Floating Bookshelves

Umbra offers a great new way to display your books. The have developed a concealed bookshelf which allow a stack of books to hang on your wall without the visual disruption of a bookshelf.

How does it work? The shelf is a piece of metal bent at a 90 degree angle so that when you screw it into the wall, a wide, flat piece of metal sits perpendicular to the wall. You slide the metal flap in between the back over of a book and the pages, close the book - there are holders for the back cover of the book - and stack other books on top. Viola! A floating bookshelf.

They also have a Flybrary, which holds books perpendicular to the wall.

Both are ingenious ideas that adds a great touch of contemporary style to any room. Plus, they allow you to display your books in a unique way. And best of all they're reasonably priced. The concealed bookshelf runs $11 on Umbra's site and the Flybrary runs $27.

You can find both items at Umbra's website, or find the concealed bookshelf at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.