I was accustomed to noting the look in every other Domino issue that came out, but since the tragic demise of that favorite publication, I felt like it's seen less frequently...until now. Quite a few recent publications, including the May issue of Elle Decor showcasing Michael Smith's Manhattan apartment (picture 4), contain homes displaying the look.
The first application that I loved without hesitation was in Grace and Brian's home (picture 1). Unlike many other examples, the painting and the bookcase almost read as one. The soft gray blue that Grace painted the IKEA shelf are picked up on in the painting, and the the portrait sets the tone for the entire vignette rather than being another accessory in it. I also like the idea of using art as a door alternative for blocking unsightly storage on open shelving (picture 2) as long as those unsightly storage items are not needed on a regular basis.
However, there are obvious drawbacks to the look too: the fact that it makes accessing certain objects behind it an ordeal rather than a simple gesture, and the visual impact that we know so many people must find distracting.
Love it or hate it? You tell us?
Images: 1: Leah Moss for Apartment Therapy:DC, 2,3: Domino, 4, 7: Elle Decor, 5,6: Ricardo DeAratanha for LA Times
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i would be ok with it, as long as you have absolutely no other wall space to hang things....or if you're hanging something there to function as a 'door' to cover up something you don't want displayed.
Otherwise, it's pretty distracting!
I guess the books are for looks? It's hard to reach the books that are partially behind the paintings. May be they can just get the book shelf wall paper (tromp d'oiel). However if the picture is not in front of books that it looks nice. I also don't like it when the books are turned backwards and you can't see the binding. I saw it in the Pottery Barn catalog a few times and it was putting "design" ahead of usefulness. Also while I'm complaining, Restoration Hardware has old books without binding as objects of art.
I like it fine -especially if the pictures are larger than the books. For me, if the pictures are too small, then it looks like a contrasting pattern of the same scale.
In the third picture... for me, something is "off" about that room. It's like all the right pieces are there but it doesn't make it to the next level. Maybe the walls should be a soft gray like the ceiling in the fourth picture?
I've been mixing art in with my books on shelving for years. Is it really so new or radical an idea?
I really don't like it.
When decorating my own home, I am always afraid that something would look like it was placed there to cover something up and not really work in the spot it's in. You know, it's not just about having the right furniture, it's about arrangement. I think this looks like one of my fears. It's out of place and awkward.
I like it and I don't think it's anything new. It happens naturally in many homes. But I only like it when you can still easily get to the books behind it.
I always think that art placed on the front of bookshelves looks odd. I do like the appearance of putting it on the shelves, though. Maybe it's just because I love reading and I'm always pulling books off the shelf, so it would be really inconvenient for me to have books hidden behind pictures.
I agree with you about the 3rd picture, paperkite. I think it's that mirror that's on the bookshelf. It seems oversized for the bookshelf. When I first saw the picture, the mirror looked almost as though it was hovering in the middle of the room, because it was so large compared to everything else in the room.
Yes to pictures, art ON the shelves. NO to hanging in front of the books
i always thought it was weird myself, but to each its own.
if it makes it to hard to access the books, both literally and visually, then i don't really like that.
however, it would be kind of badass to have the ol' painting covering a secret compartment deal, but instead of a safe behind, you've got some rad books :D
Not a fan.
I like it. Especially the last pic --- it makes the eating corner feel more intimate.
I am distracted by the bowing shelves in pic 1 and 2 more than by the art on the bookcases. Those things look like they want to collapse!
I like it, but am very picky about it, it makes no sense when your bookshelves are overloaded to the point that they're bowing - or - that mirror on the white bookshelves seems out of scale with the rest of the room. When it makes sense to me - in a small guestroom, where you have a wall of bookshelves, and you have a twin bed for a guest or reading nook and need to provide a focal point (then by all means hang a picture and pretend the bookshelves are another 'wall').
Art hanging on book shelves restricts access to the books. If you don't need access to the books, you don't need the books. (So get rid of them.) If you do need the books, don't restrict access. (So don't hang the art.) To me that's a no-brainer.
(And I am a bibliophile/artist, I have a lot of both. I have small art works ON shelves, but otherwise, if there is no wall or other flat surface for hanging, the artwork has to go somewhere else altogether. Stairwells are one great gallery space, since art takes up virtually no walkway space.)
I'd love to see a little survey on this one. Personally not for me, I don't like it.
Yes, because a well-versed, literate reader would take HOURS to figure out how to get those books out from behind the artwork!
I eagerly await the "Hot Baby Name Books, Arranged By Color, Above Cowhide Rug" post.
Design elements involving lots of detail or many individual pieces can be hard to get right.
When it's well done, I really like it. For the examples above I only like the last two.
Like some of the other posters, I've seen this look in homes 20 years ago. It may be a new trend but it isn't a new idea.
I'm not against it outright, but I'm not for the look in any of these pictures. In all these cases it seems like the art isn't there (merely) because there's no wallspace, it's like it's there because they just have too much crap. I feel like they should definitely get rid of some crap. Possibly the art, since most of it doesn't speak to me either. But practically speaking if they don't mind reaching around to get their books, fine, w/e (but if they don't need to reach around to get their books because they aren't reading them, that is something else, as sherrybinnh said).
I usually like it. However, a small portrait is one thing. A huge convex mirror is another. If you can't reach the books there's a problem.
I'm not liking it one bit. It looks awkward, sticking out of the "plane" of the bookshelf like that. None of them look like they belong. I'm all for putting knickknacks and frames and whatever else ON the bookshelf, but in front? No. That's what the shelves are for in the first place.
First picture, they need a bigger bookcase or less stuff. My first thought is it looks like the piles created when I've run out of time to prepare for guests and Need! To! Stash! Stuff! Quickly!
Two is fine. Looks like the art is mainly covering up dull looking stored items.
Three makes me giggle. That mirror looks like a bad special effect from an old Doctor Who. Are we sure it's not suspended on wires from the ceiling and speaks in a distorted voice and is named "Deltross"?
Four, yawn. Looks like someone stuck a picture up temporarily while trying to decide if they liked it in the room.
For some reason, I'm good with five and six. I like the contrast between the tiny formal paintings and the very modern looking books. There's something fun about it. Plus, the formal paintings don't really block the visual field or access.
Not sure how I feel about seven. I feel like either there needs to be an additional piece of art on the higher cross-hatch.
it sort of drives me nuts. it's too distracting. just rubs me the wrong way, i guess.
Dislike. Really dislike.
One can always just *put* the art *on* the shelf.
I just strongly dislike having ALL the books standing vertically, like a library. Drives me nuts.
wow - I had no idea of hanging pictures on bookcases to be so horrid.
I don't see it as a trend or edgy. Designers have been doing this long before Domino and will continue now that it is dead. The time frame between Domino's death and NOW is minimal so the idea that the 'trend' disappeared is rather funny to me.
For some people and for some rooms, the layers works - and for others it doesn't. Personally, I like it and find, when done well, it is a great layer to a room.
don't like
I tried to Google a picture of it...but this concept always reminds me of the Walsh living room on Beverly Hills 90210!
So, you know, it doesn exactly strike me as the most creative and/or innovative idea if they were doing it on that set circa 1992...
I'm sure there are cases where this would work, but it just looks crowded to me.
I love this idea and recently found a very easy way to do this: http://bookshelfbrooch.com/. Check it out! I ordered 2 to hang in my rental, since it's a rule that I can't put holes in the wall, and I love them! Really adds a lot of character to my otherwise drab walls, and it does so without leaving ANY damage. A great investment!!