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Casa Quickie: Paint Your Home Library
If you don't read and you don't want other people to know it, you can fool your guests by painting a faux bookcase on your wall. New York interior designer Amie Weitzman had a trompe-l'œil bookcase put in this sitting room of the New York residence of one of her clients. As you can see, the homeowner appears to have a mighty colorful and extensive book collection that makes a powerful focal point.
Cool Idea: Floating Bookshelves Framed
Invisible Floating Shelves ($13.95) have become a popular purchase among modern design enthusiasts for the minimalism they offer. While I do like how the shelf itself is concealed, sometimes having the visual weight of wood is an easy way to create a focal point. So I like how Su Casa member SoCalSugar used an old frame that she picked up at the Rose Bowl flea market to give her books some body.
Love It or Hate It? Books and Bathtub
While this corner looks absolutely sumptuous, the bookworm in me really worries about the humidity level in this nook. I'd hate to have those antique book pages curl thanks to too many bubble baths.
Source: Photo by Andreas Trauttmansdorff
Love It or Hate It?
Where Do You Keep Your Books?
I love displaying books in a spot where everyone can peruse them. Right now, they're on shelves in the study, but I also love keeping them in the living room. Where are the majority of your books kept?
Love It or Hate It? Flatscreen and Bookshelf
I can see the logic in mounting a flatscreen next to a book shelf, especially, if you're storing media as well. However, I tend to think of books as special objects that should be housed away from tech items. What's your take?
Is Your Bookshelf Color Coordinated?
Last year, I arranged my bookshelves by color, and I think this small change made a major difference in the study. While I'd be dismayed if my local library tried to arrange books in this manner, I do think that it works for smaller home collections. Doesn't it look stunning in this Scandinavian study?
Steal of the Day: Pottery Barn Rhys Media Tower
Unless you're a discriminating minimalist, you probably collect a lot of crap (or good things). Books, DVDs, bowls, frames, souvenirs, knickknacks — it all adds up. And then, we need a place to put our consumerism on display.
Before and After: From Awkward Corners to Splendid Shelves
DIYer Paul Smith spent several weekends constructing shelves for the odd, recessed space on either side of his fireplace. He cut wood to size, drilled, glued, clamped, and painted, and came up with something amazing. Here's what it looked like about halfway through the project.
Cool Idea: Ünal and Böler Salkim Book Hanger
The conventional hook form and function of the Ünal & Böler Salkim Book Hanger (price unlisted) toys with the idea of using less material on book storage, making a bookshelf much lighter than the weight of the books themselves. Each Book Hanger hooks onto the others and a slight breeze can make the entire "bookshelf" sway, transforming what would otherwise be seen as heavy books into objects with an air of lightness. This design was awarded the MAK DesignShop Award by MAK Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art Vienna and was chosen for the DesignShop inventory during the Blickfang Wien '06 design exhibition.
Some Weekend Bookshelf Rearrangements
Katedavis sent before-and-after pictures of her bookshelf, which she reorganized after reading my post. She writes, "CasaSugar provided the impetus I needed to get up and do what I had wanted to do for a long time. Thanks!"
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