Most people tend to organize their lives in a 90 degree square shape. Our television and computer screens are square, our tables, our car parks (well, an elongated square…), our money, in short, everything has corners. Our houses are also almost always designed with square rooms. This is nice, neat, easy to organize, and BORING. It’s very easy to get caught up in fitting everything into neat and tidy corners.

The problem is that most furniture is not designed to fit into corners. Even if you put a sofa or bookshelf in the corner, it wastes space and tends to feel cramped and somehow not right.

The solution is to find furniture that is designed to fit into corners. This will achieve 2 results:

• 1. The space in the corners is better used, and
• 2. It looks much cooler

When you install any type of shelving or corner units, you not only save valuable untapped space, but often make the entire room feel more spacious and airy.

When you break the “squareness” of the room, you add interest and charm to your decor. Not only that, but in some cases using this area in this way can allow a room to have more than one function. For example, a children’s toy corner shelf can separate that part of your living room for the kids while allowing you to retrieve the rest for toy-free relaxation.

Sometimes, instead of just filling an otherwise unused part of your room, you can become the focal point of the room. A good example of this is when you install a corner TV stand and then place your furniture around it. Suddenly you have your own cozy viewing area.

Another elegant solution to the corner conundrum is to install floating corner shelves. This provides you with an attractive and functional way to display collections and curiosities. This type of shelving gives you less shelf space, but can add an eye-catching touch to your room.

People tend to jump into a store, find something, buy it, and take it home. The problem with finding something as unique as a corner bookcase or bookshelf is that most stores only carry a few examples. It’s a good idea to do some research and see all the options available before you decide. What you buy today you will have for a long time, make sure you are really satisfied that you have found the best solution for you.

Don’t forget that using corners can help you reclaim space and reduce clutter in every room of your home, from the bathroom to the garage. You can find shelves in a wide range of materials, from glass to real wood and laminate in a wide variety of styles and finishes.

Some things to keep in mind when you are thinking about what to do with those underused corners in your home are:

• 1. What is next to that corner?
• 2. (if you are considering a corner TV cabinet) is there a power source nearby?
• 3. How close will your other furniture be to the corner?

All this is important to incorporate the corner to the rest of the decoration. For example, if there is a door next to the corner, watching a TV in that corner can distract people walking through the door. Also, if you want to put a corner bookcase in that corner, is there any other furniture that is close by? Since the shelves are open in a round shape, a sofa near the shelves could very well block access to part of the lower shelves. In short, try to imagine what the corner will look like and how well it will work with the rest of the room.