How to decorate with books
In honour of World Book Day, our online editor presents a sheaf of ideas to show the value of books as decoration
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"Make books part of your house, and of your daily life. As a warming, humanising element in a room they are always successful. The leather bindings of old books have a subtle beauty akin to the patina of old furniture, while gay dust jackets add colour to their surroundings. There is no surer way to give a room greater life and personality" - House & Garden (Autumn, 1948)
1.
Firstly you don't necessarily need shelves - some books, especially coffee table ones - are better displayed flat. Stack them on ottomans, coffee tables (obviously) and mantelpieces like the owner of this flat in Pimlico.
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The Georgians knew a thing or two about bookshelf design, and there's some elements from this library in an eighteenth-century house in Bath that can be copied. The panelling here is a really good bespoke reproduction, but plain IKEA 'Billy' bookshelves fitted with new reeded uprights and georgian style architraves can look as good. The other thing to note in this space; piles of floor-stacked books look great if you run out of room on shelves.
3.
This is David Hockney's studio flat, shot by House & Garden in 1969 when he was still a young artist on the make. "The flat is in a rather rather run-down area of Notting Hill. The room suited him simply because it was big enough for him to work and think in." I love the simplicity of the space. His bed in the corner, the walls in a shade of white "with a touch of pale blue" and the twin bookshelves, one with a desk underneath, where all manner of great works were probably dreamt up.
4.
These shelves from a project by Maddux Creative, would be easy to replicate using old wine crates (yes really). If you're not big on DIY simply commission a local joiner to put together something similar. A simple way to add instant warmth and texture to a wall.
5.
If you're a fan of mid-century you need to know about the work of Charlotte Perriand. A protege of Le Corbusier she was a trailblazing designer, and her famous bookshelves haven't aged a minute. Buy antique ones from 1stDibs, new productions at Cassina, or do as designer Suzy Hoodless has here and create bespoke shelves inspired by her designs. Perfect with these chic 'Platner Easy Chairs' - a Sixties __design by Warren Platner.
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Google 'antique library trolley' or 'antique whatnot' ('whatnot' definition: a stand with shelves for small objects) and you'll be met with all manner of great bookshelves perfect for small spaces. Dark wood Victorian and Edwardian shelves haven't become mass-market fashionable (yet) the way mid-century has. They're still cheap as chips on Ebay, great with more contemporary pieces, and generally beautifully made. Maddux Creative have instantly made a corner of this converted Queens Park factory cozy by pairing one of the aforementioned library trolleys with a fantastic collection of vintage medicine bottles and an antique chaise longue covered in hessian.
8.
If you've got a fireplace with recesses, it's madness not to put bookshelves in them. Paint them in contrasting colours like designer Ben Pentreath, who has painted the living room walls of this Georgian flat on Great Ormond Street a soft pink, 'Calamine' from Farrow & Ball (aka. the best pink paint in the world), with a softer dove gray on the woodwork.
9.
If your book collection is in its infancy, and your shelves are looking a bit bare, make a feature of it. Wallpaper the back of them as Turner Pocock have here, and pick up some nice objet d'art to fill any empty space. Ebay, Portobello Market on a Friday, or Spitalfields Market on Wednesday or Thursday, are great for sourcing shelf-filling odds and ends.
10.
Scandinavian designer Ebba Thott got the bookshelves in this London house so right. A chic apple-picking ladder, created by her Notting Hill shop Sigmar, allows access to the upper shelves.
11.
In the guest room of this Paris apartment, a wall has been dedicated to simple built-in bookshelves, that frame a folding Murphy Bed. When not in use as a bedroom, the space becomes a library.
12.
Colour coordinated bookshelves are always a good idea. Maria Speake from Retrouvius created shelves for the owners of this Barbican flat, from reclaimed parquet floor rescued from a school.
13.
Another case in point - this time filled with colour-coordinated Penguin paperbacks, readily available from any second-hand bookshop. The other amazing thing about these shelves, which are in a f lat above a pub in east London, is how grand they look thanks to the addition of a pair of Georgian pillars found at a reclamation yard in Epsom.
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