BH | Studio Svaneke Tiered Bookcase

Low bookcases came into fashion in the early nineteenth century, set beneath windows and pictures so that the wall above stayed free. They put books at hand height, made a surface for lamps and busts, and turned a plain stretch of wall into the heart of a library.

This long, low bookcase is built in three generous boards with smooth bullnose edges, rounded like a stair tread, held apart by short upright blocks set at staggered points so the stack reads almost like building blocks. That gives two wide open tiers plus the top, with plenty of length for a run of books, records or a collection, and the rounded corners are kinder to shins in a busy room. It rests on small round bun feet on non-marking glides and is rated to hold 137 lbs.

Set it under a wide window in a study, with books along the bottom and a lamp and a few objects on top, or use it beneath a television in a den. It makes a good shelf beside a reading chair, a display for collectibles, or a low bookcase in a bedroom. In Cocoa the deep brown finish gives it a quiet, scholarly weight, with green-shaded lamps, globes and old maps around it.