Conservatory shelving and racking has to fit quite a specific niche. Not only is it to be used in a fairly tough environment that may be warm and damp all year round, it also has to do a very particular job. An orchid has a very different set of needs to a stack of books or a box of old clothes. Keeping your plants on the right storage racks will help them grow and stay healthy.
Dealing with the first criteria to begin with, storage racks used in a warm, damp conservatory should be durable. Warm, slightly damp spaces are ideal for mould and mildew and both of these can be serious problems in a greenhouse or conservatory. Untreated chipboard and wooden racks should be avoided because they are vulnerable and may not last long. Either choose metal racks or sealed and painted solid wood. Chrome coated metal is an ideal, rustproof and easy to clean solution.
Storage racking for plants must also be strong enough to support your collection even when all the pots have just been watered. This can double the weight, so be generous when estimating the necessary strength of each shelf.
Open grill-style racking will allow water to drain though the pots and make sure any overspill doesn’t hang around in puddles like it would on a solid surface. It will also let more sunlight reach the plants on the middle shelves and provide better ventilation to reduce pest build up. Place materials like potting mix and compost bags on the lowest shelf, and make sure the racks are not top heavy so stability is maintained.
Book shelves have a lot to say, perhaps more so than any other piece of furniture in the home. The first thing most visitors do when left alone in a room with a book shelf is scan the titles for anything they’ve read too. A single book can establish common ground or a common interest and go a long way towards setting someone at their ease. On the other hand a solid wall of advanced physics textbooks can be intimidating and it’s easy to imagine what a row of cheap romance novels can do to a carefully built reputation.
Sometimes what book shelves say has nothing to do with the printed words they hold. There is a world of difference between the look and feel of a utilitarian metal shelves solution and polished walnut, and the gap between either of those and falling-down student-style shelves built from boards and breezeblocks is even greater.
Good, solid wood shelving and racking is used by people who value their books, whatever those books might be. They have an obvious respect for the printed word and a love of learning but a high quality chrome-coated metal shelving unit speaks of practicality and organization. It says the user has a modern outlook, and while they like reading as much as the next person, they’re still unpretentious and approachable.
Whatever style you choose, an organised and practical system will make you appear sharper and more ambitious. It’ll help reduce mess and clutter and tell visitors that you’re a focussed go-getter, someone who cares about being tidy and efficient.
We all know someone who is hard to buy for. It can be tricky to find the ideal birthday or Christmas gift for the person who has everything, but the problem this kind of person has is not a lack of a particular item, but how to organise and store all the gadgets they do have. When you have everything you could possibly need it can be quite hard to find the thing you actually want.
Shelves may sound boring but they don’t have to be. A good solution can be attractive as well as functional and it can make a huge difference not only to someone’s ability to find what they need quickly and without fuss, and to the look and feel of the room. There is nothing like a huge pile of cardboard boxes to make a space seem cramped and unattractive.
Storage doesn’t have to mean a plastic tub or plain book shelves. These days there are a huge range of innovative products designed to make the best use of any space, from a flat wall to a corner, underneath a staircase or on top of a wardrobe. Some are built along classic lines with varnished or raw wood, some are brightly coloured and made with chrome and plastic. Whatever your loved one’s style is, there will be shelving and racking to match.
For extra effect try and install the gift before giving it. It’s hard to make a flat-pack look impressive even with the biggest bow and brightest wrapping paper. The recipient may not be too excited straight away but they’ll soon realise that a good storage system was the best gift they could have hoped for.