apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I did a reorganization on my books earlier this year that looked great: on each 24" wide shelf I put a group of books taking up about half the space (grouped by genre) and then placed a decorative object (vase, old camera, vintage bottle, framed photo, etc.) in the remaining space. On some shelves, I put a few books at either end, and an object in the middle. It looked super, but then I inherited six boxes of books, and crammed them into the remaining spaces, so it didn't last. I have hundreds of books, and about 2/3 are in storage - I keep handy the reference and picture books, and my favorite novels and history books. I will make a fresh attempt to prune and reorganize the shelves sometime in the winter, when I have nothing better to do.

Books are beautiful. That said, their surroundings can either accentuate them or do them a great injustice.

All of the ideas above are good and I would also suggest taking off the covers of hardbacks - those are the most beautiful to me. I know that freaks some people out but it makes a huge difference.

Good luck and enjoy your books.

I have a bookshelf that spans my whole living room wall and I arranged them by color to create a whole color spectrum. It looks great and was fun to do. It can turn a random mess of books into something visually striking. I did it with all of my art books because they have strong designs on their spines, and I put the novels on the shelves above.

Check out this interesting short essay from Design Observer on arranging your books by color:

http://www.designobserver.com/archives/017288.html

Organizing books by size is a good way to make them look neater. It can also help you get more into the available space if that's an issue. I keep mine by size and within that by category. I think the by-color scheme looks great, but sometimes it's not very practical.

No covers on the hardbacks destroys the value of the book, so be careful about that.

However, I have framed value-less dustjackets that I thought were cool.

The question comes down to 1) are you just storing them or are you using them? and 2) how many do you have anyway, and what's your space like.

Signed--accomplished shifter, weeder, and tosser of books, yer pal, atomic librarian.

Have you seen those Sapien bookshelves from DWR? Rather than looking weighty, books look like they defy gravity. It's a little whimsical and that may not be what you're after, but you can have a look here...

http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=5280

I think the best way to arrange books depends on how you use them. The "arrange by color" method seems to me to work only if you never want to retrieve a particular book again. I have my books arranged by genre except for the oversize books which have their own shelves out of necessity. I have a hard time relating to books as deorative objects and don't like to mix other items on the same shelves because I just knock everything off when I'm reaching for a book. To me books are supposed to look like books ... I have a persistent dream of a room with floor to ceiling book shelves on three walls, a comfortable chair and footstool, a freestanding dictionary stand with unabridged dictionary, and windows that let in lots of light and a view of trees. This probably doesn't solve your design dilemma, but whatever you do remember to enjoy your books!

Re-reading my post ... please ignore all my typos ... forgot to proof before I sent.

Books are a wonderful thing, but can destroy the aesthetics of a place of you are not a fan of clutter. There are several things you can do.

You can arrange by color or by size. Don't worry about not finding books. If you love a book, you will remember what it looks like. If you don't remember what it looks like, then you don't love it and don't need it so it can go. Bring the spines of books all the way the end of the bookcase. Do not push them in, then put knick knacks or picture frames in front of them. This is a very cluttered look and does not invite easy viewing of your books for guests. Books are works of art and should not have to compete with other objects.

Another thing you can do is to place clutter below eye level (see the last Elle Decor UK edition). You can line the room with shorter bookcases and pile the books up vertically on the bottom shelf or even under the shelf if it stands. On the top of the book case you can place pottery and pretty lamps.

Good luck.

I've long had a fantasy of papering all my books white or off white and somehow getting the names down the spines in black or grey type. It could come off as obsessional and pretentious, or really visually clean and beutiful. Any opionions, AT readers?

I've tried to arrange my books by color, but because a lot of them aren't striking colors, it just ends up a confusing jumble. I would be an advocate for arranged by size.

Interesting essay, Mickey.

One thing that makes a difference is how much space OVER the books is showing and how the spines are lined up.

For a neater bookcase, arrange books in shelves which fit them. If you're not seeing the tops, just the spines, they look tidier. You can even add moulding to the shelves as a hangdown.

Pull all spines forward to the same depth.

Arrange books by size (I do by subject matter, then size. Most novels are the same size. Most design books are tall. IF there is a mix I do them like this: mmMMMmm.

Valerie's tip about the spines being at the same depth is also key-- I pull them all the way to the edge of the shelf, it also minimizes the space for dust to collect.

If you have paperbacks in one of the "classics" or "literary" lines that sport garish spines, it really does help to put a dust jacket on them. Choose a nice art paper that blends with their shelfmates.

I'll admit, organizing by color may not be the most practical, but I don't normally have much trouble finding books because most of the ones I get I'm pretty familiar, many I really love, so I remember them visually. This is one instance where I favor a little bit of form over function because 95% of the time the books are on the shelves and aren't being taken out constantly like a library. They take up so much visual space in my smallish apartment so I want them to look nice. Also most of the books that I arrange by color are large artbooks so smaller novels don't get lost in the mix while I group my novels by theme or size.

And true, I do like the tip of bringing all of the books to the edge so they look more organized. I'll probably try that tonight!

I have a lot of books myself and am regularly shuffling the books around to access books I want, fit more books in as well as adjust/perfect the display. The look of books everywhere is not for everyone.

The perfect room, IMHO, is the library and all my rooms are starting look look like libraries (even the bathroom!) Part of a good look is the quality of the shelves. I love built-in wooden shelves but currently have white IKEA Billy bookcases that are more suited to my 1963 brutilist apartment building - and it works quite well - not like my dream of a perfect room - but I still love to look at my walls of books.
There are a couple of good books on living with books (perfect for a book worm!!): Home with Books by Estelle Ellis and Living with Books by Alan Powers. They both have great images of library and homes filled with books - which will help you pinpoint the look you like.
Also check out the Library of Congress - I have found they have great on-line resources for caring for books. Ann Fadiman's book Ex Libris is a good collection of short essays of a reader including how she and her husband struggle to store their books.
Regarding organization:
I have several catagories of books and store the accordingly. Cookbooks and cooking magazines go on a bookshelf next to the kitchen (will become part of the kitchen when I redo that room) - the heat and humidity aren't great for them but they are more useful there and I am will to live with the damage. The bathroom holds non-valuable paperbacks and magazines that get cycled out every couple of years as well (the annual short story anthologies go here too - perfect for the bathtub) - the humidity is BAD for books, but they survive the short term. It's a loss I am willing to take later for living with them now.
My main room has five tall bookcases - each houses a grouping that make sense for my collection: Architecture & Design; American Lit; English Lit; Literature from other places; History & Science. By organizing entire bookcases by topics I only have to search within a contained area - and I generally know what it looks like so it's not so hard. This works for me and my collection. You may need to think about another arrangement for yours.

I organize the books on the shelves by size. Larger books seem to look better lower on the shelves - but not in all cases so don't live and die by that rule. I do crosshatch my books - some books are vertical and some stacked horizontal. Horizontal stacking can be better for some books particularly if they would not stand upright otherwise (standing at an angle destroys the binding). They also act as bookends to ensure other books stand upright. (the Library of Congress is fine with horizontal stacking so let's avoid the lectures on this practice, ok?) My large architectural monographs are always horizontal to protect the binding.
I find paperbacks store best stacked horizontal - most shelving allows for paperbacks to be arranged two stacks deep which I like as it allows for more books on a shelf. For horizontal stacking the darkest bindings on the bottom of a stack fading to light for each stack.
I like adding some things other than books to my shelves - small framed photos, stacked Shaker Boxes - that break up the mass and allow me to store a couple more things. Not a look everyone like, but I do.
Arranging bookshelves is an endless process of adjustment and editing - in part because you are always adding new pieces (I hope!). It might drive someone else nuts, but I take pleasure in spending a rainy Sunday afternoon with my books.

Good Luck!

dig, i think that's a cool idea. you could do it in neutrals or all white. i saw a recent catalog (pottery barn i think) where they turned all the books around so you saw the pages instead of the binding and it looked pretty cool. totally impractical but it looked cool.

dig, here it is:

http://a451.g.akamai.net/7/451/1713/0001/image2.styleinamerica.com/pbecimgs/images/products/200637/0004/img89l.jpg

I think I'd like to visit Alex's place and borrow some books!

One problem I have is loving the look of etageres but finding them very impractical for books. My bookcases need sides.

Someday in the future, I'd really love built-ins. If I were staying in this particular space, I'd line the dining room with shelves. Bookcases are heavy to move anyway.

I just recently reorganized my bookshelves and did go by size and color for the most part - some books I kept together like the books from my childhood. I'm pleased with the result. You can click on my name for a photo.

Justine, your books look wonderful!! I'm going to use your method, but I doubt it will look as nice for I do not have the volume you have; also, you have such great book shelves, love the small cubbies, which makes a huge difference. Thanks for sharing your great design : )

I just bought the Conceal bookshelves from Umbra, but haven't figured out where to hang them yet. I love everyone's ideas!

good pic of the shelf is here:
http://www.eurway.com/accessories.lasso?subcategorykey=1&-session=eo_user:42F948020c7a239547ImL2387D3F

the umbra site info is here:
http://www.umbra.com/ustore/product.do?product=330637&colour=560

arranging by color makes a huge difference, bringing a sense of order to a lot of different books. my books are photography, fashion, and design so they are mostly large and fill each shelf from top to bottom, books are vertical on some shelves and horizontal on others. there are no objects mixed with the books, on top of the bookcase is a collection of vases.also please don't remove the dust jackets especially 1st editions and art books. i dont put paperback books in bookcases there are in small stacks next to my bed waiting to be read and then donated, i think paperbacks are to be consumed and then moved out. try an arrangement and then live with it changing the set up if it does not please you. they are your books and should make you happy when you look at them on the shelves.

"Books do furnish a room" -- Anthony Powell

In the Renaissance books were in fact displayed as in the Pottery Barn picture -- pages showing.

European paperbacks and Chinese books (if I am not mistaken) often are sold with white bindings. Their spines look elegant indeed upon the shelf.

I just reorganized my bookshelf this afternoon and I am convinced the best way to keep it tidy is to get rid of books that i don't need to hang on to. It's like clothes: if you havent worn it in a year, get rid of it. (The exceptions are any art, reference, out of print or true favorites)

It's a relief to acknowledge i no longer have any interest in a particular text and remove any obligation to it.

I have only one regret and when i did i just went out and bought it again ... but it has happened only once in several years and it's a more economical method than getting more bookshelves!
m

I love this blogger's idea for covering your books (http://www.fashionisspinach.com/2006/06/judging-books-by-their-covers-and.html), but it might take some time.

This may seem little a silly thing, but I've noticed that pushing your books back a bit from the edge of the shelf really helps. Things seem calmer when books dont appear likely to jump off the shelves. I've noticed a lot of people have shelves like this.

I have a white EXPEDIT bookcase from Ikea (One day I'll get DWR, but in the meantime . . .)
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15561&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&langId=-1&parentCats=15561*15639*15651&categoryId=17066&productId=11499&chosenPartNumber=40047675

I have the white bookcase against a wall painted yellow; the wall gets very little light, so the yellow makes it pop more. The yellow shows through each cubby above the books, providing a unifying blast of color and contrasts with the white nicely. When I first moved in, we realized that things looked better when we pushed the books back so that they were lined up about 2 inches from the edge. Something about recessing the books made the whole thing look more manageable and 'contained'. We got a ruler and just pushed everything back. I think it helps to put the books more in shadow, so that even though eveything is illuminated, the books aren't so much in the foreground.

I also organize my books by topic/theme and then by size within that topic. The fact that I have square cubbies makes it easier to designate a spot for one topic. I find it much easier to rearrange one cubby of detective mysteries, within the whole book case than a giant shelf of general fiction. FYI: for what it's worth, aside from being a good read, Dorothy Sayers has been repackaged in attractive pale paper that looks really nice.

I think usability is more important than aesthetics in making me feel good, so I might be the wrong person to answer this question.

However, I had fun by putting different subjects on each shelf, leaving some space on one side or the other of the books, and then putting something decorative next to the books that has something to do with the subject (no matter how remote). For example, my social sciences shelf, which includes a book or two on anthropology, is where I put my stuffed woolly mammoth. My sci fi/fantasy shelf has my unicorn sculpture. My children's books shelf (near the floor) has a basket of toys. My craft book shelf has a ceramic pot.

It's not the most beautiful set-up in the world, but I think it's interesting, and I know right where everything is.

It does get cluttered if you put things in front of the books, although tiny things can add whimsy. It does help to have all the spines the same distance from the front of the shelf. If you have them right at the front of the shelf, you can even store extra books that aren't as good but that you still might want sometime right behind them (sideways).

I also agree that it matters what's at eye level. That really is where people focus. So you could put your best-looking books there. I put my most universally interesting categories of books there (except for the kids' books, which I instead make easy for kids to reach).

>2. try to cull all ragged books (esp. paperbacks)

Advice from someone who doesn't care about his books. *snorts*

You have a LOT of options. Here are a few that combine taking good care of your books with keeping them attractive!

1) Books are best preserved when lined up as in a library. That means no horizontal stacking unless the book is so big that it can't be supported vertically with books of similar height. It is not good for the binding. Arrange them spine out--light damages the pages.

2) Books are best preserved and most attractive when there isn't loose space that lets them slump to the side. I recommend bookends because otherwise, you'll have to rearrange all your shelves every time you get a book that needs to squeeze between two others!

3) Books are best preseved and most attractive when stored next to those of similar height. They are evenly supported that way and sustain less damage. I organize by genre and then by size, and I organize within a size by the author.

4) Create a wall of bookshelves using the same style of bookshelf. It creates continuity and is very attractive. If you can, it's also attractive to keep the adjustable shelves at the same height for the entire horizontal length. That said...some of the shelves SHOULD be adjustible! The square/block-looking bookcases are impractical.

5) The heaviest books SHOULD go at the bottom, and the next heaviest on non-adjustible shelves. It's best for your bookcases--and safest! That gives you a built-in system for organizing your books--tallest at bottom, next tallest on the fixed shelf, small ones on adjustible shleves.

6) You can make covers out of archival paper for your books if you wish. Make sure to use non-acidic archival tape and to ONLY tape the covers to themselves. Imagine how stunning a wall of white books would be, or rows in green or white or yellow, alternating. This is only a project for the ambitious/insane or for those with few books.

7) ALWAYS line your books up even to the front of the bookshelf, about 1-2" from the edge. It doesn't matter how deep the books actually are--keep them even so the binding isn't damaged and so that you get an even, consistent look. For those with lots of books and little space, papberbacks can be double stacked this way, and no one can tell. It can look attractive to have theme knicknacks along the front of the shelves if done right, but they are VERY easy to knock off, so I recommend against it.

My old house was decorated in a traditional style, and so I used these:

http://www.afo.com/1795-100-Library.html?Vid=86C270998

My new one is modern, so I found a track-and-shelf system that I'm going to make myself rather than spend $100k on. *g* Instead of the shelves sitting on top of the track braces, the shelves are build in a U and the track braces are imbedded invisibly in the uprights of the U.

Hee hee, I am a librarian, (who never throws away any book no matter how cheap or tacky)so I resisted for a very long time the notion of sorting by colour, but now that I have done it I'm very happy with it!!!!

I like being very organized and like everything to look organized. It is very aesthetic looking to see a Bookcase that is well organized and neat looking. I would place the books on the shelves according to their size starting with the largest books to the left. Work your way towards the right ending on the right side of each shelf with a smaller book.

dig,
I absolutely love your idea. I think it would a lot of work, but it would also be a work of art. Kind of like sculpture. There was an article of Elle Decor (several years ago) where the home owners had an all white house, so had covered their books in white covers and they had a collection of white pottery. Looked really cool and amazingly uncluttered even though they had a lot of stuff.