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Collection by Kelsey Keith

Tips for Maximizing Bookshelf Space

While we love a proper library, well-placed shelving can turn piles of books into an instant reading nook.

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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.
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.
A vintage stool, a design that once was a staple of Greek classrooms, is tucked under the office desk on a landing leading to a balcony. The visual theme of the vertical wooden slats repeats itself here, including on a closet door. “They have no handles,” Ritenour says of the closet doors. “The lines are the door handles; you have to know to grab them.”
A vintage stool, a design that once was a staple of Greek classrooms, is tucked under the office desk on a landing leading to a balcony. The visual theme of the vertical wooden slats repeats itself here, including on a closet door. “They have no handles,” Ritenour says of the closet doors. “The lines are the door handles; you have to know to grab them.”
Shibata made the 10-person dining table using $130 sawhorse legs from Maruki Wood Products Company topped with a sheet of birch plywood. A hole in the sliding wall fits over the table, enabling it to be used in both the library and the meeting room. malki.jp A movable wall clad in wainscoting on one side slides along tracks in the dining-room ceiling, dividing the room into a meeting space and a library. The Shiro Simple Modern Pendant lights can be easily removed and reattached after moving the wall. vanilladesign.jp
Shibata made the 10-person dining table using $130 sawhorse legs from Maruki Wood Products Company topped with a sheet of birch plywood. A hole in the sliding wall fits over the table, enabling it to be used in both the library and the meeting room. malki.jp A movable wall clad in wainscoting on one side slides along tracks in the dining-room ceiling, dividing the room into a meeting space and a library. The Shiro Simple Modern Pendant lights can be easily removed and reattached after moving the wall. vanilladesign.jp
Bookshelves add extra utility to the undulating staircase in Tokyo's 921-square-foot Coil house. The space was designed by architect Akihisa Hirata for Sakura and Ryo Sugiura, a young couple with two children.
Bookshelves add extra utility to the undulating staircase in Tokyo's 921-square-foot Coil house. The space was designed by architect Akihisa Hirata for Sakura and Ryo Sugiura, a young couple with two children.
In the living area, Brothers sits on an Artek stool while perusing a selection from his library.
In the living area, Brothers sits on an Artek stool while perusing a selection from his library.
This freestanding shelving designed by Miralles holds yet more tomes from the family’s prodigious collection. Irregularly placed tilework on the floor follows the trajectory of the sun’s rays as it travels across the room. Photo by: Gunnar Knechtel
This freestanding shelving designed by Miralles holds yet more tomes from the family’s prodigious collection. Irregularly placed tilework on the floor follows the trajectory of the sun’s rays as it travels across the room. Photo by: Gunnar Knechtel
Architect Tamira Sawatzky used Ikea components—one-inch Lagan butcher block countertops and inexpensive Ekby Lerberg brackets—when designing the bookshelves along the living room wall in the home/studio he designed for himself and his wife in Toronto.
Architect Tamira Sawatzky used Ikea components—one-inch Lagan butcher block countertops and inexpensive Ekby Lerberg brackets—when designing the bookshelves along the living room wall in the home/studio he designed for himself and his wife in Toronto.