DIY Board Game Storage Unit

Some of you know I'm crazy about European board games. It is the one hobby my husband and I have in common, and we just got back from the Origins Game Fair! WAHOO!! And now you know why I have been AWOL the last week and a half, between family visiting (and gaming), and the game fair (and gaming), and gaming...well, it was a great vacation! But now I'm baaaack!
Ok, so I may love a good board game, and I am all about my hubby trading games to build a fantastic collection for our family, but let's face it, I'm still a decor happy woman. That means I don't want to see our game collection piled up on shelves in my living room. There has to be a better more attractive solution, especially now that he has come home from Origins with a dozen new games. 

Devising the Ultimate Game Storage System

This game storage system has to accommodate my husbands game storage OCD particulars as well as mine, and boy are we one particular couple!
We started out by storing our games in a drawer, but our collection soon outgrew the drawer, and I was not happy with open book shelf storage. The solution? I built two simple cabinet bases designed to store our board games, and stacked my bookshelves on top! It fulfills both our need for game storage, as well as attention to game preservation details. There are two nearly identical bookcase units, but the bases contain a couple small differences I will show you. 


Tour My New Game Storage Unit: I'm eager to show you both units, how well they work, and what organization method I use to sort my games!

Storage Particulars
The great thing about this manner of storing our games is that it is customized to meet all our storage needs and satisfy our varying points of OCD. That means no twitching for either of us! *grin*

Store Games Upright: In our opinion games should never ever be stored on their sides. Game pieces are jostled about when flipped on their side and you open to a chaotic mess. Um, no, not ok. 
Avoid Direct Sunlight: Games must be stored out of the sunlight to avoid fading boxes.
Avoid Stacking: When you stack games one atop the other, over time the roof of the box below begins to sag. The only games I stack are lightweight  
Line Shelves: Over time boxes tend to "stick" to painted shelves and can risk peeling your game box. Shelf liner works wonders to keep your boxes protected.
Use Flat Pull-Out Shelves: Don't use drawers or pull-out shelves that have any lip to it, it makes it difficult to reach in and grab a game. Straight flat shelves enable you to slide a game out without having to "claw" at it to get a grip. Also be sure that your drawer slides are the correct length to pull shelves out far enough to allow the game behind to be easily lifted without having to move other games out of the way.
Personalize Organization: We opted to organize our games by categories then from top to bottom by frequency of play. Our categories are "Family Games", "Friend Favorites", "Rosenburg Games", and "Everything Else". Whether you go by alphabetical order or categories, customize it to how you and your family thinks. And definitely label!!
Add the Bells & Whistles: Add door pulls to the pull-out shelves if it makes it easier for you to grab...my husband preferred it without, but find ways to customize your storage to be most effective. 

Whether you build your own DIY storage unit, or add pull-out shelves to an existing one it is definitely worth the extra effort! I promise to share the building details in the near future. *wink*