This viral hack turns a $10 dish rack into an invisible bookshelf, and it's pure genius

A floating wooden bookshelf — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

So, you've got a lot of books and you're not sure the best way to display them. Understandably, you're probably thinking about bookshelves, but that can turn into an expensive solution that also takes up a lot of space.

While I've found 7 clever ways to display books in your home, it wasn't until I stumbled upon a TikTok influencer's viral clip that I soon realized invisible bookshelves should've been on that list.

@grillodesigns
I’ve added more shelves to my dish rack bookshelf 🤭👀. Should I add one more? If this is the first time you are seeing this hack - then all you need is a wood dish rack (depth of at least 10cm - I get mine off eBay usually … don’t get the IKEA one ) and 2 self adhesive hooks to support each rack vertically. Let me know if you ever decide to try it
♬ original sound - Grillodesigns

How it works

Books on pine shelves with a several indoor plants — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Influencer @grillodesigns has over 200k followers eagerly watching her DIY tips and tricks to try out in their own homes. I should know, I'm one of them.

And when I saw her dish rack bookshelf hack, I was incredibly intrigued (and so was everyone else with 8.5 million views and counting...). So, how does it work?

All you need is a wooden dish rack and two self-adhesive hooks. Then, you attach the hooks to the wall and they'll support the dish racks vertically.

Once stacked up, you simply place each book into the dish rack, like you'd place a dish. But there are a couple of things worth mentioning before you try it out.

Firstly, hardback books are too heavy and sometimes too large to place in the dish racks. So, stick to paperbacks.

Secondly, it's not time for a visit to IKEA.

Before you run to IKEA

Floating bookshelf — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

You may be tempted to head to IKEA for a $5.99 dish rack, but stop right there. The dish rack you get for this hack needs to be, as @grillodesigns explains, at least 4 inches (10cm) in height to hold your books.

And when people in the comments say they're heading to IKEA, she tells them it's not a good idea – and she's right. The IKEA OSTBIT bamboo dish rack is only 3 inches (8.5cm) in height.

Luckily, there's lots of options available that won't cost you more than $10. Take the Amazon deal featured above, for $10 you'll actually get two dish racks for less than two at IKEA.

Depending on how many books you have and where you want to display them, you can size up and down this hack however you like. And then you can keep making weird jokes to your house guests about how your books float. Or not.

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Grace is a freelance journalist working across homes, lifestyle, gaming and entertainment. You'll find her writing for Tom's Guide, TechRadar, Space.com, and other sites. If she's not rearranging her furniture, decluttering her home, or relaxing in front of the latest streaming series, she'll be typing fervently about any of her much-loved hobbies and interests. To aid her writing, she loves to head down internet rabbit holes for an unprecedented amount of time.

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