Most people tend to organize their lives in a square, 90 degree fashion. Our TV and computer screens are square, our tables, our parking spaces (okay, a stretched square…), our money, in short, everything has corners. Our homes too almost always are designed with square rooms. This is nice, neat, easy to organize, and BORING. It's too easy to get roped into fitting everything into neat and tidy corners.
The problem is that most furniture is not designed to fit into the corners. Even if you do stuff a couch or bookcase into the corner, you waste space, and it tends to feel cramped and somehow, not right.
The solution is to find furniture that is designed to fit into corners. This will achieve 2 results:
- 1. It's better use of the space in the corners, and
- 2. It looks much cooler
When you install any type of corner shelves or unit, you not only salvage valuable untapped space, you often make the whole room feel more spacious and airy.
When you break the “squareness” of the room, it adds interest and charm to your decor. Not only that, but in some cases, using this area in this way can allow a room to have more than one function. For instance, a corner shelf unit for children's toys can separate that part of your living room off for the kids while allowing you to reclaim the rest of it for toy-free relaxation.
Sometimes, instead of just filling in an otherwise unused part of your room it can become the focus of the room. A good example of this is when you install a corner TV stand, and then position your furniture around it. Suddenly, you have your own cozy viewing area.
Another elegant solution to the corner conundrum is to install corner floating shelves. This provides you with an attractive and functional way to display collections and curios. This type of shelving provides you with less shelf space, but it can add a striking highlight to your room.
People tend to just jump out to a store, find something, buy it and bring it home. The problem with finding something as unique as a corner bookcase or shelving unit is that most stores only stock a few examples. It's a good idea to do a bit of research and see all the available options before you decide. What you buy today you'll have for a long time, make sure that you're really satisfied that you found the best solution for you.
Don't forget that using the corners can help you reclaim space and reduce clutter in every room in your home from the bathroom to the garage. You can find shelves in a wide range of materials from glass to real wood and laminate in an extensive assortment of styles and finishes.
Some things to take into consideration when you are thinking about what to do with those under-used corners in your home are:
- 1. What's next to that corner?
- 2. (if you are thinking of a corner TV stand) is there an electrical source nearby?
- 3. how close will your other furniture be to the corner?
All this is important in order to incorporate the corner into the rest of the décor. For example, if there is a doorway next to the corner, watching a TV in that corner might be distracting as people walk through the door. Also, if you want to put a corner bookcase in that corner, is there any other furniture that will be near it. Since the shelves are open in a round fashion, a couch near the shelves could very well block off access to part of the lower shelves. In short, try to picture how the corner will look, and how well it will work with the rest of the room.
