Who doesn't remember sitting in the study or library of their grandparents' house as a child, looking up in awe at the massive and intricate bookcase replete with volumes that towered up all the way to the height of the ceiling. With these sorts of memories in mind, anybody can appreciate just why the bookcase is one of the most fundamental elements of home furniture. It is not only very functional, offering plenty of space to store the reserves of knowledge and literature that a person may have, but also serving as a good display—bookcases are almost always used to put family portraits and other trinkets on display. In fact, a home can hardly be complete without a quality bookcase, to serve as a center of attention in one of the most used and viewed rooms in the home.

Depending on the particular floor-plan of a home, bookcases are usually kept in one of a few different rooms: for large homes with many rooms, there is usually a room specifically designated as the study or the library; other times, bookcases may also make their way into the living room or TV room, when a separate library is missing in the home. Either way, bookcases usually are the largest piece of furniture in whatever room they happened to be located in, and as a result they tend to set the mood of the room. That means that you should try to model the aesthetic feel of the room around the bookcase, and not vice versa; don't set up a room full of furniture, and then add the bookcase only to notice that the combination does not work well.

Bookcases come in all sorts of different styles, from very simple geometric and basic styles to more elaborate, intricate and old-fashioned kinds of bookcases. It is important to keep the general dynamics and colors of the home in mind when choosing what kind of bookcase to buy. Nothing can be worse than buying yourself one, taking it home, and cursing yourself because it is actually taller than your ceiling! Always take precise room measurements before going out to shop for bookcases—always.

Exactly what you plan on using your bookcase for will affect your ultimate choice, of course: if you have a ton of books to store in it, then having one with plenty of space will be a big consideration; if you want to use it more ceremonially, to put photos, etc., on display then you will want one with broader, taller shelving. Modern designs have incorporated newer materials into bookcases, such as stainless steel and glass, whereas older styles of bookcases usually were made with nothing but quality wood (like the one in your grandparents' study). It is important to keep in mind that in order to really be able to load up your bookcase with a lot of stuff (books, trophies, portraits, etc.) then you will have to make sure that it is sturdily built, which generally usually implies a slightly higher price tag.