Making a Montessori bookshelf (with free PDF plans and calculator)

We have a young daughter, and if you follow us on social media, you probably already know her. Of all the projects we made for her, our Montessori bookcase with reading nook is the one we are most proud of, so I wanted to tell you how we built it and give you a few useful resources to make your own.

When she was just a few months old, she discovered the world of books. We started giving her books with crunchy pages, different materials to be touched, colorful drawings and features that appear if she moves a guide with her tiny finger. Well, she loved them so much! Books became quickly one of her favourite things to play with, mainly with mum.

Given her early love for books, my husband and I decided to create a special gift for her first birthday: we built a custom Montessori front-facing bookshelf. This DIY project is perfect for parents who want to encourage their children’s love for reading. It’s great for toddlers to be able to reach their own books when they want them.

This time, I took charge of the idea and the basic project, even though my husband is typically the family’s furniture maker! I selected the perfect location for the bookshelf, in an underused corner of my daughter’s bedroom. After meticulously measuring the available space (multiple times), I created the project plan. I presented my woodworking husband a ready-to-make plan, with sizes and details of all the pieces needed!

And… it turned out pretty well! We created a perfect reading nook that’s become her favourite play corner. It’s been half a year now she’s using it, and we couldn’t be happier of how functional the bookshelf is!

Explore the finished project detailed photos

Next: shopping time! We bought all the necessary wooden boards, all pre-cut to the sizes needed. Just for the sides we needed to cut the triangles ourselves. We also found nice pre-cut wooden letters and other small decorations to attach to the lower front. About the final color, my husband found a dark pink paint he liked, a non-toxic one conceived for children’s bedrooms. I wasn’t convinced at first, but seeing the final color I admit he was right.

Then the real work began! We started constructing the “stair” that would become the front of the bookshelf. It was not easy, the hardest part being keeping all the pieces together in the right position while the glue was hardening. Under each shelf, we glued wooden blocks for stability and strenght, under the central shelf also metal reinforcements to be sure the pieces were joined at a perfect 90° angle.

Since each front was the same size, we built a jig as a guide to follow: we wanted to be sure to build the project following the project perfectly. We left a little margin for errors!

We joined each shelf to the following one starting from the topmost one.

Finally, the most relaxing part came: decoration and finishing.

Step one: sanding. We rounded the corners and took care that all the surface was smooth and free from splinters.

We painted the whole bookshelf pink, with white decorations on the front. We left the other parts undecorated because the plan was to decorate it with loads of books! Also, the choice to paint it all with one color was to keep the attention on the books themselves. With other colors and drawings, it would have been too crammed and confusing!

Two layers of paint were enough, completed with a little light sanding.

Well, after six months of use I can confirm the project was a success! Our daughter uses it a lot, it’s her favourite play corner in the house. She can reach almost all the shelves easily by now, and she’s beginning to learn how to put her books back in place.

The play corner, next to the window, is completed by a soft handmade carpet, crocheted with love by my mum.

Every time we look at the bookshelf we feel proud of our project. We didn’t think at first we could be able to make it, instead it’s goodlooking and sturdy.

What are your thoughts on this project? Do you have suggestions for improvement, or do you like the final outcome as it is? Feel free to share your thoughts!

If you’d like to try and build your own bookshelf, you can begin by downloading our plans, for free.

Here you’ll find our custom-sized project, with all the pieces needed and building instructions. The final sizes of our bookshelf are 125cm L x 32cm W x 90cm H, and the pdf plan is in centimeters.

Do you want to make your bookshelf with your own custom size?
Try out the calculator instead!
It works both with Metric and Imperial system.

A Montessori bookshelf follows the principle of Montessori furniture: each piece is child-sized and designed to increase your child’s independence. Those pieces are usually low and open, so a toddler or child can reach her own toys by herself without the help of an adult. Sometimes the height is adjustable, so the furniture can grow with the child.

The bookshelves in particular are also front-facing, meaning that books can be arranged so that the child sees the covers, not the spines. Pre-schoolers can’t read, so they need to see the images on the covers to determine the content of the book and decide which one they want. We are used to looking at book spines, but our sons are not.

The shelves shouldn’t be crowded, with books on top of each other: each item should be well visible and in reach. If you are worried your child would not be able to have all his books available, that’s not a real problem. Instead, rotating the books from time to time would keep your child interested.

Did you ever notice that after a short while your son looses interest in that toy that seemed the one, that he carried with him all around? Children tend to loose concentration soon, they are attracted from things that are new or they haven’t seen in a while. Not overwhelming them with too much stimuli will help increase their concentration: while playing, one activity at a time, one item at a time would be a great benefit to learn how to focus.

Seing the purpose of the bookcase, the ideal height varies with the age:

• 40 cm (or 16 in) for infants
• 60-81 cm (or 24-32 in) for toddlers or pre-schoolers
• 81-101 cm (or 32-40 in) for school-age children

Our advise, though, is to think in advance for the future: children grow fast!

We chose to make the highest shelf 65cm high (about 25 in): at the beginning we could use the lower ones and fill the others as our daughter grew. We wanted to think about the future, to make the bookshelf useful and appealing even after a few years.

These are the most traditional Montessori bookshelves. They are typically low to the ground, usually at a child’s eye level, with open shelves.

Such a piece of furniture is good also for toys, clothes or items thicker than a book. They can also provide a wide top shelf to be used in various ways, sometimes also as a bench (but beware of weight limitations).

It’s also the most affordable solution, as many furniture producers such as Ikea have plenty of cheap and functional options available.

Sling bookshelves are similar to the wooden tiered ones, but they have fabric or canvas pockets to hold books. These pockets make it easy for young children to flip through the books. They can also become a creative space for hide-and-seek games! Also, the softness of fabric protects the book cover and corners.

This is an option we did consider, but discarded for one reason. We had to fit our bookshelf in a closed corner, between two walls and a big wardrobe. Not easy to move, then. When you have fabric pockets, small toys can easily slip out of the sides, as they are open, thus hiding under the bookshelf. We wanted to avoid going around the house for months looking for lost items. Or, better… it’s something we have to do weekly if not daily, so we prefered the full-wood solution.

Montessori book carts or crates are mobile book storage solutions. Their wheels make them portable: they can be moved around the room or to another room, making it convenient for children to choose books anywhere they want to play and return them to their designated spot. Book carts are often used in Montessori classrooms to make books easily accessible in different areas.

To be moved by toddlers, they need to be small, also for security reasons, so they can contain less books than other fixed solutions. It all depends on your needs and space.

I hope your DIY journey into making your own front-facing bookshelf is great! If your child has the appropriate age, you can involve them in the process: I love when our daughter watches us make things, being for her or not. I think it’s a highly educational moment. She learns that you need time to make something out of raw materials and she learns that things can be repared or repurposed to be used again.

Remember also that a Montessori bookshelf is not just a place to store books. It can be a peaceful nook to nurture the love of reading and encourage your child’s independence. It can create a place to be used with pleasure for years. Adjust the setup as your child grows and their needs change, and most importantly, enjoy the journey of reading together.