For anyone who has ever had a mountain of books and no place to put them, the obvious answer is “get a bookshelf.” But what should someone do when they don’t really want to commit to a huge bookshelf because they only plan to live in their rental home for a year or two before buying, and aren’t sure what the storage situation will be like in their next residence? Also, there’s a sofa floating in that same person’s room that feels a little unhinged (and a little unbalanced with the width of the fireplace in front of it). Well, there is a new furniture trend emerging on the living room scene that may be the solution to both of these problems (these are my problems if you haven’t gathered by now).
Let me introduce you all to the idea of modular sofa bookcase. Instead of going the route of the low sofa table, the modular sofa essentially wraps around the bookcase. nearby The back of a sofa or sectional creates an area for storage or displaying beautiful things, while also acting as a continuous side table. While this definitely leans more towards the modern side of design as they work best with low-hanging and blocky upholstery pieces, I can still see them pairing well with traditional sofas in some cases (keep reading).
Before we look at some examples, I want to remind you what my sofa looks like (or, more precisely, show you what my sofa looks like from the back, because I haven’t shown it properly here yet):
Here is my sofa as it stands at the moment. Of course, there are things this room needs that will help ground the floating sofa better, like a larger area rug, moving it a bit to better align it with the fireplace in front of it, and adding a larger table to the right of it to further ground it. But mostly, it can benefit from something behind it, both for aesthetics and function.
Here’s what I’m thinking:
This photo of the living room, taken by Zoe Feldman, immediately struck me as the solution to my space issues. The shelving unit we see here is custom, but the role it plays can be adapted by anyone willing to do a little math. Here’s a quote from the designer about it to better explain its purpose: “Sometimes one piece does three things at once. This custom sofa-shelf divider is framed by @cabriolestudio Defines the living room and adds storage while letting the space breathe.
I’ve found that often, by trying to fix one problem (like adding more storage), we end up creating another problem (like having a room that feels like it’s leaning in on you because there’s something on every wall). That’s why I like this trend. Needless to say, this is a great way to divide a room in an open floor plan. A bookcase acts as a room divider in a way that a plain back of a sofa never can.
Remember how we wondered for a moment whether this contemporary style could work with more traditional design or furniture? Well, here is a classic Parisian space with a corner sofa bookcase, so the answer is yes, it can be used in a space that is not entirely modern.
Ikea Holmerud Side Table Everywhere right now, people are “hacking” it (which in this case really just means putting a few of them together other than having a side table) to create long and low sofa tables and sofa wraparounds. At just $50 a pop, it’s one of the most affordable ways to get it.
I’m going to discuss sofa bookcase FAQs later in this post, but I just want to bring one thing up right now: You don’t have to go all the way or around it. It still looks nice and interesting if you’re adding something like this in a corner like the room above.
Something like this would also be great around a corner sectional or U-shaped sectional. I probably wouldn’t burn candles on the bottom shelf, considering the entire thing right above it is made of wood, but well, everyone has their own candles.
Now that we know what we’re talking about and we’ve seen it in action, it’s time to make a purchase. It’s important to note that the price range for modular sofa bookcases varies widely, from $50 IKEA options to custom all-wood designs costing thousands.
Which sofa bookcase are we eyeing right now?
1. Holmerud Side Table | 2. Stockholm 2025 Shelving Unit-Bench | 3. Eliza Mood Modular Corner Console Table Left/Right Configurable | 4. Nixon Light Tone Left Set of 2 Corner Consoles | 5. cello shelf | 6. Lafora 72″ Bookcase, Small | 7. Nest Shelving 2×3 | 8. Wallace Modular Corner Console 86″ | 9. Kaye Modular End Table | 10. Custom Made Corner Sofa Bookcase in Walnut | 11. modular record player stand | 12. Renata Wood Console
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve taken some liberties here. I’ll go ahead and call myself out on this. But I did it because #1: Furniture is very expensive, and sometimes you need to stick pretty close to a trend or concept. Case in point: #2 on Stockholm Bench. This is a bench. This is not a modular bookcase. But I could see two of them bumping into each other at the same corner as me. Let’s say, at about $400 a piece, that’s still an $800 investment, which is next to nothing by any stretch of the imagination (and, when did even IKEA get that expensive?!?). Emily used it at her brother’s river house!
For larger spend, you can go the custom route offered on Etsy (#10) or a heavy solid wood variety from Halo Loom (I’m showing this in black stained wood, but there are some other wood options that are just as gorgeous). Renata Wood Console from Anthropologie Again, not modular, but if you have the budget for two, they would be beautiful behind a sectional. Don’t forget to be creative too! I found this modular record player stand on Etsy (#11) That’s $125 each. You can definitely put a few together to get the look!
The key to nailing this look is getting the measurements right, which can be the trickiest part if you want a completely side-to-side wrap. You’ll need to find a piece that, when combined in multiples, will be almost the exact width of your sofa. A few inches apart should be fine, but what you want to avoid are large gaps, especially when you’re adding the piece that will act as a side table.
Speaking of how to get it right, it’s time for some FAQs (I think these are questions anyone who is interested in this style and wants to accomplish in their home):
Modular Sofa Bookcase FAQ
- What types of sofas do they work on? As we’ve mentioned in the past, a blocky contemporary silhouette matches best (especially when it’s low to the ground and there’s no real visible leg). But as we saw earlier, as long as the sofa is the right size and doesn’t have a curved back, it can still work great.
- What should I know about any height rule? Given that the height of a sofa from the floor to the top of its back is typically anywhere from 30 inches on the low end and 36 inches on the high end, you’ll want to make sure any bookcase you choose is at least a few inches shorter than your sofa. Ideally, go about 6 inches shorter to avoid anything falling off the top whenever you move your hand around.
- What can they be used for? Like any open storage, you can use it to hold basically anything, just be mindful of how cluttered it can start to look. Don’t forget that you can use smaller baskets to hide anything that will eventually look dirty (think: your kids’ stuff or blankets).
- What if my sofa has legs? To keep a clean look, choose a sofa bookcase with a closed-back rather than an open one to avoid too many lines everywhere.
- What phrases do I use to find them? These aren’t very common (yet), but some terms I’ve seen listed are: sofa bookcase, modular sofa table, low bookcase, sofa corner table
- Does it have to be wrapped around? This is a big deal! It’s perfectly okay not to move from side to side on a sofa or sectional. It all depends on what look you like. Sometimes, a room needs a little tension and contrast, if you ask me.
some mock ups of my sofa
Because I couldn’t help myself, I made some rough mock-ups in Photoshop of how this would work in my home. I liked some of the ones I put together, others not so much, and another that has potential and is probably the most functional for my family’s needs (including a reasonable amount of space for my daughter). Here’s what I have so far:
Thuma Nest Shelving System. This is probably closest to my style, and four of them together are about the size of my 99-inch couch. Needless to mention that they are endlessly functional, so when we move, if they no longer work behind the sofa, we can lengthen each individual unit to create completely different shapes. Intelligent. I’d love to have it, but sadly I’m not sure we can afford it right now.
I wouldn’t mind getting anything in this color, but I got a little lazy and didn’t want to go looking for a light wood tone This bookcase from Hello Loom. It’s also the most expensive, so it was more of a “let’s just watch for fun” experiment than anything.
My Photoshop action here isn’t working on any of the options, and to be honest, I’m not sure it would even work the way I combined them, but etsy list Custom said, so I’m guessing they could increase the size of one of their arms to completely wrap around my couch.
Designing a home with small children, who absolutely have needs and at the same time deserve a space that suits them, means you don’t always get a perfectly aesthetic option. My kid desperately needs a landing spot below that provides a surface for him to paint and draw on, build, destroy Play-Doh, etc., and this might be a good spot for him (no paint would be allowed here, though, it’s that close to actual fabric). There might be another wall I could use to accommodate a pint-sized play area for her, but I can also see a world where a bookcase wraps around one side of my couch, and a cute little wooden kids’ table and chairs balance the other side. I’m not saying it’s the table and chairs, I just picked up a cheap set from Wayfair, TBH.
So, that’s where I leave you for today. Part furniture trend post, part “Here’s something I’m considering doing in my home to solve a problem.” I would really love to find a way to bring more visible books into my living space because few things find me as cozy as having pages and spines on display. Plus, between the attractive qualities of my sofa’s fabric and my shiny wood decor, I needed to balance it out with something more practical.
Stay tuned. Until next time, friends…
