Built in bookshelves or freestanding bookcases

A freestanding bookcase is furniture set against a wall. A built in is part of the wall. The difference shows at the edges: the top, the sides and the floor.

The wall it uses

Freestanding bookcases stop short of the ceiling and leave gaps at the corners and between units. A built in runs from the floor to the ceiling and into the corners, scribed to walls that are rarely straight, so there is no dust shelf on top and no gap down the side. On a wall of the same size, a built in holds more and reads as one piece.

Depth

Most books sit well on shelves around 10 to 12 inches deep. Art books, records and files need more. Built ins often combine the two: deeper closed cabinets at the bottom for the heavy and the awkward, shallower open shelves above. A bookcase bought off the floor comes at one depth.

What makes a built in cost more or less

• The size of the wall and the height of the ceiling
• Closed base cabinets under the open shelves
• Panelled backs, pilasters and a cornice at the ceiling
• A rolling ladder and its rail
• Picture lights or integrated lighting
• Painted or stained finish

When freestanding makes sense

In a rental, in a room that is about to change, or where the books will move with you. A built in stays with the house.

When a built in makes sense

In a library, a den or a home office that is going to stay one, on a wall with an awkward shape, or around a window, a door or a fireplace where no bookcase fits. Those are the walls where furniture leaves the most gaps and a built in gains the most.