Treat future accessories as a compatibility question for the exact system.

Measure a boxed set with its outer sleeve in place, and check whether you can remove the entire set without pulling the shelf forward. Store a valuable or fragile binding where nearby brackets and rough edges will not catch it.

Read the load information before filling

Check the maximum load per shelf, how that load should be distributed and any whole-unit limit. A long shelf may have a different capacity from a shorter one in the same range. Follow the maker's instructions rather than estimating strength from board thickness alone. Place heavier books in positions that are manageable to lift while keeping within all stated limits. Do not add unapproved brackets or alter the back panel to make a load seem acceptable. If the information is incomplete, ask the manufacturer before ordering. Consider dividing a heavy collection across more shelves or a different unit rather than buying a tall bookcase and filling every available centimetre immediately.

Plan anchoring as part of the purchase

Read the exact wall-fixing requirements and make sure suitable installation is possible in the intended location. IKEA's furniture safety information on its chest-of-drawers pages reinforces the importance of anchoring relevant furniture; your bookcase's own instructions specify what it needs. Identify the wall construction and use appropriate fixings with competent help where necessary. If hidden services or the wall's condition are uncertain, do not drill speculatively. Keep children from climbing shelves and do not use the bookcase as access equipment. In a rented home, resolve permission for the required fixing before purchase rather than setting up furniture in a way the manufacturer does not permit.

Check access and the first loaded arrangement

Compare package dimensions with stairs, lifts and narrow turns, then check the floor space needed for assembly. A flat-packed unit still needs enough room to be put together correctly and raised into position according to its instructions. Once installed and secured, load it gradually while keeping the shelf limits visible in your notes. Try retrieving books from the highest and lowest intended positions without overreaching. Store seldom-used books where access is less convenient and keep daily references within comfortable reach. Leave some capacity for returning a borrowed book or adding a volume without rebuilding the whole arrangement. A useful bookcase keeps books supported, identifiable and accessible, with the required installation completed before it becomes part of the room.

Your next steps

Measure representative large books.
Check each shelf load limit.
Resolve required anchoring before purchase.
Allow package access and assembly space.

Products and offer records

Relevant records in the Tailored Deals catalogue

No close catalogue match is available for this guide right now. The practical advice remains usable without a purchase.

Sources and further help

Sources were consulted on 5 September 2026. Provider terms and services can change; check your exact booking, product or university service.

Keep planning

Suggest a correction