Turn the tables - or in this case, the shelves - on chaos and create order in your home with these novel shelving solutions. Take a top tip from professional merchandisers, and shop for your shelving unit at a commercial shopfitting outlet. Alternatively, you can head off to your local hardware store or specialist storage shop where you'll find a wide selection of inexpensive shelves and storage containers.

Ideas:

1 Put together your own flexible display and storage system. Arrange new-look, flat-pack timber cubes in black and white for a modern touch.


2 Create space for all your surplus reading matter. Devise a clever bookcase using the books themselves as shelf supports. Buy plain pine shelves from a hardware store and paint them in the colour of your choice.

3 Rig up a unique display and storage system using hardware store pine shelves balanced on CD drawer units.

4 Arrange attractive ornaments in sleek, yet sturdy, shop-display cubes. Not only can you dress up a bland corner, you'll also end up with a swish modular shelving system that you can take with you if you move. Just click the acrylic cubes (available in clear, black and white) onto a telescope pole, positioned under a ceiling beam. Each cube can hold up to 15kg. Before you buy, measure the height of your knick-knacks to check they fit. Allow for free space around each object to show it off to its best advantage.