Collection by Diana Budds
Home Libraries that Take Book Storage to the Next Level
Some people prefer to read books on their tablets or e-readers. This slideshow isn't for them. In the following images, see how clever architects and designers have found ways to incorporate books into the homes of people who love the printed word.
In the living area, Brothers sits on an Artek stool while perusing a selection from his library.
The living room is five steps down from the kitchen and office space and features textured black slate tile from Olympia Tile, Voyage Immobile sofas with Farniente collection upholstery (a wedding present from Flanders’s mother) by Roche Bobois, and a rug from Turkmenistan the couple picked up in Jerusalem. The sliding glass doors are by Loewen and the glazing above is by Inline Fiberglass. Sawatzky relied on Wayne Arsenault for the custom millwork and carpentry.
Sawatzky designed the bookshelves along the living room wall out of Ikea components: one-inch Lagan butcher block countertops and inexpensive Ekby Lerberg brackets. She also used pieces of the strong and attractive countertops for built-in shelves in the upstairs lounge as well as for trim in the kitchen.
A 606 Universal Shelving System by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ dominates one end of the living room.
“It’s like Lego for grown-ups,” Fissmer says of Rams’s 606 Universal Shelving System for Vitsœ, which makes another appearance in the office. “It’s a responsible way to handle storage.”
The “tiny but mighty” structure—as Grizzle describes it—packs a wealth of uses into a compact footprint.
The garage is an exercise in “hide and reveal.” The Corian shelf features an outlet in a converted book, a detail that brings delight to a mundane task. “We wanted to make the experience of plugging in a phone or computer joyful,” Grizzle says.
California homeowners Lynda and Peter Benoit designed a functional wooden structure to store books, keepsakes, and clothes. Photo by: Drew Kelly