For The Love Of Libraries: How To Incorporate Bookshelves Into Your Home

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I love a good library. Whether public or private, in a home or school, finding a cozy and quiet corner to explore a book can be such a treat. On a quest to untangle ourselves from the constant pull of technology, Charlie and I recently have been particularly interested in the merits of libraries and the ways that they can be incorporated into a home. If we hope to spend our time getting lost in a novel or learning something new, how much more helpful is it to create a space to do so than to have our books squirreled away in a box or closet? While we currently have a singular flea market find bookshelf in our living space and unfortunately don’t have extra rooms to turn exclusively into libraries, I thought it might be fun to explore together the ways that bookshelves and home libraries can be tucked into unique spaces while still making them feel like a cohesive part of  your home design. Bookshelves, not just to be perfectly styled, but to be used and tweaked and lived with. That being said, for the love of libraries and of embracing a slower, gentler side of lifelong learning, let’s dive into how to incorporate livable bookshelves into your home! 

Home: A Birthplace Of Learning

While learning in the modern age is highly characterized by the internet, few will dispute the importance of physical books. I love being able to access so many items of research, news, data, language resources and even books online, but there is something extra special about holding a book in your hand and not looking at a screen. Recently, a study conducted in 31 countries revealed similar results that teens who grew up in homes with a higher number of books (80 or more) displayed greater levels of not only reading ability, but also numerical analysis and IT proficiency even beyond the impacts of either their parents or their own education (Pacific Standard Magazine). It seems that growing up in a household with a home library helps to encourage a lifelong appetite for learning that reaches into a variety of categories far into adulthood. With so many benefits to life, let’s examine how to design our homes in such a way that leads us towards the lifestyle outcomes we desire. 

Designing Home Libraries: Location

There are SO many ways to design a home library. Often, to be a library we think that we must have bookshelves lining every wall and while traditional libraries do include rows and rows of bookshelves, even a single corner bookshelf can be a great place to start. Seeing that you don’t have to dedicate an entire room to books (I honestly am not sure I even would have remotely enough to fill a whole room!), we will begin with five other spaces that bookshelves can easily be incorporated. 

Dining Room

The first placement to discuss adding bookshelves to create a home library is the dining room! Instead of adding a traditional sideboard or mirror, why not add a wall of shelves to feature your literary collection?! Paperless Post co-founder James Hirschfeld showed the effect that a library could have within his dining space by playfully mixing art, travel finds and his collection of books. Add in a rolling library ladder to make each shelf accessible and his dining room library feels both personal and architectural. 

Corner Nook

Whether in a living room, office or room with unique roof lines, adding bookshelves to create a corner reading nook is a great idea. Pair it with a stylish chair and a patterned rug like artist Cressida Campbell did for the ultimate homey vibe. 

Stair Landing

While often stair landings are simply treated as a pass through, interior designer Heide Hendricks transformed her clients hallway landing into a spot to stop. By bringing in moody bookshelves, comfortable seating, a variety of lighting and small side tables, Hendricks created a landing that beckons people to stay a while to read a book, have a cup of tea or sit down for a more private chat. 

Over An Entry 

Don’t have a corner to use or stair landing to transform? How about the entry to a room? Add bookshelves to surround a cased opening to instantly create an attractive entry to a room. Whether surrounding a cased opening as Meg McSherry Interiors highlights below, or a set of French doors or a even window, transforming a room entry point from a utilitarian feature to a key design focal point can completely change the presence of your space. 

A Music Space

Who says passions can’t be combined?! Why not combine a love of music and love of books together in a musical library! That’s exactly what designer Harmony Weihs did for one family when she incorporated a cello into their library corner. Whether making space for a cello, a piano, a set of brass instruments or any other musical element, keep in mind that your library space can become a focal point for more than just books. With several guitars and a piano within our home, I have often struggled with how to best display each piece, so I find this idea particularly fascinating!

Designing Home Libraries: Features 

Once you decide the location of your home library, whether in the corner of a room, at the top of a stairwell or across another wall within your space, it is time to decide the design features and vibe you hope for it to exude! 

Color Palettes

The color palette of your home library will really help to set the tone you are hoping to achieve. If you are looking for it to blend into the backdrop of your space, then painting the bookshelves in a similar color as your walls or trim, such as a white will ensure that your space still feels light, bright and cheerful. 

On the other hand, if you are hoping to lean into the traditional moody library feeling, letting your bookshelves shine in a deeper blue, green, brown or even wood grain will help to evoke an old world coziness. 

Books vs. Collections

While creating a home library is different than just styling bookshelves with your favorite collections, feel free to incorporate other key items as well, whether that be select pieces of art, pictures, instruments or travel finds as we saw in the dining room and music library locations above. Just be sure to keep a greater proportion of books to styling elements and your shelves are sure to exude the library feeling. 

Accessibility & Environment

Lastly, be sure to set yourself up for success when it comes to establishing the accessibility and atmosphere of your environment, especially when it comes to seating. If your bookshelves are being added into a space with seating already, such as a dining room or living room then perhaps this need is already taken care of, but if adding into a corner nook, hallway, office or other area, adding a cozy chair as a touch point and reading location option can help eliminate other distractions from sitting down to read. Likewise, if you have particularly high ceilings, adding in a library ladder, or keeping a step stool available nearby can help to ensure all your books are nicely accessible. 

Final Thoughts 

While we all might love having a two story library like we see in the movies or at the Biltmore estate, integrating a library into your home does not have to be so complicated. Whether adding in a single bookshelf or having multiple walls filled with books, designing your home towards the lifestyle goal you hope to achieve is extremely important and is something I strive to do more and more each day. So, do libraries have a special place in your heart? Enough that you would hope to add them into your space? They certainly do in mine, but let me know your thoughts or if you have any other great library ideas in the comment section below!

Happy designing!

Chloe

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