Home library meets restaurant design

As long as you believe that a well designed home library is one of the most beautiful sights in the world, why not consider marrying this look with something entirely different in terms of function and style? Here are some pictures of a restaurant conveniently located above one of the locations of a Russian bookstore chain. The restaurant is called "Biblioteca", which is Italian for "library." The menu, quite appropriately, features Italian dishes. Books and literary references are used as the main design theme, and the color scheme reflects the colors traditionally associated with bookcases and leather-bound books.
























See also:

Restaurant Design Ideas
Italian Restaurant Names

Barrister bookcase design plans

The barrister bookcase is believed to have been popular among British lawyers who often experienced the need to expand their existing book storage capacity. These bookcases can be easily stacked and they look very attractive in a traditional home library. If you are looking for a period piece it is certain to be very pricey. However, if you want to build one, there are some excellent detailed plans. Popular Mechanics published plans for a barrister bookcase in June 1987. I normally wouldn't mention it, but this issue is currently available on Google books:

Popular mechanics: Book keeper


See also:
Bookcase plans

3d home design software - the leading packages

Years ago I took some time to learn a 3d animation software package called 3ds Max. Given enough time and computer power I can generate nice looking 3d objects and animations. So, I decided to make a few conceptual plans for a home library in 3d. Time is at a premium right now, but, naturally, there are some products on the market that specifically deal with this, making it easy even for someone less knowledgeable than myself to come up with a nice (and architecturally believable) floorplan and a 3d rendering. The tough part turned out to be choosing the right package. After some time I narrowed down the search to two products: Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite 8.0 and Punch! Home and Landscape Design Suite. They are both priced at around $99 and have some crucial features that I am looking for. I want to be able to export my floorplans in DXF format, so that I can render them in 3ds Max, adding better lighting controls and other effects. Note that there is a cheaper version of Home Designer, but it does not have this feature. Also, I want to have access to large libraries of 3d objects. Both packages have such libraries and you can access even more libraries online. Plus, you can import objects from a number of formats.

Well, both suites began to look very much the same to me after a while. If only the manufacturers made it easier for me by lowering the prices, so I could own both :) The most annoying thing is that neither software has made demo versions of their programs available. And Punch! does not even have sample renderings or screen shots. I was able to find out, however, that Home Designer Suite is made by Chief Architect, the same company that also makes a professional home design and drafting software packages. You can get a demo version of their Chief Architect X2, even though the process involves submitting a request form. A whole bunch of crucial features are disabled, but you can get a sense of what to expect in their home user market version.

Also, after perusing some scarce reviews I got a sense that Home Designer Suite is slightly more intuitive and provides better looking results. It is also clear that they have a better customer service (as they should, because they also sell $2,000 packages to architects). At this stage I am very much inclined to buy their program, as opposed to Punch! Let's see what happens.

Update: it seems that only 2-d floor plans can be actually exported as DXF from Home Designer Suite...

Bookshelves - a fresh idea for a home library

A fresh and unusual look can be easily achieved by using what almost appears to be wine storage. What I particularly like about it is that you don't need bookends. For heavier books it is even better if they lie on the side. This way, the binding remains intact longer, and so does the dust cover if there is one. You can put books on the left or on the right side of each "cell". The only thing I would add is a way to put shelves inside the cells, dividing them into two compartments. This would create horizontal surfaces for some art pieces etc. Also, this would make it less evident that the whole shelving unit was converted from something totally different. Another big advantage of this shelving solution is that you can easily find these unusual units or even have them custom built without thinking too much about the design - there are existing plans and plenty of carpenters who can readily build such shelves.

Windows in your home library

If your resources and housing situation permits, you may want to pay some attention to the windows in the planned library room. It is best when they are facing only one side, preferably not the sunny side of the house. Some people opt for ceiling light access only. The idea is that you get direct light only on the books you are currently reading. Keep this in mind when you encounter home libraries with no windows at all! This design move is almost a given in shelving areas of large public libraries, but remember that you are creating a personal living space in your house. A nice solution to this conundrum is to make a wing (see picture on the left) that would be very well exposed to natural light. You can read or relax in this wing, but make sure to return the books to the shelves when you are done with them, to protect them from sun damage.

Other than these considerations, windows are always a nice way to carry through a particular style of design that you are going for - whether it's Renaissance, Victorian or Art Deco.