Véronique has exceptionally high ceilings in her house in the 15th arrondissement. So she and her husband decided to take advantage and go vertical, building a suspended library high in the sky above their spacious living room...
AT Europe: Paris Close-Up - The Library Loft
Now what would have been dead space is a book loft, accessible by ladder, high up enough so that it doesn't loom. If you have the ceilings, it's a smart solution for housing a substantial collection of books without visual clutter on the ground.
For the full house tour, go here.
- Kristin Hohenadel blogging from rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, France. She can be reached at kristinh @ apartmenttherapy . com
Comments (24)
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That is absolutely stunning!
view colgankc's profile
it looks great! i'd love to sit up there and read.
view Erin Lang Norris/Yellow Canoe's profile
Brilliant! I love going up. where did they get that light? very cool too...
view bigcityboy2's profile
OMG! WANT!
view mdeathstar's profile
Love it! When I lived in NYC, I had an apartment that had a sleeping loft like that, but bigger. It even had a little half-bath in it. I never would have thought of putting up a library like that.
view jooly's profile
Gee I guess I am the exception. This just doesn't do it for me...
view sunnyshelle's profile
this is awesome, but i'd do books all the way up if it were me.
view DahliaCactus's profile
Love it, but I agree with Dahlia - imagine how cool it would look to have a great tall wall of books!
view kittyj's profile
love the chairs!
view k in ditmas's profile
Close... but no cigar.
This just looks awkward. That heavy appearance of a mass of books over..... blank wall.
Aesthetically, though it's undoubtedly well secured to the wall, it just looks like it could come crashing down at any moment.
If, on the other hand, the bookcase continued to the floor beneath the platform.... now that could potentially look quite nice.
view Daily Nuance's profile
I agree with Daily Nuance. I love the concept, but it seems ever so slightly awkwardly executed. The light fixture is really ungainly, I think several small spots would look nicer. And maybe paint all the metalwork white so it blends into the wall.
view karyn's profile
I would not be able to reach the books on the last 3 top shelves without vertigo - that chair is gorgeous, but it looks as if it would be a tad uncomfortable to sit in there (Not because of the chair, because of its location)
view La loca's profile
I really like the idea, but I'm imagining myself trying to climb the ladder with three books under my arm...we'd all crash.
view brittanykate's profile
love it but if you're not using the space under it then how is it really gaining space?
view bmorebent's profile
That is awesome, but I agree that it would be even better with bookshelves going down to the floor.
view Pteetsa's profile
I'm loving it - tho I would have continued the bookcases to the floor below...
view bepsf's profile
I think it is brilliant.
view Gustaf's profile
Is it just me or is there a different chair in each picture?
view Alana in Canada's profile
That is absolutly gorgeous!
view Nevis's profile
Is there a couch or something underneath it? Why not just have a floor to ceiling book case?
view MiklakMiklak's profile
If I only had the ceilings tall enough, to imagine all of my books in one place again. What a stunning execution though.
view bwdesign's profile
it just makes no sense if you've got that straight high wall available for books. and my fear of heights would keep me from reading.
looks pretentious, and expensive too.
view aad's profile
In fairness, after 'touring' the place via slideshow, they sure have a lot of stuff. I like it. But I'm a library rat.
view Ramstone's profile
I'm Loving It!! I hate empty space.
view Sleek's profile