Good storage should do more than hold things. The best systems become a meaningful part of a room — honest about their structure, considered in their proportions, and quietly impressive the more you look at them.
At Really Well Made, storage is one of the categories we think about most carefully. It's functional, yes — but it's also one of the most visible things in a home. The shelving you choose will frame your books, your objects, your everyday life. It's worth getting right.
This guide covers the key decisions involved in choosing a designer shelving system, and introduces our two favourite systems: String Furniture and Moebe Floor/Wall/Magazine Shelving.
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Wall-Mounted vs Freestanding: Where to Begin
The first decision is whether you want your shelving fixed to the wall or standing independently. Both have genuine merits, and the right answer depends as much on your space as your preference.
Above from top left: Frama Shelf Library and Muuto Reflect Sideboard.
Wall-mounted systems keep the floor clear, making a room feel larger. They're ideal for alcoves, hallways and smaller rooms where every square metre counts. They do require fixing into the wall — a consideration if you rent, or if your walls are particularly challenging.
Freestanding systems offer more flexibility. They can be repositioned, taken with you more easily when you move, and work well as room dividers in open-plan spaces. They tend to make more of a visual statement too, their full height giving a room a sense of structure and intention.
Some systems, like HAY's New Order can do both beautifully.
Above: String Living Room Combinations
String Furniture
Few shelving systems have earned their place in design history as thoroughly as String. Designed by Nils Strinning in 1949 in response to a competition set by Swedish publisher Bonnier — who wanted an affordable, practical bookshelf — String became one of the defining objects of postwar Scandinavian design. It has been in continuous production ever since, which is as strong an endorsement as any.
The system is built around a simple logic: two wire panels fixed to the wall, with shelves and cabinets slotted between them. From that single principle, an enormous range of configurations becomes possible — floor to ceiling, a single shelf, a dedicated workspace, a display for ceramics and books. The wire panels come in a generous range of colours, and the shelves in lacquered wood or painted steel, so there's considerable room to personalise.
What makes String genuinely special is that it looks as good sparsely loaded as it does full. Many shelving systems only come alive when they're well-stocked; String has enough visual interest in its structure that it holds a room even when restrained.
Best for: Those who want a modular, configurable system they can grow over time. Equally at home in a study, living room, kitchen or child's bedroom.
Above from top left: String Outdoor Shelving Combinations and String System Mirror Cabinet.
Moebe Shelving
Moebe's approach to shelving is, characteristically, to question the assumption. Although still a system of parts, Moebe designed something closer aesthetically to a single resolved idea: a shelf unit of oak in various finishes, smartly joined with their signature steel rod and oak wedge connector — the same design language that runs through the Moebe Bed frame, the Moebe Frame, the whole family of products.
The Moebe Wall Shelf is beautifully simple. A single shelf — or a stacked series of them — fixed to the wall with minimal visible hardware. The result is a shelf that seems to float, the wood doing the work, the wall barely disturbed. Available in a range of widths and in oiled oak, smoked oak, or black painted oak, it's one of the most elegant solutions for displaying a considered selection of objects, books or plants.
The Moebe Floor Shelving System takes the same philosophy into a freestanding format. Uprights of powder-coated steel support wood shelves, connected again with that distinctive oak wedge detail. It stands with quiet confidence — not showy, but unmistakably designed. It works particularly well in a living room or bedroom, lending a room a sense of considered curation without dominating it.
Best for: Those who want a single, resolved piece of furniture, less adaptable but with more craftsmanship on display. Especially well-suited to displaying fewer, better things.
Above from top left: Moebe Wall Shelving System Sets (115 cm) and Floor Shelving.
How to Configure Your Shelving
Whichever system you choose, a few principles are worth keeping in mind when planning your configuration.
Start with what you're storing. Books are heavy and need deeper, sturdier shelves; ceramics and objects benefit from varying shelf heights; vinyl records have very specific dimensional requirements. Work out your primary use case before committing to a configuration.
Leave room to breathe. The temptation with a new shelving system is to fill it immediately. Resist. A shelf with space between objects — room for light and shadow — will always look more considered than one that's packed to the edge.
Mix heights and textures. A run of books interrupted by a ceramic or a plant gives the eye somewhere to rest. Varying the height of objects across shelves creates rhythm without looking contrived.
Think about weight distribution. With wall-mounted systems especially, heavier items — hardback books, stone objects — are best placed on lower shelves. It's safer, and it looks more grounded.
Above: HAY Pier System Combinations (3 Columns)
Styling Your Shelves
Shelf styling is one of those things that looks effortless when done well and obviously laboured when it isn't. The simplest rule: edit ruthlessly. Put out a third of what you think you want to display, then add back only the things you genuinely love. The best-looking shelves we've seen are almost always less full than their owners expected.
A few combinations that work particularly well: a row of spines interrupted by a single object at a different scale; a plant trailing over the edge of a shelf above; a framed print leaning against the back panel rather than hung separately.
Above: Muuto Stacked Shelf System 2.0
Talk to Us
If you're working out which system is right for your space, we're happy to help. Our team at Really Well Made know these products well — we've lived with them, sold them, and thought about them for years. Get in touch, or come and see us at our Peckham Showroom.