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My Little House Design: Books, Books Everywhere!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Books, Books Everywhere!

I love to read. When I was a kid my punishment for doing anything wrong was getting my book taken away. This love for reading has only grown with age... and by default so has my book collection. I've used libraries since I was a kid, but I have also purchased a lot of books (new and used). When I was 13 I asked for bookshelves. I was so happy when I got huge dark wood bookshelves.
That is them in the background of this picture. They were built in my childhood room at my parent's house and they are too big to fit through the doorway so unfortunately I haven't been able to move them to any of my other homes. For the past few years I have used really crappy bookcases from all sorts of places like Target, Walmart, and free ones from relatives. Inevitably they break and I am left without shelves again. In my current home I have one bookcase.
This black bookcase is from the 'As Is' section at IKEA and was only $120. The shelf next to it also from 'As Is' and only cost $30. It won't stay there forever, it is more of a place holder until I get more bookshelves. I love the black bookcase because it has glass doors. In the past all my bookcases have been open, as in no doors, meaning they were a big ol' dust party. I hate dust. Hate. It. So this glassed in bookcase is blowing my mind because there is no dust anywhere near the books. It's amazing. But as much as I love the glassed in bookcase this particular book case is too small for that wall and too dark in that room. I'll probably move it sometime in the future, but for now it is my only bookcase and it'll just have to do. I also have three large plastic bins in my second bedroom that are full of books and have yet to be unpacked. The take home lesson: I need more bookshelves.
This is my dream bookcase. I mean, how beautiful is that? It is a Billy bookcase from IKEA. This particular combination (it is 6.5' wide x 7.5' tall) is $564.97. I am saving my pennies so that this pretty baby can make it's way to my dining room wall that needs so much love.
My dining room is insanely big. Okay 'insanely' might be extreme, but for the size of my house it is oddly large. My whole house is only 994 square feet so a roughly 260 square foot dining room is pretty big. I have a 6.5' dining table and a small side bar but otherwise the room is completely empty. It has been my plan all along to add a bookshelf along the west wall. I could have bought several different 'good enough' bookcase but no more of those for me... I'm waiting for the real deal. So while I wait I will dream in books with you. Here is some eye candy and my tips for controlling and displaying books in your home. 1) Go big or go home.
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(Source) If you love books and you have a lot of them, flaunt them. Make a big, bold statement. Showcase them as art. Color coordinating them is a fun and easy way to make your books really stand out. 2) Pare down your books. Be ruthless. Will you read it again? Does it look good? Do you really need it? I sell the books I no longer want to Half Price Books. I want to live in this next picture.
(Source) But this probably will never happen so I have to be realistic. For me that means that I don't need to keep #1-357 of The Babysitter's Club books even though they were my favorite. What I should keep are books that I love and re-read and books that look good.
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(Source) Though very different these two pictures are great examples of perfectly styled bookshelves. A few beautiful books and a couple of well placed objects will help you forget all about the ugly and unused books you sacrificed. 3) Consider going the unconventional route.
(Source) Go vertical, in a corner, on diagonal shelves and BOOM. You just blew everybody's mind.
(Source) I love these deep heavy duty shelves lined all the way up a wall. Because they are floating off the floor they become an architectural element in the room.
(Source) Incorporate books into unexpected places like this coffee table.
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(Source) These last two items are so cool. They are like shelves made of books. It's like a pun on your wall! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Books are such a big part of who I am that I want them to be a part of my home as well. And as someone famous and dramatic (it was Cicero) once said, "A home without books is a body without soul." So you should get some books in your house stat, oh and try and make them look good too.

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2 Comments:

At August 23, 2012 at 9:29 PM , Blogger maren said...

Hey Jasmin! It's Maren~ Hopping over from your facebook link. Love what your doing to your place. We have the second to last bookshelves in our house...love them--have 2. I thought about doing more around a window or something, but for right now, I'm afraid little hands would knock them over...such is life with kids. Keep up the great blog work. I plan to subscribe here--hope that's okay...love diy blogs...here's another I love if you don't follow already--http://diydiva.net. Sorry for the novel...but it's all in good taste with the 'bookshelf' theme, I suppose. Hi to the fam.
Maren

 
At August 24, 2012 at 11:12 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks so much for reading Maren! Hopefully this can be a new way for us to keep in touch. I love reading your blog, I especially loved the post where you revealed you were having a girl. Congrats on your newest little one :) love you guys!

 

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