Black bookcases in a home library

See also:

• Home library design pictures: Set #1
• Home library design pictures: Set #2
• House library design: Traditional elements and ideas

Do you want your library room interior to have elegance? Are you striving to achieve dramatic contrast in your space design? Black is the color that modern designers often choose for these specific purposes. The key here is not to overdo (unless your last name is Dracula) and to have plenty of accents and detail-rich features that will ultimately bring your home library to life. The good news is that when you use black as the primary color for your bookcases it will be your books that will easily add color and interest to the room. After all, book spines are an excellent choice for house decor. Modern books can be very bright and colorful. Let's not forget, however, that brown is the color that most commonly seen in traditional libraries of the past. If you have a lot of leather-bound books (antique or modern) you will need to make some decisions about "color management" in your home library. Take a look at the black bookcase below. The books stored in it are primarily brown with some gold on the spines. Now, notice the brown floor vases, bronze horse head book end and the brownish curtain. The rooms comes together, despite the use of the two colors that can sometimes clash: black and brown.




For comparison, I have a black bookcase that by some stroke of genius was filled with black and gray books. All the accents, however, still manage to brighten it up a bit.




Another way to add life to a home library with black furniture is to use something like this Delano bookcase. The side panels are not made out of solid wood pieces which creates an stylish airy look.


Here is another common color solution. This ebony bookcase has a contrasting back panel finish. Since it is unlikely that your books will fill the entire shelf, this color will still be visible, adding warmth and richness to the library room.

Ladder bookcase & Waterfall bookcase - design, decor and function.

Waterfall bookcase is a great way to break up the monotone look of library walls with a graduated shelves that are reminiscent of cascading waterfalls. On a functional level, waterfall bookcases are a great way to arrange books by size, while making sure that smaller books do not end up lost on uniformly deep shelves. Besides, this helps fight the urge to have more than one row of books on each shelf - a plague of many home libraries!



In modern design, ladder bookcases are most reminiscent of traditional waterfall bookcases so prominent in Regency and Victorian libraries. I would not be surprised if some people used the term waterfall bookcase loosely, thus including ladder bookcases, but the latter (pun intended) also have the effect of preserving the openness of a modern living room, they do not dominate the space and allow the color and detail of their surroundings to remain visually prominent.

Bookcase headboards - good or bad?

As a former owner of a bookcase headboard I would like to address those folks who are planning to increase the amount of book storage space in their bedrooms. I assume that the pros of having a headboard bookcase are pretty clear - you can reach for a book anytime you are lying down, and when done reading (which at bed time can be within minutes), there is no need to get up and return the book to the shelf. Now, let's look at the cons:

• It is not easy to have adequate storage in a headboard bookcase. Most manufacturers, with good reason, limit the number of bedside shelves to only two or three. If you hope that you will be able to finally have enough room for your ever growing book collection by simply adding one of these bookcases, forget it!
• It is simply not safe to have objects towering above your head when you are sleeping. Even a modest paperback can considerably startle you when you are sleeping, and a heavier volume can cause serious injury. Astonishingly, people even place decorative elements and various other objects on their headboard bookcases!
• If you think that by adding a headboard case you use your bedroom space smartly, you are mistaken. You are in fact creating unusable space below the level of the matrass, because you cannot store books directly behind the bed, as they would be inaccessible there. Also, the edge your bed will end up too far from the wall, possibly blocking passage. This was the main reason that made me say goodbye to my bookcase headboard.
• To be perfectly honest, having books behind your back is a good way to forget that they exist. I remember how the books that I used to store in such a bookcase would just stay there without ever being read!
• Personally, I think that bookcase headboards look dated...
  

Are there any situations when the use of a bookcase headboard is a good idea? Absolutely. If the shelves are deep enough or you have a sliding door to keep them from falling out, AND you have too much empty space in the room, such a design can make your bedroom appear less empty. Also, if you have a large bedroom and the bed is located in the middle, a headboard bookcase with shelves ON THE OTHER SIDE will look just great. Otherwise, just stick with a bedside bookcase or an end table.

Kids' bookcase extravaganza (actual bookcases shown!)

It is always a good idea to keep the kids' books separate from the rest of your book collection. Besides, it is nice to be able to spread the book around the house, so that they are in the area where they are most needed. You will probably want to keep your cookbooks in the kitchen. Our children deserve nice dedicated book storage units in their rooms.

Kids' bookcases come in a variety of styles, nearly all of them quite boring. Manufacturers seem to be unable to show more creativity other than what requires to come up with a pink or blue box of shelves with pictures of Disney princesses or Superman drawn all over. The bookcases I show here are, believe it or not, actual bookcases from the collection designed by craft artist Thomas Leman. They are not kids' bookcases per se, but they look SO much like they have just stepped out of a 3d cartoon! Something tells me that the quality of these bookcases is very good, so they will probably last as long as you want them to.

Check out more of this furniture style at dustfurniture.com

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

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.

Sagging book shelves - home libraries' plague. A couple of solutions.

This will be one post for which I simply refuse to provide an illustration. Even though I could easily do it. The sight of sagging bookshelves is one of the most unattractive and troubling visions associated with books. I have mentioned elsewhere a few tips on choosing the right bookshelves that would not sag under any circumstances (or under any number of books, to be more precise). But what can be done if you already have (perhaps even inherited) some ill-fated bookcases?

Depending on the design of the bookcase, it may be possible to "rotate" the shelves. You can either swap the shelves around or you can actually turn them over. This may be the quickest way to make your home library look ok if, for instance, you are expecting company and have no time to purchase a new bookcase (which you should probably do eventually). While swapping shelves around and overturning them you may also consider putting thin durable plastic underneath the shelves. The plastic will not be noticeable, but it could stop further sagging.

It can also be a lot cheaper to replace just the shelves with more durable wood or plastic. You can even go with durable glass if it is designed to withstand heavy loads. This may greatly improve the look and originality of design in your home library.

Home Library - House of the Year

A little video of a home library. Could be an inspiration for someone... The color scheme hovers around pure plain white, rather unusual for libraries, but it works for this home owner.

Bookcases and shelves for home libraries: How to choose the right ones?

Home libraries often have additional features that enhance their look and functionality: creative light fixtures, ladders, various kinds of chairs, desks, paintings, statues etc. There is however one thing that a home library must have. Bookcases! Here are some pointers on choosing the right ones for you.

There is one problem that any experience book owner must be aware of. Sagging bookcases. One certainly wonders whether manufacturers assume that people who love books heavily prefer paperbacks. Because after a couple of years some book shelves begin to bend under the weight of even moderately sized hardcovers, never mind dictionaries and encyclopedias. What's the solution?

When buying bookcases for your home library make sure that the shelves are not too long. The shorter, the better. It is also best to choose hard wood. Short bookshelves may not look aesthetically pleasing. Note, however, that this can be very easily concealed with closed bookcases. As in the example above, the glass doors create a sense of continuity. Besides, they help keep the dust off the books.