home ideas: Bibliophile

Showing posts with label Bibliophile. Show all posts

Monday, August 10, 2009

Living With Books - In the Living Room

I know...this isn't the living room but I think it's a pretty
neat way to surround one's self with books. I'm pretty
addicted to books and am constantly trying to find new
ways and places to put my books and magazines. I'm
beginning to think that I should just turn my living room
into a mini library of sorts.

Here's a living room from a Domino reader who
entered Domino's contest. I love the coffee table
and how all of the magazines on the shelves are
stacked upwards instead of how magazines and
books are normally put upright on shelves. Great
color coordination between the pillows and the
artwork on the shelves.

Here's a retro-modern looking living room with
some pretty cool furniture. I really love how
there's a sliding door on one of the shelves and
that the rectangular shelving is long enough to
install ambient lights under it.

Now this is what I'm talking about, a library as
a living room. Color coordinating your books can
be a fun way or organizing your books in an
aesthetic sense.

Oh this living room is perhaps missing some seating and a
coffee table but it's got a fine frame for a library - living
room in the makings.

Books, files, shelving in the living room - all in white... Why not?

If you have the luxury of being able to have built in
shelves, there's a lot of fun you have with them. You
can paint, wallpaper or mirror the backs of the shelves
among many other ideas to spruce things up.

Here's a perfect example of painting the backs
of a set of built in book shelves.

Or you could go for the monotone look and paint the
shelves the same color as the walls. I adore the fabric
on the upholstered chair and the mirror in the faux
fire place. It's lots of fun.

This living room has no shortage of elegance. The
creamy chesterfield inspired sofa with soaring
ceilings, window drapes and matching tall book case
is a hard combination to beat. The book shelf really
accentuates the height of the room. You can see that
even the side table is stacked high with books and a
plant to top if off.

Bright Yellow painted shelves with a patterned sofa
to boot. Looks like a great place to snuggle up in for
a good read.

Ohhhh, this is probably my dream living room or library.
It has such drama in it with the ultra high ceiling, a tall
ladder to actually reach the books and drapes to soften
the space. I've always been baffled by the super high
bookcases where it's obvious that you cannot reach or
easily remove any books...To me this was always a flaw
in functionality unless the books are purely used for
aesthetics and never meant to be read again.

Here's a really cozy and homey living room with books
covering the sides of the walls. Looks like a great place
to hang out in - and to have a cup of steaming hot tea
with a good book.

House Beautiful's
Decorating With Books

This is a fun book for those who have
a love of books and how to decorate
with them.

At Home With Books

This book is for the true bibliophile. It goes
a step beyond to talk about the care of books
and how one "lives" with books in the home.
It's a great book.

Some of you may not collect books, it could
be records or cds or dvds. The same concept
pretty much applies to those items as well.
Is there something that you collect that you're
always looking for ways of storing or showcasing?

Images from Domino

Monday, July 6, 2009

Staple Interior Design Books for Great Inspiration

Hope everyone had a great July 4th weekend.

Some of you may already have these two books, but for those
of you who do not ~ I consider the following 2 books to be a
staple in any design library. We'll start with SO Chic which
showcases some seriously gorgeous homes. There are some
design books that you will get that only have some "gems" in
them. So Chic is one of the exceptions with eye candy through
out the whole book. The book is very well edited.

There are is a bit of every style.

Here's a dining room that you can tell
belongs to a very well traveled family.

Love the shiny texture for some glam and
of course the shag rug which is super soft.

A very rustic room.

Outdoor spaces are also showcased.

I love how the frame of the door is painted
in a high gloss brilliant Navy blue.

Here's a more modern living space.

I've always adored lacquered walls.

Gorgeous antique chaise lounge.

Not everything has to match as you can see here.
Uniformity has been achieved by painting and
upholstering all of the different chairs in solid
black.

I sure wish I had a living this large. I love the sofa in this
eclectic living room. The lights are very fun as well as the
caramel tufted block used as a coffee table.

Elle Decor's So Chic:
Glamorous Lives, Stylish Spaces

What's funny is that I accidentally ordered
2 copies of this book (Domino Decorating Book) -
but I loved it so much that I kept both copies.
One to reference and the other to keep nice.

There are some seriously
gorgeous rooms in this book.

What's also great about this book is that it not only
showcases gorgeous rooms and looks, but has instruction
on how to achieve the look in each room.

There's a great little section on Small Spaces as well.

Tips for working with different spaces.

And to achieve certain styles.

Domino: The Book of Decorating
A Room-by-Room Guide to Creating
a Home that Makes You Happy

This is seriously a staple and great for also
seeing examples of different styles. The
rooms are fun and sophisticated.

Rooms to Inspire:
Decorating with America's Best Designers

This book is another staple. The rooms
in it are refined and showcase an array
of different spaces and homes done by
top designers in America.

American Designer's Houses

I really loved this book for the character
and personality in each designer's home
it showcased. Each home was brilliantly
done according to very different tastes and
styles according to the designer. I think the
book is a great deal of fun.

What are you favorite Design Books? Please
do share - I'd love to know.