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Is This Bookshelf Headboard Aspirational or Does it Stress You Out?

Terri Pous
Terri PousExecutive Editor
Terri is an editor and writer who loves historical homes, bathrooms, and storage hacks for her tiny studio apartment. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, the New York Times, Vox, Brides, and Time magazine, among others. She has a degree in Magazine Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and is a two-time Jeopardy champion.
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published Sep 3, 2019
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Credit: Jessica Isaac

If you’re not familiar with (or are a little intimidated by) Reddit, I’ll let you in on a little secret: it’s a great place to get some home inspiration or ideas. I’m personally a huge fan of r/houseplants and r/LifeProTips, and any subreddit where people share photos of their living spaces and creations.

I was on my usual tour de r/RoomPorn and r/bookshelf, among others, when I stumbled upon the book headboard seen above. It’s by all accounts a dream: it takes up the larger part of a wall (dream!), it’s positively bedecked with books (double dream!), it’s a freakin’ book headboard (dream team!) and they all fit so nearly in there (dream on dream on dream!).

Many commenters agreed with my initial reaction. “I am so envious of this set up. How I would love to have a headboard of books in my bedroom! What a genius idea,” wrote one. “This is so beautiful,” wrote another. “I whimpered a little bit at the beauty! stretches in agony to enter location through screen,” wrote yet another.

But then I noticed the caption said, “No we don’t get earthquakes.” And that’s when I fully processed the fact that this lovely bookshelf is situated right at the head of the bed. As in, the head and face are directly in the strike zone if (god forbid) a book gets dislodged.

And yes, it’s great that they don’t usually get earthquakes, but this is putting a lot of faith in Murphy’s Law not rearing its ironic, ugly head. Plus, what if they move a lot in bed? What if someone bumps the wall (or ceiling) from the other side? What if they stumble while standing on the bed to grab a book, creating book-induced chaos? I’m just saying, this is more than a book headboard, it’s a massive trust exercise in the earth, Mother Nature, and gravity.

The commenters who weren’t blown away by its beauty were equally concerned. “Haha living in Southern California this would be a big no no, but it looks awesome,” wrote one. “I see a Flat Stanley scenario in your future,” said another. And as someone wisely asked, “Do you have a separate sex bed?”

As smart and dreamy of an idea this is, I think I would lay awake at night, imagining being turned into a human pancake by a book avalanche. I’ll leave my bookshelf headboard dreams just that.

What do you think? Is this a bibliophile’s dream come true, or is it a nightmare? Tell us in the comments!

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