Bookcase Beauty

I love bookcases…or maybe it’s just books I love!  Since I was a little girl, a good read would always give me a thrill.  I can’t tell you how many pictures my photographer Daddy made of me with my nose stuck in a book.  To this day, the anticipation of cracking open a new book makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.  The smell, the feel of those first few pages…. ahhhh!  Can an E-book give you that.  I think not.    I may get on the Kindle bandwagon one day, but not today.  Besides, how are you going to decorate bookcases with a bunch of Kindles.

I love to decorate with books.  Stack ‘em, scatter ‘em, shelf ‘em, doesn’t matter to me as long as I have ‘em.  There is just something about the warmth, the texture and the possibilities of  a  great collection of books that speaks to me. 

 

Whether neatly catalogued and arranged……

…or just a jumble.  I love the look of books in a room.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite images of bookcases with you.  Maybe you will be inspired to decorate with, as well as read, a few great books.

 

I often suggest painting the back of bookcases to accent the items placed in front.  This one is done in my favorite shade of french grey.  The elegant simplicity is beautiful and I really like the touch of shells.

Again, that dreamy french grey with just a small collection of books and the light wood picture frames.  Simple, but real impact.

When searching for more photos of bookcases, I first went to one of my favorite blogs, COTE DE TEXAS, and needed to look no further.  As usual, there was an exhaustive selection to choose from.  If you would like to see more, please visit here   http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2008/08/living-with-books-lots-of-them.html                         and plan to spend a little time.  You may never leave!

Sooo elegant.  OK, this is the color I want to paint my great room when I redo it this summer.  (note to self) 

And this is the collected, cluttered look I want for my study.  Sorry, I digress.  This is supposed to be about bookcases, not my ideas for redecorating my own home.

Library ladder…yep, just what my study needs for the tall bookcases.  Oops,sorry, carried away again.

Be still my heart!

Welcome to my new office at Perfect Home (in my dreams!)

Once again, that collected,layered over time, look I love.

The perfect reading library.  Great light, a cozy chair and oodles of books.  Yum!!!

 

This asymmetrical arrangement of bookcases is very interesting.  The rich chocolate brown…so luxurious.  The pair of vessels at the top really catch your eye.  Remember, bookcases aren’t just for books.  Arrange your favorite objects, add framed pictures or plates and don’t be afraid to hang small artwork on the actual face of the bookcase.

 

Love these bookcases that wrap around the window.  My study has this feature.  (OK, back to me again)

Which do you prefer, an arrangement like the look above where it seems relaxed and less contrived?  Where the books and bibelots just fell into place….

Or a more composed display where every piece has it’s place?  What do you think?  Leave me a comment at the bottom of this post and weigh in.

(image via velvet and linen blog)

One last image.  Yes, I know it’s decorated for the holidays, but I think this rich warm wood and trim detail is so pretty and I love the stone fireplace.  Such a cozy room.

I hope you enjoyed our bookcase tour and hope you feel inspired to read a good book, not just decorate with them.

Reesa