Book Tower -- a unique over-sized bookcase for living rooms and home libraries

Over-sized books always present a challenge. At pubic and academic libraries they are stored in special "folio" bookcases, which makes sense -- otherwise you would have to make all book cases large enough to accommodate such volumes, thus significantly limiting the space you have for book storage. In a home library, over-sized books can end up on top of other books, they are often left on desks, coffee-tables -- what have you. Which is a shame, because these are usually superb editions with quality illustrations and great looking spines. This book tower offers a solution to this over-sized books problem.

For centuries codex books (as opposed to scrolls) were typically stored flat, not on the side which is the case today. This was quite practical, because vellum books were heavy and the binding was never strong enough to support them in upright position. Basically, books were treated like wine :) The same principle is used in this book tower. Even very large editions can be placed on the shelves without causing any visual chaos that would have been inevitable when mixing horizontally and vertically arranged volumes. The base of the book tower is very wide and durable -- no reason to fear that the shelves will become unstable. An added benefit is the ability to arrange the books for maximum decorative effect, by choosing the right shelves for books of different sizes. This point is illustrated in the photo above by the arrangement of branches that also helps define your interior space in a similar way. Perfect for a living room, this solution can also find its application in a dedicated home library. So, if you have a wide assortment of over-sized books, try this book tower that combines function and style.

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.

New book on using books for home decoration

Books do furnish a room by Leslie Geddes-Brown is the most recent of notable publications that deal with home libraries and decorative use of books. The title seems to imply that the author is defending his position, but there is really nothing to defend here. Books are beautiful, versatile and useful! One particular feature of this book is that it recognizes the value of books in decorating different types of rooms: living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, hallways and even bathrooms.

Bedside "Book" Table

You don't need any plans for this sort of bedside table. Just a stack of over-sized books and... a couple of belts. If you tighten the belts the table will be structurally sound. Perhaps keeping the buckles on the side rather than on the top would work better. There are obviously other ways to keep the books together, but it is more important to consider the various choices you have in customizing this table. You can use books that reflect your taste (as well as distaste for certain books!). You can even go with a particular time period. Of course, I don't advise any misuse of incunabulae, but some nice leather bound antique books could look absolutely stunning in this capacity. Also, depending on the style of your home library this bedside table can find its place there, just blending in...

Bookcase plans

Due to high interest amongst that the visitors of this blog have in woodworking, I decided to put together a list of some freely available bookcase plans that can be found on the Internet. There are many places out there where plans can be purchased and that's fine. But why not explore the free ones? Perhaps with some slight modifications you can build your dream bookcase!

Barrister bookcase plans

How to build a bookcase

How to build a Bookcase: Step-by-Step Woodworking Plans

Bookcase Plans - Make Your Own Bookcase Design

The Tall Bookcase

Build your own bookcases

Short Bookcase


See also:

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