Give Your Room an Aesthetic Flair With the Best Hanging Shelves
Shelves exist in practically every home. They’re one of the best types of furnishings to add to a house because they make use of the wall, a part of the house that isn’t easily utilized. You can place a chair or table or cabinet on the floor very easily, but it takes special designs to make a furnishing that suits the walls.
Hanging shelves give an interesting look to your home. They make your items and belongings almost look like they’re floating on air, and the gravity-defying ability of a shelf alone is a good enough reason to get one. Take a look at these top hanging shelves of 2023 to see which would look great in your home.
Hanging Shelves Buyer’s Guide
Hanging shelves are unique in their design, and they can offer both aesthetic and practical benefits to any home. This guide will cover the intricacies of hanging shelves.
Why Do Hanging Shelves Work?
Seeing a hanging shelf for the first time may leave you a little awestruck. They look like they’re just hanging off of a couple of anchor points, and even then, they can keep an almost perfect balance. How is this the case? What keeps the pottery, picture frames, and other valuables from just falling off the shelves?
The answer has to do with support. If you look at hanging shelves that are connected to ropes, you’ll notice that each wooden panel is connected on all four ends. When this happens on two different panels, it creates a fixed structure when pulled down by gravity, and this tension ensures that the ropes won’t just move around aimlessly.
Compare this to a swing. A swing will have a panel that’s connected to two or four ropes. Swings with four connections will have better support than those with two, as they don’t just rotate forwards or backward when weight is shifted slightly.
Types of Hanging Shelves
Rope hanging shelves
Rope hanging shelves are hanging shelves that make use of ropes for support. The ropes are usually thick and durable and made to last for years on end without sustaining damage or wear and tear. One of the unique factors of rope hanging shelves lies in their design. They have this almost free-form look to them, but they can support tons of weight and all your little knick-knacks.
This phenomenon that almost plays trickery to the eye is what makes rope hanging shelves so exciting to install in your home. They may not look structurally sound compared to the likes of solid wooden shelves, but maybe that’s the point. The rope shelves look a little more chaotic and a little more unstable, but they work just as fine as regular shelves.
Hanging closet organizers
This is one of the more modern takes on hanging shelves. Hanging closet organizers take advantage of the fact that many closets aren’t actually filled, and the rung that’s used for shirts, polos, and the like can often end up empty and unused. With hanging closet organizers, you not only make use of the rung but also the space underneath it, turning it into a set of shelves and pockets for various items and trinkets.
Hanging closet organizers are very useful when you need to fit a lot of items in a small area, such as a studio apartment or dormitory room. In these spaces, every inch matters, and you may not have the room to fit everything outside the closet. By using hanging closet organizers, you can effectively make shelves in spaces where you normally couldn’t.
But even if it gives you plenty of extra room, it often can’t hold that much weight. The entire apparatus is held by a set of hooks, a strap, or some other mechanism, which in turn is held by a single rung in a closet. These rungs are meant to hold clothes, not stacks of heavy items. They may give you space to work with, but always remember the weight limit.
What To Place on Hanging Shelves
Small pottery and ornaments
These items are fairly sturdy, especially if you tape the back end of the panel to the wall for a tighter and more secure fit. The pottery and ornaments that rest on the shelves will be just as secure as when you put them on any other shelf of the same size, so it doesn’t really matter where you put them. If that’s the case, then you may as well place them somewhere that looks great.
Picture frames
Picture frames are classic mementos that harken to younger and earlier days. A little sentimental, but a good way to approach decorating with hanging shelves.
Plants
A little bit of greenery can really help add more life to a home. When taking out the plants for watering, pay extra attention to ensure that you don’t just nudge the other items off by accident.
How To Make Your Hanging Shelf Last
Fix the back of the panels to the walls
This may seem a little bit like cheating, but it’s a necessary precaution that may save you some broken pottery. While the shelves are pretty sturdy, they can still sway from side to side, something that can easily result in damaged ornaments. To prevent the shelves from moving about, you can fix the back portion onto the wall with tape or some other adhesive.
Check the balancing and integrity of the rope regularly
If the shelf is holding some very important items, be sure to keep them safe by checking the rope regularly for any integrity issues. Aside from this, see if the panels are balanced evenly, ensuring that one side is not tilted higher up than the others.
Quality Hanging Shelf Worth Considering for 2023
BAMFOX Hanging Shelf
– Best Overall
If you’re looking for a hanging wall shelf that works on all sorts of items, has a relatively sturdy setup, and looks absolutely beautiful, check out this design by BAMFOX. It works by hanging a pair of ropes onto a loop that’s fastened on the wall. The ropes are both evenly connected to three wooden panels on all four ends, ensuring that they don’t tilt on any single side.
While the three-tier option may look stunning, you may not have the room for something that large. Worry not, for the product also comes in a two-tier form, and it’s also available in sets of two if you want multiple shelves to decorate your walls. The installation of this wall shelf can be a little involved, but once you’ve got it set up, you’re ready to place just about anything onto the shelves. All these awesome features make this hanging wall shelf best overall.
- Beautiful hanging design with ropes and wood
- Available in two-tier and three-tier variants
- Can be bought in sets of two
- Takes a bit of time to install if you want a secure fit
TIMEYARD Hanging Shelf
– Most Color Options
If you are a fan of color, this hanging shelf comes in a variety of color options for you to really express yourself. With three different wooden colors to pick from, you can find a shelf that matches all the other wooden pieces in your house or one that contrasts the rest, if you’re feeling a little creative.
The rope-based hanging shelves are available in both two-tier and three-tier forms like the previous shelf model. The only real issue is the rope actually extends far beyond the bottom shelf for both variants. This can look a little messy for some, but others may appreciate the almost organic aesthetic. It’s a subjective opinion, so give it some thought before purchasing.
- Comes in three different colors
- Available in two different tier sizes
- The rope hangs far below the bottom shelf, which can look unappealing to some
YOUDENOVA Hanging Shelf
– Best Hanging Closet Organizer
This shelf by YOUDENOVA is an innovative design of the typical hanging shelf. It’s a shelf that connects to the rung found in your closet. It gives you extra space and is perfect for those who find themselves with a little too much room in their cabinets and closets. The design of the hanging closet can be customized in a variety of colors based on your choice.
We marked this hanging closet organizer as the best one on the list because of its amazing build quality. One common flaw of this design is that the top shelf will often bend due to the flimsiness of the material used. Not this one, though; it’s made out of MDF and a bamboo-based insert to ensure a light yet sturdy frame that’ll hold stacks upon stacks of clothing or footwear.
- Great for making space out of your closet
- Made out of sturdy materials
- Comes in many different colors to suit your tastes
- Costs a little more than the average hanging closet organizer
Zober Hanging Shelf
– Most Pockets
The closet organizer by Zober showcases minimal design and maximum function. Aside from having shelves to place items on, you also have mesh pockets on the side for even more storage, as if the shelves alone weren’t enough for you already.
While the center shelves are best used for footwear, bags, and other items, the pockets on the side are ideal for jewelry or handbags. The mesh keeps the item in place, so even if the organizer moves around due to force, the items won’t just fall onto the ground. The available colors to choose this organizer in include black, grey, java, and white.
- With side pockets for even more storage
- Mesh design keeps items in place
- The slim frame makes it fit easily in closets
- The organizer may move around a bit when using the mesh pockets on the side
Simple Houseware Hanging Shelf
– Most Affordable
If one main factor that influences your buying decisions is affordability, this hanging closet by Simple Houseware is what you’re looking for. It’s the most affordable hanging closet organizer on this list, and it’s got the same features as the other hanging closets we listed. So why isn’t it the best one?
The reason boils down to quality. The quality of a hanging closet organizer may not look different at first glance, but once you get to own a couple of them from different brands, you start noticing the differences. The thickness of the material, the bending of the shelves and solid portions of the organizer, and more. These factors make this particular closet organizer a little less ideal than its competitors.
- Very affordable closet organizer
- Comes with features present in more expensive organizers
- Hangs using two hooks
- Quality not up to par with other closet organizers
People Also Asked
A: Hanging shelves may be slightly more unstable than regular shelves, but they can hold items with more or less the same reliability.
A: No, hanging shelves are made out of sturdy wood and rope that make it difficult to damage or break the furnishing.
A: Nudging a hanging shelf is possible, and this can result in damaged items. Be sure to stay cautious when working around hanging shelves so that you don’t end up knocking anything over by accident.
