Everyone loves a great collection of books. When we have visitors, they spend a lot of their time checking out each and every book we have in our collection &mdash there are so many things about the feel of libraries that make us want to stay there forever. So why not combine a place we go every single day, with a place we never want to leave?
Not very many people have a library in their home, but most people do have atleast one book shelf. We love that you can still get the same inspirational feeling of dining in a large library, even if you only have a single book case. Or even an old card catalog works just as well!
We love the fact that library dining can be just as formal as it can be informal. White, or lightly stained book shelves provide a classic, rustic and informal dining experience. Black or dark stained shelves, plus a large light fixture gives the room a dramatic and formal look.
A great source of inspiration is Jonathan Adler's library dining room (Image 9). The white table, green chairs with dark cushions and dark brown book shelves really give it a great dark, dramatic library feel &mdash but but not too dark for dining. The perfect merriment of library and dining rooms.
Thanks to Habitually Chic for providing such inspiration!
&bull Country Living
&bull Big House Devon
&bull Kristie Barnett
&bull Oprah
&bull Architect Design
&bull Design 2 Share
&bull Vanilla Delights
&bull White and Wander
&bull House and Home
&bull We Love Domino
Find Your Style: 20 Classic to Contemporary Kitchens to Add to Your Inspiration Board
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
a very cool library dining room is featured all through a french movie, "Caché".... it pops up all through it.
I've totally wanted to do this, mainly because our dining room table serves as more of a reading and activity table than an actual place to eat.
I think it's a great way to turn a single-use room, which many people don't even use for that purpose, into a multipurpose one! We have a dining area with a built-in china cabinet, and I've lined the open middle shelf with cookbooks since I don't have anything else I want to put there.
Anyone know who made the floating shelves in pic 7? I love them!
Seems natural to me. My parents dining room is 2 walls of books and 2 walls of windows!
I have a bookcase and a card catalog in my dining room. Didn't realize this was a trend! I might have to try a few more library touches, in this case.
BOOK...LUST...
The third pic looks like a Hugh Newell Jacobsen installation. He is the master of bookshelves.
I love some of these (especially the ones with LOTS of books in floor-to-ceiling shelves). I don't know why, but I have always wanted a dining room like this.
I LOVE library dining rooms. Rooms 5 and 6 make my heart sing. I've been saving photos of them for years, hoping some day to create one of my own. Also entry hall libraries.
I just love the room that looks like it has wine storage built in.
I have bookcases in my dining room/kitchen. Almost no books on them currently as it was mainly to be storage for wine glasses and entertaining items.
This is freaky. I've been in the process of turning my own dining area into a library-dining area. I recently picked up a couple of Thonet bent plywood chairs as part of the process (they're comfortable and work well stylistically). This post is just the inspiration I needed to keep up the effort. Thanks!
beautiful.
I have this in my house and love it -- though nothing nearly as grand as these pics. Lovely.
I like the color combination in the last photograph. Does anyone have any idea what color those walls are? They seem very pale purple/gray, but I'm afraid I'd get nasty lavendar pastel if I tried to pick a paint color. And getting just the right green to go with....
I have a large bookshelf piece in my dining area & I love it!
These are great...!
Jen Ramos
www.madebygirl.com
madebygirl.blogspot.com
Delicious.
This is a fab idea for all the people who want both but don't have space for it.
One my readers let me know about this post since he read almost the same one on my blog, Habitually Chic, yesterday, http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2009/12/shhhwere-eating.html. The reason I wrote it was because of the post the day before which was also about library dining rooms, http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2009/12/design-inspiration.html. I don't think your post was a coincidence considering the timing or the fact that you used many of the same images so I would have appreciated a mention or link to my post. Thanks.
Yikes - looks like some blogarism here. Isn't this at Habitually Chic as well?
I have misssed those headlines that start with "Look!". Glad to see this one. "Look! Creative uses for lint"
I love the last picture, #10, especially because of the insert in the fireplace. What to do with a non-working fireplace is such a constant problem-- I'm surprised this option doesn't get brought up more. It's probably an easy diy if you use some of that foam molding.
Anyone know what the lights are in picture #6 (the globes)?
The lack of source credit to Habitually Chic was absolute Fail. Really, AT. And adding a credit line only after being caught, sans explanation or apology? That warrants a Ph.D. in Fail.
I really hope this "Fail" trend in comments goes away really, really soon.
It has overtaken "meh" as my least favorite, least inspired, and highly annoying comment to read.
btw, rosenatti--
Nice little illustration on your profile page? Did you draw it? Guess so, cuz I don't see any credit line for it.
Actually, Patrick, I did make it. On the South Park portrait page, which is public. Any other questions? By the way, pithy rhetorical questions that fall flat = monumental FAIL.
I just like Mr Dyson's VOICE.
Ah, rosenatti, HIGHLY original then.
Patrick, the question here isn't about the originality of our profile pictures, its about lifting posts from someone's blog without crediting. So if you don't like the word "fail," fine. If you disagree with the opinion I expressed in my post, fair enough. But if you just want to just textually slug it out with me, let's take it elsewhere or call a truce. We're both starting to sound like kids on a playground, which is not so attractive for people of our, er, vintage.
You're not the only person doing the "Fail" thing, so originally, that comment was not aimed specifically at you.
As far as the rest, I enjoy irony. And your original complaint was about originality, and crediting sources. I just thought it was hilarious that your profile pic was what it was.
I am fully aware of the differences, but found the similarity too delicious to pass up without comment.
Ah, but I had permission to make my little rosenatti-as-terrorist image, since the "draw-yourself-South-Park-style app came from the network itself (think of those "draw yourself Madmen-style" pics everyone did for a while). No, it's not original, but it really does look like me. Except my legs are shorter.
But we quibble, we quibble, and I get cranky and hit capslock. Let's call a truce so we can go out, drink too much punch and share TMI with our friends.. You know, the usual holiday stuff.
My dining room houses my library! I adore it there, I browse the shelves (again) whilst eating. It also houses the computer desk, which is less cool, but practical.
I chose to place a floor to ceiling library wall in my dining area instead of a table - because I love books. I am considering adding a table, but don't want a lot of clutter. Great article.
Here is the link to the Cache dining room/library mentioned by a previous poster.
http://www.movie-infos.net/galerie_details.php?image_id=6549