Where to go for bookcases
Bookshelves are great organisers for anywhere in the house. Whether you buy a bookcase, commission a cabinetmaker or make a case yourself, always go for more shelves than you think you need, as books have a way of multiplying.
BUY THEM READYMADE
Vitsoe modular shelving, which can accommodate all sorts of configurations, starts at around €100 a shelf at Haus (Crow Street and Pudding Row, Temple Bar, 01-6795155). You can add more as finances allow: this is long-term stuff, designed in 1960 and produced ever since. Made from metal, it can be wall mounted and is very sturdy. It provides a neutral structure for whatever you display.
McNally (M1 Business Park, Courtlough, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, 01-6906000, www.mcnallyliving.ie) has a wide selection of "fade-away" shelving. Its white lacquered shelves with a beech corecome in 40cm-by-40cm sections that can be customised to any height and width. Prices start at about €1,000, depending on how much you want.
For inexpensive modern bookshelves try the system from Habitat (Dublin, Belfast and Galway, 01-6771433, www.habitat.ie): €85 for a 20-shelf unit. At Mimosa Interiors (Cranford Centre, Montrose, Dublin 4, 01-2698000) find great 2.5-metre-high painted bookcases from €3,000; what's nice about them is that they look like faded heirlooms rather than reproductions. At (Lower Stephen Street, Dublin 2, 01-4780177, www.mobilia.ie) ask about shelving by ; for about €300 you will get a 1.5-metre-high, metre-long bookcase. (nationwide, www.argos.ie) isn't glamorous, but its catalogue can have good buys at reasonable prices, including single shelves in beech or walnut effect for €24.99. They are deep enough to hold a variety of objects besides books, and hidden fixings mean they'll appear to float on your wall.
HAVE THEM BUILT
Think about having a carpenter make bookshelves or cupboards. It's all about finding someone who'll do the job well but not overcharge. In Co Cork, try Barry Joinery (021-4652844) to make storage units. The Dublin-based interior designer Deirdre Whelan used joiners at Period Design, in Co Cavan (049-9522323), to make low MDF shelving units for her home. Michaela Mantero, another designer, uses Natural Wood Design, in Co Laois (057-8626483) to make fitted units. I've also heard good things about Tony Harkin (087-2227372), a furniture designer; go to him for something imaginative. Alan Gallagher (087-2265362) is another good cabinetmaker. You could also try (Ranelagh, Dublin 6, 01-4977435, www.oakline.ie), which makes high-quality kitchens, bookcases and bedroom and office furniture. From a studio in west Cork, Eric Pearce (023-49852, epearce@eircom. net) has built a reputation for commissions that has spread to the UK, where he works with several interior designers. For Jasper Conran's apartment he worked on tall oak drinks cabinets with antique glass panels. Private commissions are part of an overall interior-design service; he will advise on every aspect of decor.