Storage Furniture: UK Edition

[Mr X]

I'm getting really fed up with how crap most storage furniture that's in any way suitable for DVDs/Blu-rays is.

At the moment I've got a chunk of my collection in two of those Watsons 378-DVD "pigeon hole" units that are all over the (UK) internet: Amazon, eBay, etc. (https://www.watsonsontheweb.co.uk/pi...t--white_1.htm). They're... I suppose they're fine. Not the sturdiest and the instructions tell you to use wood glue to make them a little more robust but that doesn't really feel like it'd do a whole bunch other than make them significantly more inconvenient to move when you move house (something I intend to do in the short-to-medium-term future). I paid something like £80 for each of them. A couple of months ago they went up to £105. They're now £115.

They aren't even very good - they're obviously just cheap as hell particle board like anything else around that price point - so I don't really want to be paying nearly 150% for shelving units that are only just barely functional; I could drop £50 a pop on IKEA Billy bookcases instead and they'd work about as well, but those are way, way too deep compared to the width of a DVD/BD case. There just seems to be very few options for decent high-capacity storage for DVDs and/or Blu-rays and it kind of baffles me. It's not like it's some niche use case that hardly anybody will need!

As a result, my flat is bloody well covered in worryingly piles stacks of Blu-rays. The coffee table, the dead space in front of books in bookcases, the top of a CRT TV... you name it. They're everywhere. My collection hasn't been up to date in months on this site because I dunno where the hell anything is or what I've even got at this point due to it being so completely disorganised. It's terrible and it stresses me (and indeed my partner) out. But I don't really have money to burn and dropping £115 on a fairly crap unit that was probably only decent value at £80 doesn't seem like a good solution.

So, UK people: tell me if you've got any ideas. What do you use yourself? Did it turn out to be decent or are you regretting buying what you did? Is there something you've found online that seems solid?

[DTSBOY]

Ikea Malm 4 drawer chests x2. Holds approx 100 blu's per drawer. I modified mine with 450mm full extension drawer sliders fron Screwfix which worked better than I'd hoped for. £6.50 for a pair or £26 to complete 1 Malm. The runners used by Ikea are feeble in comparison and only open half way anyway.

Take away the cases and use 120 micron sleeves and I reckon you'd get 600+ per drawer. Could be way more I just haven't de-cased my blu's yet.


If you're a keen diy'er then twin slot shelving is an excellent solution. If your walls are brick then it's easy enough. No looking for studwork behind plasterboard etc.

Charles Watson - ironmongers @ Amazon supply the uprights and 120mm brackets. 120mm is perfect for the width of blu's or dvd's. 12mm ply or mdf - for the shelves, cut to whatever lengths is somewhat more of a challenge if you're not keen on using a circular saw. Your local DIY store may offer a sheet cutting service.

Rough guess, I'd say I've got about well over 100 foot of shelving on my walls and 2 Malms full. It's not enough.

[Ben_R]

You aren’t going to want to hear it but IKEA Billy bookcases. The extra depth is negligible and also very handy with larger sized releases. You can add extra shelving, height extensions and doors too.

[Blu Lemmy]

Yep, my modest collection is in two billy bookcase, could probably fit another 100 if I cleared some pops etc

[Anthony P]

i am not in the UK but I just bought some pine boards and built my own.

[oddbox83]

They've annoyingly stopped selling the 40cm deep Billy in black, at least in the UK. I was after one so I could shut the doors with LPs and various non-standard deluxe Blu-rays in them. I hope it's just temporary. The alternatives aren't compatible with the matching doors.

[CompleteCount]

My Missus just picked up some very large planks, cut them to size and made a unit for blu storage. It's cheaper and you get to design it tailor it to your needs.

The Cedric.jpg

[chip75]

Originally Posted by CompleteCount

My Missus just picked up some very large planks, cut them to size and made a unit for blu storage. It's cheaper and you get to design it tailor it to your needs.

Bargain hunter, handywoman, enjoys the odd terrible Ed Wood picture. You hit the jackpot, mate.

[CompleteCount]

In the words of Isaac Hayes: "You're dammmmn right!"

Very... erm... experimental, too...

The unit she built ended up costing just under £40 in materials. It holds about 600 blus, and is a really heavy, solid bit of furniture. It was designed to make as little a footprint as possible, including the area around the skirting board being cut-away so it butts up perfectly to the wall. The wood was covered with non-reflective black varnish to prevent annoying reflections.

In the spirit of Ikea's names for stuff, it was christened "The Cedric".

Any local (and competent...) handyman would be willing to run a unit up at fairly low cost. It gives the flexibility of what you need rather than making do with what's available.

[oddbox83]

You've gotta be DIY confident to do that though, as "simple" as it seems when you know how. I've dabbled in the past myself, modifying shop-bought pine units to add Perspex doors.

That's my thing - it's gotta have doors. You don't get it until one day you discover your cat has piddled all over the shelves. I don't want to encounter another urine-soaked Halloween Blu-ray in my life. Slipcovers binned etc.

[DTSBOY]

That's my room ^^^^ but 11 shelves tall x 2 walls wide. Buying and making your own is more satisfying, but Ikea make it very easy if you're not savvy with the DIY.

[Tornado Red]

I have 3 of Ikea's Billy shelving units with the optional Oxberg glass doors. If your worry is how deep they are, I solved this issue by using 1/2" thick peel and stick weather stripping as you can see in the photo. I set mine back a bit to accommodate the slightly larger box sets. That stuff comes on a roll and is pretty cheap. Also in the shelf photo in the bottom right is a grey damper to make the doors slow close, also pretty cheap.

[Lord-Oakbeard]

Originally Posted by Tornado Red

I have 3 of Ikea's Billy shelving units with the optional Oxberg glass doors. If your worry is how deep they are, I solved this issue by using 1/2" thick peel and stick weather stripping as you can see in the photo. I set mine back a bit to accommodate the slightly larger box sets. That stuff comes on a roll and is pretty cheap. Also in the shelf photo in the bottom right is a grey damper to make the doors slow close, also pretty cheap.

Very nice. I like the weather strip idea.

[Barry_NJ]

DIY 2.5cm plywood and threaded rod...


PXL_20220308_204827199 by Barry, on Flickr


PXL_20220308_192440317 by Barry, on Flickr


2019-07-29_12-07-32 by Barry, on Flickr


2020-12-23_05-30-57 by Barry, on Flickr

[Brandon K]

That's amazing Barry, I love it! I need a handyman in my life lol.