Wall mounted shelves have an endless number of uses

In your bedroom, you might want a picture shelf, or one to hold your newest books and a few curios. You might want a heavy duty wall mounted shelf with a swivel to hold your television set. If your bedroom is really tiny, you might even consider a wall mounted shelf to replace night stands next to your bed.

In bathrooms, your shelving might be of wicker or glass, and used to stack towels, potpourri, bath salts, scented candles, and live plants. A shelf next to your bathtub can hold your bubble bath, scrubbing mitt, a book and your reading glasses. You want this to be both practical, convenient, and attractive...contributing to the decor of the room.

In your kitchen, you might add a spice shelf near the stove, an herb garden shelf near the window, or a small wooden shelf to hold your cookbooks.

If you are looking at wall mounted shelves for the purpose of heavier storage; for example, replacing a bookcase when you have no floor space available (or your floors are not even), you need to be careful what materials you use and that it is mounted correctly to support that kind of weight. Before attempting to do this, check with your local home improvement center. What you learn beforehand will save you aggravation and expense later!

There are some advantages to using wood shelving on your walls. It can be bought unfinished, and cut, sanded, beveled, painted, or lacquered to taste, and is fairly easy to wall mount, depending on the amount of weight intended for it and whether it is being mounted on wall board, plaster, or studs.

You can purchase flat shelves of various depths, which can be placed on metal strips that have been screwed into the studs on your wall. These vertical strips allow you to change the heights of your shelves to accommodate different sized books or accessories that you are displaying. Or you can simply go online or to a furniture store and buy a finished shelf with attached supports that simply required basic installation.

Wood shelves are not easily broken, warp only under rare conditions, and are easily cleaned. They are, however, heavier than other materials, so consider that before you buy. If you are showing off photos or delicate figurines and other curios, you might be smarter to use glass shelving, which is less likely to detract from your display.