I realised the other day that we have U shelves in every single room in our house. They are so incredibly versatile and useful, I thought I'd share a few ways that we have used (and you could use) one of these handy shelves.

I designed these originally because I HATE clutter on my desk and wanted a way to keep my desk space clear but to still have all the stationary I needed to hand. I soon realised that this applied to literally any surface in the house. I'm a firm believer in keeping surfaces clear especially in a small space so that you can maximise every square inch. So here are few ways we've used them. 

1. Above desk storage

The way it was originally intended. This is how I always envisaged the U shelf working throughout the design process, maybe one or maybe two or three stacked asymmetrically above one another. There are so many things that this can be used for, it is deliberately deep enough for books to sit on here happily. Stationary, candles, notes to yourself. You name it, if it is on your desk, it could be on the shelf. I love to mix and match the shelf with other wall hung items such as our box shelves, a clock and a pinboard.

Here is mine in action:

 2. #Shelfie winner

Sometimes it's nice to just have a shelf for decorative purposes to add that final touch to a room. I've styled mine up numerous times just for the fun of it, using different but related items to give it a cohesive look. How lovely does @no.39_renovation U shelf look here?

Whilst you've got that perfectly styled up shelf how about taking a picture and showing off on instagram with the ever popular hashtag #shelfie (1.2 million posts and counting!)

3. Kitchen tea shelf

Is your worktop cluttered with kettles, tea, sugar and ALL the things? Take some weight off and put your most frequently used teas and coffees on your U shelf. Everything to hand and lovely clear work surfaces.

4. Hallway tidy

The daily struggle of finding your keys, wallet and phone as you rush out to work. Yep I've been there. Since we've put up the U shelf in the hallway we keep all our items ready to hand just ready to roll as soon as you are on our way out. Simples!  Try it for yourself! 

5. Nappy changing table 

If like me you have a  little one who is still in nappies but is definitely not a baby then this one is for you. My little one was constantly kicking every single thing off the nappy table every time I changed him. Enter the U shelf. Now, the whole nappy table surface is free just for the purpose of changing but everything I need is right to hand above the table. It also works great if you have an over cot changing table as there is literally no room on there for bits and pieces once you've stored it away.

I also have a U shelf waiting to be installed in my new bathroom but that will have to wait for another blog post :) These are finished in an oil so as long as they aren't directly in the shower or bath (!) then they are fine for use in a bathroom. 

Let me know what you think of the new U shelves, can you see them working in your home?