What is it about the printed (not the computerized) word? According to the science fiction movies, we were supposed to be giving up books and magazines and newspapers by now. There are oh-so-many reasons to do it — ease, environment, health — but many of us cling to printed matter and swoon when we see a home filled with books. It looks, at the very least, cozy. So, in honor (or horror) of the fact that it is already that time of year when even in LA we're thinking about layers, we thought we'd take a look at decorating with books, Apartment Therapy Style.
- Jon and Tyke's Modern Cabin House: Another look that can be recreated with backless Billy bookcases. Get the additions to make them extra high, arrange your books by color, add a colorful dhurrie rug and a classic mid-century modern chair and a blank corner becomes a cozy nook. Don't forget the collection of colorful pottery up top!
- Kerri and Luke's "Bang For Your Buck" Bungalow: That cozy dining room with its walls of books invites lingering, comfort food dinner parties and game nights. Gather up your books and a plethora of Billy Bookcases (leave the backs off to give them that built-in look) to make the look your own. A board run from one bookcase to another over a doorway not only connects two bookcases but further enhances the built-in look. Cover all four walls of a small room for a super cozy space to hole up in for the winter.
- Julie's Cozy Vibrant Revisited: Feel free to shy away from traditional bookshelves as Julie did. Her incredible and outlandishly tall stacks of books (a tongue in cheek nod to the stacks many of us seem to accumulate by our own bedsides) was created using the tallest version of the Sapien Bookcase.
- Another Great DIY Book Display: Who says front facing books are only for kids? If you're lacking a good sized art piece but have a lot of books with great covers, why not try this project. A little lumber, a little paint and you're good to go. We think a series of these would be amazing in a narrow hallway, almost like a gallery of pictures. Picture ledges are another way to go and show off your "too many to display on the coffee table anymore" collection of coffee table books in a narrow space, over a desk, in a bathroom or kitchen.
Images: as linked above
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If only my husband let me organize his books by color! It would feel so much less cluttered.
But nooooo. He wants it organized by category. Booo.
regarding the stack-of-books bookshelves. I would hate to want the book at the bottom!
I don't know ... arranging books by color seems weird to me.
Books are indeed just so more cosy..and imagine if all our activities where gathered around the computer. A book is just more comfortable on the sofa, daybed or on that special reading chair..
@JoesGirlFriday- I know what you mean! My beau has 3 colors on his books- blue(he's a sailing fanatic), brown and white. I constantly stare at these wishing he'll let me organize by color!!!!! Argh!
LOVE dining areas surrounded by books! It makes it very intimate feeling :-) Great post!
I would love a room full of books. In my quest to read classics I accumulated quite a few paperbacks, which I have recently decided to replace my favorites with some lovely second hand hard bound editions. Sigh.... one of these days I will go back to graduate school.
If I collect anything, it's books. Even with weeding my collection every year or so, I must have over 500. And I don't know who started this books by color thing, but they must have an awfully good memory. Or maybe they just stare at the books and don't read them?
@minimalist1750
But the book at the bottom only has 5 or so books on top of it...?
ah yes. back to the "by colour or not by colour" theme. i have two shelves in the bedroom with the new books i have yet to read - and as that is the only reason they are on those shelves, colour is okay to sort them by. all other shelves go by author, by language, by theme … arranging those by colour would only mean i'd have to look for a long time to find a particular one.
I just don't like the color grouping. I remember books by their author (if he/she's a favorite of mine), by theme, or by subject matter.
I once went through my entire collection, which is huge, and put little tiny office dots on every book. This broke it down into 4 major groups and I got a better idea of the board feet of each group.
For the curious: Red was for books I was embarassed to have or to be seen. (use your imagination here) Green was for non-fiction (on the assumption that knowledge could possibly bring money), yellow for fiction (because it was the color leftover) and ....my very favorite...Blue for Jew! I have a huge collection of Judaica
This helped me round up my collection...or maybe I should say....herd my collection
Btw - have you notice that if you go past the true crime section of bookstores, you see color grouping. The covers are predominantly red and black.
Maybe that's why I dont' like color grouping!
OOhh look!! It's a PMS colour chart of books! ;) cheers kari
For some of us, books are tools. If you collect the knowledge in books instead of collecting the books as visual objects, then the books are useless if they are not categorized by content.
I would love to see AT take this design challenge on: How do you make a book collection which MUST be organized by content look attractive despite the uneven heights and mixed colors? I prefer to have all my hardbacks out and keep the softcovers in less-seen shelving, but I need all the folktales and fairytales in one section, the African mythology in another, the poetry in a different one, the Classic mythology in another, the children's books, books on the folklore of play, the Louisiana books...and don't get me started on cookbooks.
Help! It would be a great post if AT could offer some ideas, examples, and solutions.
Maybe I will post this as a "Good Question", complete with pictures of my dilemma.
Books by color look great, but it's not practical. When you read a lot of books (and loan them out on a frequent basis) like we do, it's a pain to constantly rearrange the empty spaces. I try to keep them organized by book size/spine height, but by color is crazy for someone who actually reads and uses their literature collection :)
I propose that we demand the Library of Congress reorganize all its books this way.
How is throwing books away better for the environment?
And can we never see another photo of books arranged by color? How many times does AT intend to push this idea?
I arrange mine by subject matter (or with fiction, by genre) and then by height/color on the shelves. But solely by color is fine, if you never read.
That smacks of collecting books just for looks rather than for actually reading....
I have a HUGE collection of books, but its arrangement is purely functional -- sorted by subject, then by name and/or size. Makes for quick and easy cataloguing and searching.
I understand that arranging books by color is not for everyone, but I'm getting tired of the implication that it's just for people who are not "serious" about books. I'm an English professor, fiction writer, and poet, and I have a couple of thousand books. I also have a very visual, somewhat photographic memory, and can remember where the books are best when they're arranged by color; plus I love how it looks. I can pretty much find anything I want in a minute or fewer.
I know I'm in the minority as far as having this special skill, but please stop assuming that everyone who arranges books by color is using them only for "art" and not for reading. Not everyone thinks only in alphabetical order.
@janetmc, as you point out, only your "special skill" makes this work. Good for you.
@MaryWynn: Thanks for the laugh!
Agree with janetmc. For a while I used to think this arranging by color was silly. But I also have a visual memory, and remember what the books look like that I have read. So recently, I reorganised some of my books by color. I do quite like the look of it, it is easier to manage than arranging by topic (red book in red area), and it hasn't impeded me in finding the books.
Okay, this was my point: I'm sure I'm not the only one for whom this works. Color grouping may not be right for everyone, or even most people, but it would be great if people would realize that it works for some of us and stop saying books are "useless" if not categorized by content, or that people who "actually read" would never do this, etc.
Here's a thought.... how about size and topic, which has been discussed before. It might give the library the appearence of 'waves'.
I keep meaning to do that with my books (blush).
I'm with JanetMC. I organize my books by color and size BECAUSE that's how I locate them most easily. I recognize a book by color, typeface, thickness, texture... all of those visual elements far more quickly than by tilting my head to the right and reading the title/author of each one.
I don't generally have my books out for 'display,' though, because I don't like being judged. I remember having a party guest who was dying to see our bookshelves for that admitted purpose. It's now a running joke.
My bf has a massive book collection, 2000+ and we sort it by colour. He doesn't buy them as decorative objects, but we're both visual and we remember the covers of the books we are looking for (or at the very least the publisher, which helps). It seems easier than having to maintain a more rigid classification system. I'd also add that when you're really into books for their content and your sort them by colour, expect SEVERAL shelves worth of discoloured white and tons of black, unlike the airy and clean room pictured above.
I won't get into the discussion about how to organize books, its completely personal. One person I know just organizes by date of purchase/getting the books. Quite a linear memory.
However I agree with ce-pelle that most book covers are not fantastic colors (like war history books or scientific books or most books really). in fact, most colorful book covers are for things like chick lit. while I enjoy reading them, I do not think that I would really prominently display those books. It would involved a lot of baby blues and pinks and a few hot pinks. Definitely an eyesore.
My mom is an English teacher, my dad does wood working and I am an engineer, between us we have a large variance of books and styles...I don't think it looks very attractive by color. However, I would say that simply having a lot of books and storing them neatly still looks very nice.
As a trained librarian, I have such a hard time with the idea of cataloging books by color. As a book designer, I love the idea of using books as art. I'm so torn, haha.