Modern Shelving gave this couple the perfect mix of form and function—stylish storage with a built-in desk, easy installation, and space-maximizing design.
During the height of COVID-19, Rachel Leadens and her family moved from their home in Minneapolis to Maple Plain, Minnesota. They left behind a beautiful mid-century modern home that Rachel had remodeled that had tons of built-in shelves. Although they loved the home, it had no yard and they wanted to live somewhere in the country with more outdoor space.
Their new home was a blank slate with a lot of white walls and not much architectural detail. Their goal was to style the home in a way that paid homage to their city roots and add shelves for storage. The Leadens downsized when they moved to the new home, so they no longer had enough space for a home office. They were in the market for a set of shelves that could provide ample storage for books, photos, and décor but that could also serve as a desk.
“I came across Modern Shelving and it caught my attention,” says Rachel. “The shelves were cool, they had the desk that I needed, and I liked the mix of metal and wood material. I saw that Modern Shelving was a U.S. company—it was during the pandemic when we moved and the supply chain was really bad, so I liked that it was a U.S. company and I wouldn’t have to worry about shipping.”
Once the shelves arrived, Rachel and her husband got to work putting their unit together. They had a little trouble at first but eventually they got everything figured out. When they first assembled their shelves, they felt that they were a little unstable, so they put a stud on the wall on one side to ensure it was safe for their kids to play around. They haven’t had any troubles since.
The Leadens use their shelving unit as a statement piece in their living room. They have two units, side by side—one side is just the shelf, and the other side is the shelf and the desk. They love how it completes the space and doubles as a desk and storage space for their books, photos, and miscellaneous décor items.
“We like it a lot,” says Rachel. “It ticked all the boxes—it visually pulls your eye over and people often ask where we got it. I like mixing woods and metals, so aesthetically it’s pretty perfect and it was about half the price of things I found online.”
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