Display Your Books Upside Down With This Stunning DIY Floating Bookshelf

Whether you're an avid reader who buys at least one book every time they leave Target, knowing they have four full stacks of books waiting to be read, or someone who enjoys using books as décor, we know the challenge of trying to find more space to fit all your books. You can DIY gorgeous built-in bookcases to hold as many books as possible, but sometimes, they're not big enough to hold every book you own. If you're looking for a creative way to display a few of your favorite books around your home and free up space on the floor, you've come to the right place. Instagram user @shesthecarpenter created a brilliant way to display her books upside down on a floating shelf using a staple gun and a long piece of elastic. The result is a trippy view of magical floating books.

Stacking books on a shelf is a no-brainer, a traditional way to use shelves. However, displaying books underneath a shelf to make them look like they're floating is an idea we can get behind. The best part about this hack is you can do it with any floating shelf you currently have at home. All you need is a pack of 1-inch elastic from Amazon, a staple gun with staples, a shelf, and your books. The shelf's size and book width will determine how many books you can fit on the shelf.

Gather your materials and lay them on a table or floor. If you're using a shelf you already have, remove it from the wall. Start by measuring where your bracket will sit on the shelf, then staple one of the elastics next to one of the brackets; this will be your starting point. Next, put one of your books next to the staple and pull the elastic over the book to make a loop, as Instagram user @shesthecarpenter shows. Pull the elastic slightly tight and staple it to the board. When you remove the book, you'll have a loop for holding that specific book. You'll measure the book's width for each loop, so remember what order you're measuring out the books so you know where to put them when you hang the shelf on the wall.

Repeat the step with all your books until you reach the end mark of the second bracket on the other side of the shelf. Depending on the book's width, you can fit up to 10 books on a shelf. Once you finish measuring and making all your loops, attach your brackets and hang your shelf on your wall. Finally, hang your books through each loop by slipping them between the front and back covers. You now have a stunning inverted bookshelf! You can decorate the top of the shelf with more books or display a few pictures, plants, a mini chalkboard, or other embellishments.

You can change the bracket placement if you want to trick your guests or yourself every time you walk into the room where the upside bookshelf is set up. Typically, a standard shelf has brackets underneath, but since you'll put the books under the shelf, swap the brackets to be on top. Folks will see the brackets when they walk in and question why it's upside down, then see the books and be completely mind-blown. You'll get bombarded with questions about how you created it; some will even ask you to show them how it works or teach them how to make one. Further, adding the brackets on top of the shelf allows you to add a couple of extra books underneath. However, if you don't like the look of the brackets on top, you can cover them with large décor items, such as a vase or a tall picture frame.

On the other hand, if you don't have the time to transform your shelf into a floating bookshelf display, Amazon has a floating wall bookshelf you can effortlessly install in your home for $59.85. It has multiple book pins that hang on the shelf and have a string with a wooden foot attached that goes between the book's pages. Plus, the string acts as a bookmark to save your place when you're not reading.