Flower Love
Are you a passionate reader who can’t find a place for all of your books? Would you like your small, private reading vacation at home? What does a cozy home library sound like?
Creating a home library design gives you a personal relaxation space where you can dive deep into the ocean of literature that you have been collecting for years.
Indeed, designing a home library can provide you with a place to rest even when you are not reading, and it is already a good reason to give that extra space in your home a decent purpose.
A modern home cannot do without design ideas for the home library or at least an office with bookcases for the home library. That means you don’t have to live in a fancy mansion or have a drawing room for this purpose – you just need a nice, dedicated nook to place your home library furniture. Before you begin, check out the following tips:
Choose the place
Image source: Benvenuti and Stein
You need to choose the perfect location that has enough space and goes well with the rest of your facility. If it’s a small corner, you can hang some shelves or put a single bookcase with a chair designed for reading.
It could even be a corner in the living room as it all depends on the traffic in the room and the serenity you need to count on. Of course, if your home allows it, choose a spacious and beautiful room and make it your library.
The universal rule is to choose a spot near a window to benefit from natural light and a beautiful view to keep your eyes on. Also, think of some powerful headlights and avoid dark corners as they certainly won’t inspire you to read or relax.
Count the books you have
Image source: Carpenter & Carpenter Ltd.
For some of us, the library is supposed to be a peaceful oasis with a few decorative book sets. For others, however, it is the single point of contact for large collections. Hence, you may need a simple closet or multiple shelves to hold all of your books.
Choose suitable bookshelves
Image source: Pierre Paul Design
Passionate readers perceive books as valuable belongings and will invest a lot of energy and time in choosing equally valuable bookcases.
However, beauty is not a priority – more attention should be paid to proper installation and maintenance, as you will not want to damage the furniture or walls by putting too much weight on them.
Another recommendation is to keep things simple as books are decorative enough and look a little over the top on a colorful, carved shelf.
For the colors, choose the one that goes with your overall decor, or paint the bookcases yourself. Another aspect to keep in mind is airiness as you don’t want your books to be exposed to unpleasant moisture effects.
Use light colors
Image source: Owings Brothers Contracting
Even if you already have a bookcase or closet that you want to use, you should repaint it with a light paint (either the inner or the outer part).
Another way to introduce brightness is to use bold consents or show pops of color in different places. Light colors create sweet and charming contrasts and ensure a dynamic and exciting reading experience.
Look at the color of the books and arrange them accordingly
A very common mistake in home libraries is to randomly arrange books / objects of different colors. Such schemes can look good, but only if you display the objects on neutral surfaces (e.g. a white bookshelf).
In the rest of the cases, be sure to order books by their color, as this strategy will make the library look amazing and feel fresher.
Plan the furniture
Image source: Jodie Cooper design
Your priority is a comfortable seat. Depending on the space you have available, you can choose a nice rocking chair, some stools or even a sofa, all of which are obligatorily enriched with a small table and an easily accessible lamp.
Don’t forget the curtains
Image source: Lizette Marie interior design
You will definitely enjoy the natural light coming in from your window, but you still need to maintain some privacy. It would be good to secure your collection while you are not reading, and a floor length curtain is an excellent tool to accomplish this. If your library is in a multipurpose room, you can use the curtain to cover the books while you are not reading.
Libraries in home offices
Image source: The Berman Building Co.
Home offices are perfect for libraries, especially if your reading interests are related to your job. This means you need constant access to your collections while you work, instead of going to a completely different room to find them.
Of course, you can’t do this in all offices (there’s the desk, computer, printer, and large filing boxes), but try to afford at least a corner for the most relevant books you have.
Get a ladder
If you’ve opted for classic shelving that extends to the ceiling (and especially if your ceiling is arched and high), you have no choice but to get hold of a ladder.
Ladders are not just practical: if installed correctly, they can serve as a nice addition to your classic library.
Keep plants off the shelves
The reason for this is that plants attract insects and these can seriously damage your book collections. Therefore, keep them well away from the corners of your corners and do regular infestation checks.
Make sure you water plants outdoors too so that it doesn’t damage your furniture.
Make lighting your priority
Image source: John Milner Architects, Inc.
Along with convenience, lighting fixtures are essential when designing a home library. Let’s say your library has a window that is sufficient during the day. However, in order to be able to continue reading in the evening, you need sufficient artificial light.
We recommend classic ceiling lighting, side table lamps or accent lighting on the wall. Light adjustments and dimmers are great ideas too, as the library is also a place to snuggle up to with a good movie and a mug of hot chocolate.
Consider wall moldings
Image source: Classic Remodeling & Construction, Inc.
Instead of choosing traditional wall-length bookcases, add wall moldings or storage cubes with shelves. Group them by their shapes and colors and you will get an interesting and cohesive look.
Make the most of your vaulted ceiling
Image source: Gordon Gibson construction
Living rooms with high ceilings give you the unique opportunity to place your home library at the top of the room.
The solution is just stunning and doesn’t look crowded at all. The walls still look tall (sometimes even higher because of the catwalk), and the modern cable railings make them even more beautiful.
Bookshelves inside the window frame
Unless you have an admirable collection of plants that can’t be moved elsewhere, use deep window boxes for unique bookshelves. An added benefit of its original solution is that books are just an arm away from you when you feel like reading.
Get a desk
Image source: ek Reedy Interiors, Inc.
A desk in the home library is always a good idea as you can also use the space for studying or working. Depending on the space available, choose an interesting side-to-side desk and benefit from its positive, brain-stimulating capacity. Don’t forget that desks offer additional storage space both on the surface and below.
Multipurpose bookcases
Open-plan homes can use their bookcases to divide the space while storing books. In this case, shorter books should be placed on the upper shelves to reduce the effect of absolute visual barriers between the two rooms.
A library in the hallway
Image source: Whitten Architects
If you have a larger-than-average hallway at home, turn it into a library. Hang bookshelves on either side or set up a floor-to-ceiling bookcase for larger connections. You can even look at a small closet under the stairs.
Inspire teenagers to read
Image source: Silvergate Homes Ltd.
If you love books so much, there is a great chance your children will share the same affection. However, technology continues to evolve and kids are constantly busy with their devices and you need to find a way to get them “back to basics”.
Work on it since they are very young and find attractive ways to inspire them to read. For example, you can use an entire wall to display interesting books and hope that they will grab the child’s attention. If possible, expand the choices – children need to discover their true passion for reading.