Buying Guide to Shelf Brackets

If shelves keep our books (and various other items) looking neat, it is shelf brackets that hold those shelves in their glorious position. Without brackets, the shelf would be rendered useless, without function, a "nobody" in the world of organization.

Shelf brackets are to shelves as makeup artists are to the stars of Hollywood.

Okay, I know I am going a tad overboard. I am just trying to show the oft-forgotten shelf bracket a little appreciation. That -- appreciation -- is the spirit of this hub. So if you appreciate appreciation as a concept, I do hope you will stay a while and enjoy what I have written.

Here's to shelf brackets -- all kinds!

Cheers!

When you think about it, wood was probably the first material from which shelf brackets were made, so let us salute wood shelf brackets first. Salut!

The look of wooden shelf brackets is a nice, sometimes rustic, look for the home -- be it a child's bedroom, a study, or a great room.

To most of us, when we think of shelf brackets, we think of the metal of the species. Metal shelf brackets do most of the holding up of shelves these days. As with anything that is sold in many variations and price points, you get what you pay for. There are cheep shelf brackets that cannot hold much weight, and seriously strong, better brackets that sell for more, and are worth it.

If you have glass shelves, you need brackets specifically designed to hold them. That is where glass shelf brackets enter the conversation. These are not brackets of glass. They are brackets of metal (often with a rubber gasket attached for padding) made to fit and support glass shelves. A neat item, indeed!

Plain, simple shelf brackets have function nailed. Decorative shelf brackets give us function plus decor, and for that, we should all be grateful.

The classiest look in decorative shelf brackets these days may come from iron. Wrought iron shelf brackets are at once hard (and strong) and -- thanks to modern design -- strangely feminine.

My wife thinks floating shelves are cool, and now, so do I. What makes the "floating" effect work are floating shelf brackets. These are rather different from other brackets. They stand alone!

In the workshop or garage, you cannot go with some standard bracket. You need something mad strong. That is where heavy duty shelf brackets come in. Be sure to consider paying more for more strength when you know you are going to be doing heavy jobs.

Also in your workspace, you may require shelves that are "there" when you need them, and out of the way when you don't. That is why the shelving world has folding shelf brackets -- a durable necessity to any handy person without a large deal of space.

Here's to shelf brackets -- essential and wonderful!