Open Shelving Vs. Built-ins

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A few days ago I showed you the gorgeous new moody green color I used in the study and introduced my new bookcase. Today I am showing you an affordable and more interesting way to add storage by using open shelving vs. built-ins!

This post was sponsored by Crates & Pallet and contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.

You might have read that my knee jerk idea was to have a carpenter add built-in cabinets and shelves to the study due to the lack of storage our new home has. It turned out finding a carpenter that could do the project I wanted was harder to find than I anticipated and ultimately, that was a good thing. It made me dig deeper for a creative alternative. I landed on this giant bookcase (you can read about it how I got it here) and it set in motion the plan for this moody study with ample storage. A complete 180 from the white walls and zero storage I started with.

I made one modification to the vintage bookshelf. We wanted to hide the TV when not in use but needed to have ample room for viewing when the cabinet was open. The door hinges had to be moved out a touch to be flush with the cabinet front. This easy fix allowed the doors to lay flat because they wouldn’t open enough before to allow the TV to be seen from all angles in the room. Don’t let small things like this stop you from using a piece you love as an alternate storage solution! Most of the time, minor fixes can slove big problems.

As big as this bookcase is (it measures 10 feet long and 5 feet tall) I still wanted more storage and shelves to complete the room. I decided to add these gorgeous and sleek gold shelf brackets from Crates & Pallet for a touch of modern glam.  Mixing old and new is my favorite! You might know Crates & Pallet for their crates, but they have a new line of steel products that are awesome and my friends and I are showing off their new pieces you can use to DIY your own awesomeness! They have added these shelf brackets and hairpin legs to their lineup.

The shelf brackets are so easy to use because they come in the size of dimensional lumber(they offer a variety of size options), which means you can easily buy wood to fit the shelves without the hassle of having to rip wood down to fit. We used sheetrock screws and a level to line up the brackets and quickly secure them to the wall. I purchased a 4′ X 10″ piece of whitewood and lightly sanded it, but used the 4-foot section without cutting anything! I stained the shelf piece in English Chestnut by Miniwax for a light and warm feel. Now I have open shelving in my study! It looks like a simple idea, but there are numerous good reasons behind the choice to use furniture for storage and DIY shelves over built-ins.

Why use open shelving vs built-ins?

1. Built-in cabinets and shelving are more expensive
2. Built-ins have less personality than using furniture and DIY shelves
3. You can customize for any size space
4. You can customize to your style
5. If you move you can take it all with you, built-ins have to stay with the house
6. They are perfect for rental scenarios, or non-permanent living quarters
7. You can be trendy since these options are not permanent
8. They add dimension, texture and interest to a room
9. You can install them yourself in an afternoon

All this new storage came at a fraction of the cost it would have been to have professional built-in cabinetry done and I think it has way more personality and charm. Consider adding furniture and open shelving in spots you need some extra pizzaz. They are perfect solutions for small bathrooms, living areas, home office storage and extra kitchen storage. Check out the other ways you can use these brackets and hairpin legs from my friends below.
See the other weekend projects featuring hairpin legs and shelf brackets from Crates & Pallet

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Robb Restyle

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Seeking Lavender Lane