Decorating with Bookshelves

*Image from Design*Sponge

“I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.”

― Anna Quindlen

In my dream house, I have a library with large comfy chairs and floor to ceiling bookshelves.  Maybe even a ladder to reach the top.  Little reading nooks for the kids.  Maybe I'll never have that kind of library, but I still love looking at shelves and shelves of books.  I love this tumblr, and I love the "bookcase of the day" posts on i suwannee.  I know I should use my local library more, and I am starting to do so, but I also love having a house full of books.  There's so much you can tell about a person by looking at the books they read, don't you think?  Here are some favorites that I've stumbled across.  Hope you enjoy...

*Images from Book Lovers Never Go to Bed Alone

1) There's a good example of a fabulous ladder.  2) I like the tall but compartmentalized shelves, but mostly I like the space.  Looks like a great bed to snuggle up with a good book.  3)  Ditto.  I'd love to go to bed surrounded by my books.  (Other than the inevitable stack that accumulates on my nightstand.)  4) I don't think I could organize my books by color, but if I owned this many cookbooks, I think color would be the way to go.  

Here is my own office, with a display of a lot of our books.  There is also a full shelf stuck in a storage room.  Poor books without a home.  I love this room, but it's not exactly where I want it to be yet.  Those shelves still need a little something.  And it's a small room, but there should be enough room for a small but comfy chair and little side table.  Good for practicing my guitar....or reading a book.  

*Image from Design*Sponge

I like this corner.  I don't like the color of the chair, but with a little ottoman, something like this would fit my "small but comfy" requirement.  I also think I must have a globe.  

*Image from Ill Seen, Ill Said

I've seen lots of people organize by color, but I don't think I could ever do this.  I do love how it looks, though.  Mine are organized by general category (art/poetry, history/autobiographies, baseball, general fiction, etc.), which just feels right to me.  

*Images from Book Lovers Never Go to Bed Alone (top left and right), Sweet Paul (middle left), and Martha Stewart (bottom left)

1) (top left) - In a small space, covering your books with pretty paper would be a nice way to reuse as well as a cute way to incorporate books into the design of the room.  2) (right) Too modern for my taste (those chairs!), but I love the shelves - combination of vertical and horizontal books, pictures, art, and other items.  This is what my shelves need.  3) (bottom left) Yes, I know there are no books here, but I have struggled in the past to find a decent bookshelf.  I love the idea of stacking a few benches together.  4) (middle left)  I am not a crafty person, but even I could manage this one.  If I was a design person and could figure out where it would fit in my house, that is.  A set of brackets with an old book on top, making a cute little display shelf.  Nice!