Library
Houzz at a GlanceWho lives here A professional coupleProperty A top floor apartment in a four-storey Victorian cloth mill, converted in 2000Location Castlefield, ManchesterSize 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms Architect Scott Donald of Donald ArchitectureThe living and dining spaces have beautifully high ceilings, while a mezzanine level above the kitchen provides space for a bedroom, en suite bathroom and small library. Donald sourced and modified picture lights to illuminate the art hanging on the exposed brick wall. ‘The lights were chrome with a galvanised conduit,’ he says, ‘but I had it all stripped and sprayed the same as the steel work.’Lamp; rug; sofa, all Ligne Roset.See more marvellous mezzanines
…or opt for shallow ledgesThis stunning charcoal wall illustrates how narrow shelves can work along a staircase. The rows of ledges are the ideal spot for displaying beautiful book covers. The owners have picked books with brightly coloured artwork to create a striking contrast with the dark shelves and wall.
Go low for a spacious feelEven a small amount of shelving can help your storage needs, so don’t dismiss a low-level unit like this one. The joiners have built into a stud wall to create some neat and recessed box shelves. By only using the bottom half of the wall, they’ve kept the top half clean and spacious, which works particularly well with the glass balustrade on the landing.
Stash by the stairsLike the area either side of a chimney breast, the space beside a staircase or under a flight of stairs is a book-storing opportunity waiting to be exploited. Here, the woodwork’s been painted in a subtle shade, leaving the books as the standout feature, but it’s simple to make the shelving an attention-grabber with a strong colour instead.
Work aroundThis room multiplies book space by going around the door as well as either side. Although these are double doors, you don’t need grandeur to repeat this storage-boosting trick. Neither does an above-door shelf have to be echoed by shelving either side if the wall space is required for other furnishings. Tip: Keep the volumes you aren’t going to take down often in this lofty position.
Shelve a slim spaceThis idea would work on a landing or in a nook created by your home’s architecture, and while this space allows for lengthy shelves and a chaise, even small areas can fit shelves if your collection needs a place to go. This area is filled with natural light that makes it ideal for reading, and the colour scheme of the shelves is reflected in the soft furnishings to stylish effect.
Room at a GlanceLocation Nashville, USAWho lives here A professional athlete and his girlfriendSize About 20 x 40ft (6 x 12m)Hannah Crowell, of Crowell + Co Interiors, recently finished the couple’s library, where she battled soaring, 20ft arched ceilings and a massive bookcase with 120 shelves. The latter she filled by buying books by the foot from New York book shop Strand and colour coordinating them in ombré patterns. She had started buying really nice art books to fill the space, but quickly realised it would take thousands of dollars to fill it. Ordering 500ft of books – 50ft of white books here, 30ft of orange books there – seemed more economical, with one caveat. ‘You’re not getting the best books; who knows what you’re going to get?’ she says. ‘It becomes completely about filling the bookshelf. You don’t want to look too closely, or you’ll find weird mystery books, Oprah’s biography and stuff you might have bought at an airport in the 1980s.’
In addition to numerous artworks, the owners have many books. ‘They wanted a way of storing them in the main space on something that was not a conventional bookshelf,’ says Donald. He designed these neat boxes using aluminium, which has been sprayed a warm yellow tone. ‘The owners like yellow, so there are splashes of it around the apartment,’ he says. ‘It works really well as an accent colour.’Discover how other bibliophiles store their books
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