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To select the best floating bookshelves we considered the following important features: materials, capacity, mounting style, design, and price. You’ll need to decide if you want natural wood, MFD, laminate, or other materials. But also keep the mounting style and design in mind as you weigh that against the price.
After considering all of the above, we nominated Peter’s Goods 2-Tier Rustic Floating Wall Shelves as our Top Pick. We noted that it had the best weight rating (50 pounds), and featured sustainably sourced wood as well. And it’s also the only tiered option in our guide. Keep reading to learn more about the rest of our top picks. But first, learn how to get the best prices on appliances.
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: A tiered floating sustainable solid wood shelf design with a 50-pound capacity makes it the best floating shelf for heavy items.
Floating shelves are a staple when it comes to easy home decor upgrades. But not everyone wants to deal with going through the trouble of measuring the distance between various shelves to prevent a cluttered effect. But if you’re also thinking of placing heavy items on a floating shelf, then weight capacity can be an issue. We’ve selected Peter’s Goods 2-Tier Rustic Floating Wall Shelves as our Top Pick because not only is it the only tiered option in our guide, but it is also the best floating shelf for heavy items.
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We liked that this floating shelf set has the highest weight rating at 50 pounds. The rustic design makes it a great option for shabby chic and country-inspired decor themes. Plus the tiered construction means that you have plenty of space between the shelves, with the lower shelf being able to accommodate items as tall as 10 inches. And best of all, eco-friendly-focused shoppers will like that the real wood used in this tiered shelf is certified and sustainably sourced. And as is standard, the wall mounting hardware is included. These shelves look good with the best window shades.
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: A sleek, minimalist four-piece set of white floating shelves with a picture ledge that makes these perfect for displaying nicknacks, accent pieces, and picture frames.
Not everyone is trying to store the heaviest items they own on their floating bookshelves. Specifically, many people use shelves like this as the perfect way to display lightweight decor accents or pictures without cluttering tabletops and bookcases. The Wallniture Denver Wall Mounted Floating Shelves is a great option if this is why you want a set of floating bookshelves. We liked that these white floating shelves are a four-piece set with a picture ledge design.
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This means that you can safely place picture frames or even round objects on the shelf and the ledge will prevent them from sliding or rolling off. While the individual shelves have one of the lowest weight ratings in our guide (12 pounds per shelf), we do think it’s a great option for accent decor needs. Plus the easy installation process and included mounting hardware make assembly a breeze. Just like installing the best window air conditioner.
Award: BEST FOR NURSERIES
WHY WE LIKE IT: A gender-neutral set of floating bookshelves for nurseries with a built-in safety feature that helps to minimize clutter and grow with your little ones.
Decorating a baby’s nursery is a fun experience for many parents. But when it comes to storage, you have to think about safety and what won’t pose a danger to your little bundle(s) of joy. The Brightmaison Nursery Decor Wall Shelves are a three-piece set of floating bookshelves for nurseries that help to improve organization while also providing an essential safety feature.
In addition to keeping small or potentially dangerous items (such as diaper ointments) out of reach for baby, we liked that these shelves feature a built-in bar that prevents those items from falling over and hurting your child. Each shelf is made from solid birch wood and is a clean white color that’s perfect for any gender. As is common, the mounting hardware is included too. These shelves are easy to clean much like your windows when you use the best window cleaning kit.
Award: MOST VERSATILE SHELVES
WHY WE LIKE IT: A two-piece set of unique floating shelves that can be mounted upside down, increasing the potential uses to include jewelry and crafting storage.
Most people think shelves with wood bars only have one purpose. But we think the Mainevent Set of 2 Rustic Floating Shelves are the most versatile option in our guide. These unique floating shelves can be mounted upside down and turned into jewelry or craft storage.
Plus the vintage design is great for rustic decor themes. We also liked that each of the shelves in this two-pack are rated to support 20 pounds, for a total of 40 pounds. As is common, the mounting hardware is included and installation is fast and easy. But you’ll appreciate that these shelves come with a bubble level to ensure that they’re even on your walls. They look good with the best ceiling fans.
Award: BEST INVISIBLE
WHY WE LIKE IT: A complete floating shelf kit made from acrylic for an invisible effect that’s perfect for beauty influencers and makeup storage.
If you’re not in the beauty world, you might not know that acrylic makeup storage is considered the pinnacle of perfect organization. But makeup artists, beauty gurus, and influencers are always looking for the best acrylic storage solutions that can simultaneously organize their expansive makeup collections while also creating the perfect “Instagrammable” visual background for videos and pictures.
The Niubee Acrylic Invisible Floating Bookshelf is the best floating shelf kit solution that creates a nice invisible visual effect to showcase your makeup collection. You’ll appreciate that these floating shelves with storage are made from five-millimeter thick acrylic with rounded edges for improved safety. This 16.5-inch wide shelf is designed to support 48 pounds. While this is the only single-shelf option in our guide, we did like that this comes with a complete installation kit that includes a screwdriver. You might also want the best air purifier to keep your air clean.
Award: BEST BUDGET
WHY WE LIKE IT: A 3-piece shelf set that reduces clutter and organizes essentials, making it the best floating shelves for a bathroom.
If you’re first getting into floating bookshelves, you might not want to buy some of the more expensive options. We’ve nominated the Ewei’s HomeWares Floating U Shelves as our Best Budget recommendation because it’s an economical three-piece floating shelf set. We also think it’s one of the best floating shelves for a bathroom. You’ll like that this set features three shelves of varying lengths from nine to 17 inches.
Plus, this wall shelf set is made from laminate and MDF (medium-density fibreboard) for a lightweight installation experience. The required mounting hardware is included as well and you can choose between an espresso finish or white. And these are great for holding lighter items as they can support a combined weight of 22 pounds.
Whether you’re looking to redecorate your bathroom, kitchen, or living room, floating bookshelves are a great way to increase storage space and organize your home. To create our guide, we focused on the following features — materials, capacity, mounting style, design, and price. In our guide, all of these models featured a standard mounting style that included floating shelf brackets and screws. Unfortunately, it should be noted that none of our options are corner shelves.
For the materials, you’ll note that we have a range of products that include natural wood, sustainably sourced wood, acrylic, and laminate/MDF composite. The option you pick is going to depend on what you feel looks best in your home. But if natural wood is important, we recommend our Top Pick, Best Quality, and #4 selections. If you prefer acrylic, then our #5 pick is a good option.
The capacity is an important feature as well since this will impact how many items you can place on your shelves as well as the total weight capacity. Where available, we’ve listed the weight capacity. Our Top Pick has the best weight capacity with a 50-pound limit while the Best Budget has the lowest weight rating for a combined 22 pounds across all three shelves.
And finally, we focused on the design element. We focused on highlighting a range of aesthetics that included rustic wooden, modern, and classic styles. If you prefer rustic designs, check out our Top Pick and #4 selection. For a modern effect, our #5 and Best Budget are good picks, and classic fans will appreciate our Honorable Mention and Best Quality recommendations.
And for the price, you’ll see that we have a wide range of price points. While our #3 is the most expensive option in our guide, there are plenty of affordable options. Only our #5 pick is a single-shelf option. The remainder are multi-shelf sets, which is more economical.
Get creative and have your wall-mounted shelves floating above the kitchen sideboards or use them to transform an awkward corner of a room into an elegant, modern storage solution. Another popular option to consider is the SONGMICS Wall Shelves – these (60 x 20 x 7 cm) decorative shelves offer a timeless retro look. There are also many floating corner shelf options available on the market as well.
This depends on the shelves you pick. Think about the types of books you want to store on the shelves (hardback versus paperback) and how many books you’ll place there. When in doubt, weigh the items you want to store on your shelves, and confirm that the floating shelves you want to buy are rated to safely support that weight. But, as a general rule, deeper floating shelves (without rod-mounted hardware) aren’t able to hold as much weight as shallow shelves.
To avoid making things look cluttered on your wall, your floating shelves should have roughly 12.5 inches between them.
The common culprit behind sagging floating shelves is loose hardware although exceeding the weight rating is also an issue. In addition to being an eyesore, it’s also dangerous because the shelf (or its contents) may fall. To fix this, you’ll need to take the shelf down, reposition the mounting hardware, and reinstall the shelf.
