apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It isn't "home" to me unless there are many, many (well thumbed) books present! I also love to read the spines of books in photos of people's homes!

For whatever reason, I adore walls of books that extend around doorways and windows. I especially love the first picture. As for those worried about earthquake hazards, trust me: I've lived through several whoppers, and having a few books plop on your head is the least of your worries when you're hoping the walls and ceiling will hold. That said, don't store your OED overhead. It's probably the only tome imbued with skull-crushing heft.

It's a great concept and there are some beautiful and inspiring examples here.

Love the first room! My heart skips a beat just looking at it. The room looks positively magical.

That first room is the incarnation of so much childhood dreaming! I would never leave it.

What a great little round-up. I'm also drawn to rooms that are lined with books. In terms of decor, I think they add so much color and personality to a room. A big book collection is sort of like functional wallpaper.

Books always look cozy to me.

These make me smile so much. Great point, Slowdown.

Thank you for sharing photos of rooms full of bookshelves that aren't too staged and styled. The decor of real life is awesome. I also appreciate the tacit priorities in photo no. 9 -- a TV small enough to fit on the bookshelf.

Thank you for not showing books sorted by color. Serious readers only, please.

Oh would I love to relax in this room! Fabulous~!

love the first and second to last images...and pretty much like all the others. man, do i love books!

sorry to be negative on this, but books are no decor; books are for reading, not storing & showing

honestly, how ofetn those books are re-read (or even read once)?

donate them to libraries

Am I the only one who goes to libraries these days? Most of my modest book collection has come from gifts or splurges (before the library stocked a new book, etc).

@honeyhaze: I use libraries regularly and have a larger-than-average (though not as big as these) book collection. It's not mutually exclusive. The library often doesn't have books I need and my collection has my own annotations and underlining.

@nato: I agree that books are not mainly decor items, but there's nothing wrong with pointing out how they can warm up a room, just like textiles that are primarily meant to be functional (blankets, towels, etc.) or dishware or even piles of firewood. But just because YOU have no use for an extensive library, doesn't mean it makes no sense for others. As I said to honeyhaze, the library isn't adequate for my needs. And heck, some people just like having a lot of books. Would you suggest someone with an extensive wardrobe donate most of it to Goodwill? After all, who really needs more than a few shirts or pairs of shoes?