Cookbook Shelving and Storage

[rajsuman]

Here's a shot of my very modest cookbook collection. I've acquired at least 10 more since then and my shelves have undergone re-organisation, so I must try and post the latest pics. I also have a few in a box in the guest room - these I intend to give away, no matter how painful it is. I no longer use them, but I can't bring myself to part from them. I need to make room for the next consignment of books that I've ordered or intend to, so the old ones must go.

[natasha1270]

So many books, so little shelf space...

The bulk of my cookbooks are in & under 2 bookcases from ikea. I like these shelves because they are very sturdy and the shelves don't bow. I think there is a taller version with more shelves... I probably should have got that - room for expansion.

Here is a pic of one:

I have 2 shelves in my hall closet devoted to cookbooks, too.

The rest are scattered throughout my home - by the bed, in the cupboard over the sink, on kitchen counter, etc.

I would love to have an extra room filled with shelves... my other books are taking over, as well.

N.

[thecuriousone]

Most of my cookbooks are in my kitchen on a 4 level free standing IKEA bookshelf. Each shelf is 7 feet long. I could use another two shelves, the overflow piles are getting large!

So many books, so little shelf space...

The bulk of my cookbooks are in & under 2 bookcases from ikea. I like these shelves because they are very sturdy and the shelves don't bow. I think there is a taller version with more shelves... I probably should have got that - room for expansion.

Here is a pic of one:

I have 2 shelves in my hall closet devoted to cookbooks, too.

The rest are scattered throughout my home - by the bed, in the cupboard over the sink, on kitchen counter, etc.

I would love to have an extra room filled with shelves... my other books are taking over, as well.

N.

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[birder53]

I don't have many cookbooks. There are four shelves of a narrow cabinet which have all our cookbooks and bartender guides. I do have six years of Fine Cooking issues sitting in a basket on the kitchen floor, which I try to organize by season. The basket no longer resembles its former self and my husband wonders how I ever find anything in there (with great difficulty!)

[JAZ]

I'm lucky to have a book-sized shelf running the width of my dining nook (about 7 feet long) -- seemed like the natural place for my cookbooks. When I moved in three years ago, there was space on it in front of one of the windows for the cats to sit; now it's completely full. I also have a small (2-foot, 3-shelf) bookcase in the entryway that houses the food reference and literary books, as well as my spirits and cocktails books. Then there's the small (1-foot wide, 4-shelf) baker's rack in my office area. At one time, it used to hold all my cookbooks -- now two shelfs hold cooking magazines and the last shelf holds extra cookbooks I don't use very much but can't quite seem to give away.

My space is full now, though, so I'm not sure what I'll do next.

[Chris Amirault]

Here's the shelf that's right outside our kitchen, in two snaps:

That's the place where the oft-used books rest (as well as keys, mail, etc.). After I posted this, I realized that a few things (Glorious French Cooking in particular) really didn't get used enough to be up here, so they got banished to the bookshelf in the basement, where a bunch more books plus magazines are stored.

[fifi]

The apartment I am in now and the house before has a high bar between the kitchen and living/dining area. I have a couple of a shorter version of these folding shelves that fit under the bar. That location for my cook books seems to work for me. I probably have a couple of hundred including my food history and essay collections. The new house will have built in shelves in a similar situation and the area just over the bar will be a sitting area with a big coffee table for comparing recipes. I do the same thing as some of you. When I am thinking of how to cook something, I look up all I can find and then make up my own. Therefore, I need room to have several books open at one time.

The rest of the house will have about 500 feet of shelves in the office and passageway. I hope that is enough. I have this thing about books. But I do like to keep my cook books in an area handy to the kitchen.

[*Deborah*]

Four years ago when I moved into my condo, I was all happy to put in an IKEA "floating" shelf (that is bolted to the steel stud in my wall to carry the ridiculous load) just for cookbooks.

This shelf is next to my kitchen, although actually in the living room (open plan)...it's inconvenient from a being in the kitchen perspective, but it's opposite the couch where I do my browsing, so it works fine.

Some time ago, I realized that stud or no stud, I couldn't continue to pile books up to the ceiling, so I branched out to the (IKEA) shelving unit in my dining room. Books are sort of grouped by type/author but also by frequency of use, so the Fannie Farmer which theoretically should be with the big books in the dining room is perched up on the wall shelf as that's where I instinctively reach for it.

[Alex]

Almost all of our cookbooks are in the window seat and two oak bookcases in our "dining room" (actually the eating part of the large kitchen/dining main floor). I really like having them nearby, both for easy reference and setting the mood of the room.

Here's another shelf, in our "office" room, of mostly non-cookbooks.

Our shelves runneth over.