Next up on the big nursery to do list is to hang some front facing book shelves. I think you get so much bang for your buck here; easy and inexpensive plus a great way to graphically fill up a wall, and such a cool system for little ones to be able to pick out their own books more easily.
Some of the comments on this post expressed that it would never work for them, having climbers in their families. But... Aren't all bookshelves a climbing danger? Not to mention half of the furniture in the house? I am optimistic that we can, through teaching, avoid any tragedies. Thoughts?
i would have given my left nut for this as a kid. i mean, i would love to have this now, too. so awesome.
ReplyDeleteI would like those baskets in the bottom photo!
ReplyDeleteI love that idea!
ReplyDeleteWe have built-in shelves lining our living room, and it hasn't been a problem with our two-year-old. She made a couple attempts at climbing, but was pretty easily redirected. That might not work with all kids, though!
The motto that we use all the time is, "What's the worst that could happen, and how bad would that be?" If the worst that could happen is a few ugly holes in the wall, a mess on the floor, and some head-conks from falling board books, it's not the end of the world. It's not like a tall, heavy unsecured shelf filled with glass and china, where the worst that could happen would be pretty bad.
You are right, any bookshelf is a hazard (screw them to the walls!). My kids have never tried to climb shelves. This idea is awesome, have seen it in a couple of friend's houses since we posted it on Bambino Goodies and it is stunning.
ReplyDeletei've been eyeing this idea too. i've heard that since kids are so visual, it actually encourages them to read more. if you've ever seen the kids section of a bookstore, you'd see that the kids get really excited to find and read new books. it's pretty cute.
ReplyDeletehonestly, i wouldn't worry about the climbing. my sister was a climber and she NEVER EVER climbed bookshelves (we had lots). come to think of it, we grew up in a very non-kid friendly household, BUT it was always made clear that those types of activities were meant for our backyard or the park. i know some kids are more hyperactive than others, but that does not mean that they are incapable of learning and understanding that there are certain things they just cannot do.
I LOVE that ceiling treatment!
ReplyDeleteYou can always bracket your heavy furniture to the wall. Highly recommended (coming from the mom of 4 1/2 yr old twin boys :) )
My only bummer about front-facing shelves is that you run out of space so much more quickly. If I had more space to do this, I would do front-facing where the child can reach and regular shelves higher up and do a book rotation.
I love this. (And the stripey ceiling.) I'm sure you could teach the nugget to not climb the shelves, and like Anna said, if he ever climbed on one and it got pulled out of the wall and he fell, you could fix it easily and he would probably never do it again.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a climber, s/he will climb on everything and there isn't much you can do about it (I was/am a climber). Just make sure the bookshelves are bolted to the wall, so that they don't tip over onto the kid and I think you'll be okay. We had lots of head bonks and a couple stitches, but nothing major. Kids are pretty bouncy.
ReplyDelete