The bookcase is back. Two years ago retailers were writing them off as e-readers threatened book sales. However, Britons’ desire to impress friends with their book collection and a switch to open-plan living has revived interest in shelving.
Demand for designer bookcases is growing as the literati look for homes worthy to display their works by Thomas Piketty and Joseph Stiglitz. People are even posting pictures of their book collections on social media under the hashtag #shelfie.
John Lewis says that sales of bookcases are up by more than 10 per cent on the year, driven by premium or branded ranges. David Barrett, a furniture buyer at the company, says that the trend is for modern restoration or luxury dark wood. Sales of its bestseller, a £699 industrial modular bookshelf made of mango wood with a black steel frame, rose by 244 per cent in a year.
He said: “Bookshelves are making a comeback this year after falling from favour in 2015, when the rising popularity of the e-reader meant that fewer and fewer people were needing to store books in their homes.
“We’ve seen the reverse in 2017 — customers are falling back in love with the romanticism of collecting books, and are buying beautiful shelves and display units to keep them on.
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“We’re also seeing more and more customers wanting to display other decorative objets d’art, and a stylish bookshelf works equally well for this.”
Heals reports that sales of bookcases and shelving units are up by 47 per cent in a year.
“Many people now want to reflect their curated interests in their homes too
Sivan Metzer, its furniture buyer, said that open-plan living had also been a factor, leading to a renewed interest in room dividers to partition spaces. He said: “Striking shelving adds an architectural element to what might be an otherwise minimal space with little detail. We are seeing customers move towards more detailed and prominent designs to ensure maximum impact.
“In addition to this the rise in popularity of the likes of Instagram and other social media applications has made it the norm for people to showcase a view of their home to show who they are and what their interests are.
“Many people now want to reflect their curated interests in their homes too. High-end shelving is often iconic and architectural and gives the ideal platform for showcasing this.”
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The trend looks set to continue, as sales of books are forecast to rise by 6 per cent this year to £1.7 billion and by 25 per cent over the next five years, according to Mintel, the market research group. It says that e-book sales will fall by 1 per cent to £337 million and then only inch higher as readers tire of staring at backlit screens.
Ikea has also reported increased sales this year, which it also said might be because of the trend to display cherished possessions on shelves.
Clotilde Passalacqua, an interior designer at Ikea, said: “Sales are up 7 per cent and this may be due to the rise of the industrial look which includes open-storage systems that often don’t include doors and are used to display books and other accessories to give a space a raw edge.
“Additionally, there’s been a shift from storing personal items to using them as decorative accessories.
“Open-storage systems and display cabinets help to showcase treasured items and elevate them as pieces of art instead of clutter.”