Your choice of materials will largely depend on the style of your home and what you want to do with it. Do you want a bookcase that works for all rooms in the house—living room, bedroom, home office—or do you want one that only looks good in the living room?
Also make sure to consider how much light comes into the room where you’ll be placing your bookshelf. Some materials, like wood and glass, will allow more light to shine through than darker materials like leather or metal – hopefully you not going to choose a heavy-metal bookcase, keep that to the music enthusiasts.
Wood is the most common material for modern bookcases; they come in a variety of styles, different wood types, and finishes. If you want a sleek-looking modern bookshelf, go with wood.
Glass bookcases are also very sleek, modern, and great for letting in lots of light. They can be very costly, however, so make sure you’ve got the budget for one.
Leather bookcases are perfect for the den or living room, depending on whether you want them to be more masculine or feminine looking. Leather is a great material for bookcases because it’s tough and durable, so if you have pets or children, you can rest assured that they won’t ruin your bookcase with roughhousing.
Metal bookcases are sleek-looking and masculine, plus they also stand up to wear and tear. They can be very modern in appearance, adding a bit of gleam to the room if that’s what you want.