Gone is the era of block style bookshelf. The world of writing and reading books have evolved, so why shouldn’t the bookshelf evolve with it? I bet you’re thinking the same thing too. The truth is, a bookshelf doesn’t have to be the traditional ancient way we used to know it to be many decades ago.
There are several beautiful DIY corner tree bookshelf designs that are not only creatively amazing but also cheap and easy to make. If you’re looking for ideas on how to make a great corner tree bookshelf either for yourself or for your kids, you will find very simple DIY ideas that suit your taste here. But first, why corner tree bookshelf?
Why Corner Tree Bookshelf?
In other words, what are the advantages and uses of a corner tree bookshelf?
1. Book Collection
It is one thing to own a great collection of books, and purely another thing to be proud of them. A corner tree bookshelf performs several functions but the most fundamental of them is to house your book collections in a beautiful display. Rather than pile up your books at a spot in your apartment, or just leave them lying haphazardly on the office desk, the corner tree bookshelf helps you arrange and store your books neatly. This way, your beautiful array of books beckons on everyone who comes visiting at your home or who steps into your office. At the same time, a corner tree bookshelf keeps your book collections from ants and other such insects that attack book pages.
2. Beautifying your Apartment or Office Space
Corner tree shelves allows you enough creativity and designs that fill up the space in the corner of your room or office. But more importantly, they add beauty to the walls and room at large. Rather than leave the corner walls blank and monochrome, you could consider using any of the amazing designs here to personalize your room. A corner tree bookshelf with lots of books gracing it adds spice and color to your space and anyone who steps in just has to love it!
So DIY corner tree bookshelf is the best way to make full use of your space and decorate your house. But which corner tree bookshelf you will like?
Here are Some Amazing DIY Corner Tree Bookshelf Ideas You Should Try Out:
1. Spreading Tree Corner Bookshelf
This classic corner tree bookshelf is a wonderful idea for you if you have lots of books, and if you have some room in your apartment. It has a commanding presence that forces every guest to itself. Depending on how large you want it to be, this design could take almost a full side of your home wall. I wouldn’t recommend it for an office space, but it definitely fits well in a study room.
Tip: Ensure that the base is firm enough to carry its many branches.
2. Across the Room Corner Tree Bookshelf
Now, there’s something sleek and appealing about this creative corner tree bookshelf style that tempts everyone to get one for their room. It feels like it’s crawling on the wall across the room. Perhaps the most awesome thing about this design is that it takes up very little space and can stand anywhere. You could ‘plant’ it over your bed or just right across, at the corner behind the door.
Tips: This design requires glues and nails to hold a larger part of the bookshelf to the wall.
3. Wall Art Corner Tree Bookshelf
No, your tree bookshelf doesn’t have to be all classic and serious. It allows for creativity, and you could choose to add a little touch of art here and there. This style combines the beauty of the tree bookshelf itself with the artwork on the wall. With the wall art corner tree bookshelf, expenses give way for creativity. You could choose to build just the ‘stem’ and a few actual branches of the corner tree bookshelf. The artwork on the wall does the rest of the job for you. You could take it a notch higher by adding the painting of one or two birds nestling on the branches of the tree. Isn’t that just lovely?
Although this design isn’t recommendable for people with tons of books, it does a good job of giving your apartment the perfect look of a tree.
Tip: The wall art corner tree is most suitable for kids because it contains only a few books. You might want to increase the branches to five or six to allow room for more books.
4. Cartoon Corner Tree Bookshelf
Again, if you have any favorite cartoon character, this is the perfect design to help you blend cartoon with your corner tree bookshelf. Although the main central stem will be pretty much the same as every other standing corner tree bookshelf, you could use the branches to explore your creativity and add color and theme to your bookshelf. Other costumes such as teddy bear, pictures could come in at this point to give your cartoon bookshelf the perfect look you dream of. Your kids would definitely love this design as well.
Tip: I would recommend that you leave much of the cartoon designs to the top of the tree bookshelf. This is because books will likely cover up the designs you made on the lower part of the tree bookshelf.
5. Low Corner Tree Bookshelf
Your corner tree bookshelf doesn’t have to be tall and beyond an arm’s stretch. The low corner tree bookshelf gives you exquisite designs, book collection and comfort to top it up. This design is especially suitable for your living room. Construct the tree bookshelf in a position between your couches so that while sitting or lying on a couch, you could conveniently reach out for a book to keep you company. Plus, it adds color to your living space and encourages you to reach for a book each time you’re close by.
More so, a low corner tree bookshelf is the best option for your teenage kids.
Tip: Your low corner tree bookshelf should be constructed with several beaches to cover up for what it lacks in height. This way, you can store many books at once.
6. Staircase Corner Tree Bookshelf
You can never see it all with ideas as far as corner tree bookshelves are concerned. A staircase design gives you an edge because you can use it for more than books alone. The weave-in weave-out shape gives you room for plenty of books at the same time. You could also leave a bottle of wine on it before settling down to a book. What’s more? A staircase corner tree bookshelf can be attached to a wall or made to stand on its own.
Tip: When making a staircase corner tree bookshelf, ensure to give it enough base support because of the weight of books it could hold.
How To DIY a Corner Tree Bookshelf
Before I unveil some of the most wonderful designs for a corner tree bookshelf, let’s discuss the steps involved in constructing one all by yourself. Although some designs may require more efforts than others, almost all corner tree bookshelves can be made by carefully following the steps below:
Step 1: Assemble your Tools and Wood
Having decided on the design you want for your corner tree bookshelf, you should get all the pieces of equipment you need for the execution.
Just like every other woodwork, you would need the following tools:
- A small hammer
- A set of small nails
- A sandpaper
- A metal rule
- A tape measure
- A small saw
- A wood filler
- Wood glue
- Screws
- Paint brushes
- A small brush for painting
- Wood spray, etc.
Other materials to be used include your plywood or pine wood, paint, a paint primer, a pint of Polyurethane
Step 2: Cut Out the Wood
With the image of your intended corner tree bookshelf present to guide you, the next step is to cut all the parts you would need to DIY your perfect corner tree bookshelf. Using your small saw, cut out all the parts you need out of the wood and arrange them orderly according to sizes in order to avoid confusion while you work. You might choose to label parts that are equal in length with similar numbering systems. Also, while you cut, make sure that adjoining pieces are perfectly even with each other. You should use a T-guide to get perfect cuts.
Step 3: Assemble the Parts
Putting all the parts of a corner tree bookshelf together to form the beautiful piece that you imagined might be a demanding activity. As a matter of fact, it is the point where people often get discouraged. I believe you won’t! Numbering your corner tree bookshelf parts while cutting makes it easier to assemble later. Attach parts that should adjoin together with the help of a nail or wood glue.
The choice between nails and glues is determined by the design of the corner tree bookshelf you want to create and the depth of the wood. If you’re using plywood or pine, 2d nails will do just fine. Some corner tree bookshelves would require that you stand them close to the wall in the process. But for many others, you could entirely assemble your corner tree bookshelf before you move it to its permanent spot in the room. Use your sandpaper to smoothen all rough edges.
Step 4: Finishing
Before your corner tree bookshelf is completely set to position, check to be sure that all the nails are hammered below the surface of the wood. Fill up the holes with wood filler and leave the substance to dry up.
Step 5: Paint or Spray your Corner Tree Bookshelf
Having constructed your choice corner tree bookshelf, you will have to choose whether to do paint or spray it. The purpose is simple: the extra layer paint goes a long way to keep the wood safe from insect attacks.
As an alternative, if you’re not poised to build your corner tree bookshelf from the scratch all by yourself, you could contract am expert to do the woodwork for you. After that, there are still lots of beautiful designs you could do with your corner tree bookshelf.
DIY Corner Tree Bookshelf FAQ
1. How do you stop a bookshelf from leaning?
A leaning bookshelf could pose danger apart from the fact that it loses its beauty. If your bookshelf is leaning, it is either because of overload or because you used an unsuitable wood when making it. To correct this, you should try out the following:
- Remove some books from the top shelves
- Measure the sides of the bookshelf to see which side is longer.
- Wedge the bookcase with a shim to balance both sides. Use a square for perfect balance.
- Nail or glue the added shim(s) to avoid a fall.
2. How do you make cheap bookshelves look expensive?
- To make your cheap bookshelves look pretty expensive, the first option is to spray or paint again.
- If it is a traditional bookshelf, consider adding some extra costume materials such as flowers, teddy bears, etc. depending on what catches your fancy.
- If it is a tree bookshelf, a couple artwork on the wall around it will give the bookshelf an exquisite look.
3. What is the best wood to use for bookshelves?
Granted that the kind of wood to be used for a particular bookshelf depends on the design you want to build, the best woods I like to recommend are pine and plywood because they’re easy to use for starters, very lightweight and they reflect paint and spray.
4. How thick should wood be for shelves?
Again, this is another decision heavily influenced by the nature and design of the bookshelf you want to build. However, a typical bookshelf requires woods that are about 3/4-inch thick and in special cases, 1 1/4-inch thickness is allowed.
Conclusion
You can never get it wrong with a corner tree bookshelf! There is always plenty of room to input your own preferences and creativity. Feel free to explore all the options available to you. Starting to build one might seem demanding but you could start with the much easier designs suggested here. I hope you’ve found a DIY corner tree bookshelf idea that suits your taste and your apartment. Have fun designing yours!
