These Rooms Put the Allure of Books Front and Center
For some people, Sundays are spent organizing bookshelves by Dewey decimal and author (though, please, never by color). The more extreme enthusiast, the bibliophile,may assert that books have personalities and histories all their own regardless of what lies inside them — and that they should be displayed, not hidden away. During renovation, though, books go into storage, and the bibliophile will miss them in a way you’d miss an old friend. Once back on the shelf, every volume will remind you of a time, place, person or feeling, even if the plot is a little fuzzy. And disposing of them? Well, that would be a challenge, even for those books that weren’t particularly enjoyable.
Consequently, you run out of space and buy another bookshelf. Then another, until rooms have been taken over or — in the case of this beautiful house in Canterbury, New Zealand, by Sheppard & Rout — you’ve filled an entire wing of a historic homestead. (Check out the poured-concrete fireplace, comfortable chairs and a spectacular paneled pyramid ceiling.)
The following book obsessives, though, have taken things further. These rooms celebrate and display books as the alluring objects they are. More than that, they provide their owners with daily contact with their books, along with a place to reflect, work and read.
The following book obsessives, though, have taken things further. These rooms celebrate and display books as the alluring objects they are. More than that, they provide their owners with daily contact with their books, along with a place to reflect, work and read.
Popular Stories
True Stories
With the Book Tower house, Patrick Michell of Platform 5 Architects rearranged two floors of an Arts and Crafts house in London’s Hampstead area around the family’s enormous collection of books. The library is the heart of the home, created by combining a first-floor living room and a second-floor bedroom into a double-height space, linked by an elegant oak staircase.
With the Book Tower house, Patrick Michell of Platform 5 Architects rearranged two floors of an Arts and Crafts house in London’s Hampstead area around the family’s enormous collection of books. The library is the heart of the home, created by combining a first-floor living room and a second-floor bedroom into a double-height space, linked by an elegant oak staircase.
At the top of the library — which is essentially one piece of cabinetry — a small desk looks over the books and into the garden. The shelves artfully step down the stairs, so the top shelf is always within reach.
Deceiving Looks
This house in Marblehead, Massachusetts, had sat eerily empty on the beachfront for decades before its owners — with architects Siemasko + Verbridge — rescued it from oblivion. Outside, it’s classic East Coast seaside (clapboard siding, white-painted columns on a deep-covered porch), but inside it’s contemporary, and includes a two-level library linked by a spiral staircase.
This house in Marblehead, Massachusetts, had sat eerily empty on the beachfront for decades before its owners — with architects Siemasko + Verbridge — rescued it from oblivion. Outside, it’s classic East Coast seaside (clapboard siding, white-painted columns on a deep-covered porch), but inside it’s contemporary, and includes a two-level library linked by a spiral staircase.
The shelves here run floor to ceiling on both levels, which gives the spaces an appealing density. A custom-built ladder provides access to the top levels — a must for easy browsing.
Here’s a detail of the shelves, which are strung from the ceiling on high-tensile wire. This gives the room a lightness.
Top to Bottom
This house in Hino, Japan, designed by Araki Architects takes the idea of a house designed around books to a new level. Along with a cavelike study for the owner, there are shelves spread throughout the house on two levels. The exposed wood beams and shelving are simple — the decoration comes from the vast collection of books.
This house in Hino, Japan, designed by Araki Architects takes the idea of a house designed around books to a new level. Along with a cavelike study for the owner, there are shelves spread throughout the house on two levels. The exposed wood beams and shelving are simple — the decoration comes from the vast collection of books.
The volumes stretch up through two stories, accessed by a spiral staircase, at the top of which is a simple table for contemplating the garden over a novel by Haruki Murakami, say. A metal gantry with exposed steel tread gives access to the books while allowing light to the floor below.
In a sense, the whole house — seen here before there were any books in it — is a library, with token areas for the bathroom, dining area and kitchen. (Though there are shelves there too.)
Turning the Corner
The cardiologist owner of this house on Lake Champlain, New York, is a passionate book collector — as is his wife — and he’s also a gifted woodworker. The two passions are united in the library, designed by architectDon Welch. Welch converted a fourth bedroom into a bookish retreat, crafted from cherry and maple wood. The shelving rises and follows the angle of the ceiling; an elegant wooden ladder, made by the owner, provides access.
The cardiologist owner of this house on Lake Champlain, New York, is a passionate book collector — as is his wife — and he’s also a gifted woodworker. The two passions are united in the library, designed by architectDon Welch. Welch converted a fourth bedroom into a bookish retreat, crafted from cherry and maple wood. The shelving rises and follows the angle of the ceiling; an elegant wooden ladder, made by the owner, provides access.
On the other side of the room, Welch designed a built-in desk for craft projects and reading, with built-in shelves at the end. The wave form seen on the bottom shelf here flows around the room, a reference to the nearby lake.
The bookshelf was built in pieces, then carried up the stairs.
The bookshelf was built in pieces, then carried up the stairs.
Welch was determined that the room not be overwhelming, the idea being to display the books so their full beauty could be shown off. He designed a pattern of square “bookends” built into the corners of the shelving and double-height nooks for displaying art.
Bookend in Oregon
Even the simplest of houses can do with a library space to anchor them. In this tiny house by Jessica Helgerson, on Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon, a great room houses built-in furniture and a wall of books.
Even the simplest of houses can do with a library space to anchor them. In this tiny house by Jessica Helgerson, on Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon, a great room houses built-in furniture and a wall of books.
Above the library, accessed by a simple ladder, is this sleeping platform — within easy reach of something good to read.
Books and Art
If you can’t spare a whole room for a library, then a whole wall will do nicely. Especially when that wall is tall and flooded with light from the neighboring floor-to-ceiling window.
If you can’t spare a whole room for a library, then a whole wall will do nicely. Especially when that wall is tall and flooded with light from the neighboring floor-to-ceiling window.
The project, by BW Architects, involved converting an existing industrial space into a live-work studio. Down one side is the high-ceilinged studio filled with diffuse light. And down the other, running out to a courtyard garden, is the living area, complete with the book wall anchoring the space and defining it as a place for retreat and contemplation.
Particularly intriguing is the use of pink Post-It notes on the edges of the shelves, which suggest a level of library-like orderliness that may verge on the obsessive.
Design Poetry
Meanwhile, in Venice, Italy, the poet-professor owner of this ground-floor apartment shows you don’t necessarily need lots of custom cabinetry to show off the books you love — not to mention other paraphernalia such as hats, mannequins and a collection of teapots.
Your turn: Do you have a large collection of books? Show or tell us in the Comments about how you house them.
Meanwhile, in Venice, Italy, the poet-professor owner of this ground-floor apartment shows you don’t necessarily need lots of custom cabinetry to show off the books you love — not to mention other paraphernalia such as hats, mannequins and a collection of teapots.
Your turn: Do you have a large collection of books? Show or tell us in the Comments about how you house them.