apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I make sure that the books at the ends are deep enough to be stabilized by both the front and the back bar, so no books fall out the ends. That's the extent of that planning.

Mine aren't open at the ends, but when I stack books, I put similar thought into what goes on top.

Mine aren't open on the ends, but I have a cataloging system so it would really just be luck of the draw. Finding my books easily is more important than appearances

My end cap choices are based on pattern and colour: http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/08/bookshelf-end-caps/

I sure do. Isaac Mizrahi's "Book of Style" premier issue ends one shelf. "100 Suns" ends another.

My bookshelf is located in the entry hallway, so it is the first thing people see when they walk in. I choose my favorite books to go on the ends, probably in the hopes that someone asks about them and I can gush.

I work in publishing, and our halls are lines with shelves containing hundreds and hundreds of books. The bookcases have closed ends, but every so often someone will take out a book or two (especially those with amusing covers/titles) and place them cover-out along the front bookshelf (i.e. resting on the spines of the shelved books). It's fun to see the different covers, and something I've thought of doing at home...a rotating exhibit of nifty book covers!

No. My fiction is arranged alphabetically by author and my non-fiction is organized by subject and size.

No way. To me, books and interior design are two different worlds.

My bookshelves are closed at the ends, but I usually don't fill them all the way from end to end (I like to leave a little room on each shelf for an artifact or storage box to mix things up) so there are still end books. I used to over-think things like the end book until I started organizing the shelves into authors or collections, then shelving the books in size order, with the little books making up the ends. It's more democratic and I don't have to make any decisions that way. It satisfies my OCD.