Display4top Clear Acrylic Floating Wall-Mounted Display Shelves, 2-Piece

Wall-mounted display shelves can double duty to store items, keep you more organized or improve the space for purely cosmetic reasons. They can optimize your living space and add design interest, and best of all, you can find a wide range of colors and sizes.

Most (but not all) come with their own mounting hardware, but you’ll need basic tools like a measuring tape, hammer or screwdriver to hang them up.

Before making your purchase, measure the height and width of your available space and check the shelves for these measurements; you’ll also want to know how far out the shelves extend so they don’t stick too far from the wall. If the space is narrow, consider purchasing several smaller display shelves to separate vertically.

Shelves come in plenty of different materials, and one of the most common is solid wood. This material is generally the heaviest and can also be the most expensive. Engineered wood like MDF is less costly, durable and looks lovely. Other options include plastic, metal and acrylic.

Wood is the most traditional choice, and the others can look contemporary, minimalistic or anything in between. Read the product reviews carefully because the shelves need to be easy to install and strong enough to support what you place on them.

Wall-mounted display shelves are attached to walls with brackets, and many come with them included. Standard metal brackets get drilled into the wall, and the shelves get installed onto them. With floating shelves, though, the brackets aren’t visible, which is where the term “floating” comes from. These provide a cleaner look and are easiest to install in front of wall studs.

• If you want to hang the shelves on drywall, use toggle or butterfly anchors.
• Hollow wall anchors work fine for installing shelves on plaster walls.
• If your shelves don’t have the proper hardware, you’ll need to buy what you need; think about how much weight the shelves will hold and choose anchors rated for that weight.
• Shelves with more complicated designs can look great but be harder to clean. Keep this in mind, as they will accumulate dust.