good stand speakers with good low end

Do you actually intend to put the speakers in a bookshelf? If not, floorstanders take up no more room than standmounts. About 1 square foot of floor space. If you do want monitors in your price range, check out Fritzspeakers. High-quality stuff at reasonable prices. I also think Axiom makes some nice stuff for the money. I wouldn't consider either of them "bright", but that's only my opinion.

"I always thought I would get better bang for the buck with stand mound speakers vs lower end floor standing units."

Not really - remember that you have to figure in the cost of the stands, and good stands cost at least $200 minimum. Judge by the sound, not the design.