home library – findingtimetowrite

Building a Library

This feels like a #FridayFun post, but, for a change, it’s not about escapism and ideal libraries. It’s about a hard-earned library, after 50 years of collecting (I include some books I had as a child) and moving around between countries, with accommodation ranging from tiny rooms to four-bedroom houses – at last count, probably at least 28-29 moves that involved books (so not counting any short-term stays of just a couple of months). After a massive purge before I left the UK (donating to charity and friends, leaving some of my sons’ books with their father), and without counting the books that are still at my parents’ house (and will remain there forevermore), I estimate that I have around 3500 books here, so I was very worried whether they’d all fit into just two walls full of shelves. It turns out they do… and I even have a couple of small shelves left over for any future… ahem, plans!

I had already earmarked this room as the study/library/guestroom. But when my boxes arrived, I started having doubts as to whether I would ever see the light at the end of the tunnel (or have a clear balcony again).

Living like this for a couple of months while I investigated the most suitable (and affordable) shelving options was a bit hellish.

I finally cracked and hurriedly bought some Ikea bookshelves for at least one of the walls, so that I could unpack some of the boxes, under Kasper’s wise supervision.

I managed to get one set of bookcases completed just in time before my first guest arrived at the end of November, although they had to put up with the mess elsewhere in the room.

The wall opposite was a bit trickier and required custom-made shelving, including drawers and cupboards with doors to hide a multitude of folders and other sins. This finally arrived last Thursday and took five hours of an experienced craftsman’s time to assemble.

Once all the shelves and books had been unpacked, a clear balcony now seems like an impossible dream…

It then took three days of shelving, climbing on ladders, readjusting…

I can finally see my printer again (and hopefully use it, too!), but those shelves filled up pretty fast. Some double shelving could not be avoided, but that’s why these are the deeper bookshelves.

The depth also allows for my elephant collection (and a cat) to be displayed. As always, my books are arranged by geography or themes. In the example above: my Berlin books and two of my favourite writers side by side: Virginia Woolf and Shirley Jackson.

Meanwhile, the Ikea shelves are no longer double-shelved and I have a comfy chaiselongue for reading… and please notice the small amounts of space just begging to be filled.

This might look a bit narrow, but there’s actually almost two metres between the sofa and the bookshelves opposite, so even when it opens up as a guestbed, guests should still be able to move through. Kasper is stretching as if to prove it.

So this is the ‘after’ version of the first picture in this post. Aside from the mess on the balcony, I now finally have the room that I dreamt of. It might not be quite as impossibly perfect as the ones I show on Friday Fun, but I’m still pleased with it. And exhausted!

In conclusion, I never want to move again… Maybe I’ll just build a new library at my parents’ house instead!

#FridayFun: More Plans for Library/Guest Rooms

I’m creating mood boards in my mind (and on my blog) for that ideal library and guest room that will no doubt fall short of such visionary plans.

It’s the backlit shelves that make all the difference here – and that chaiselongue, of course. From Pinterest

While this looks very inviting, I’m not quite sure what you’re supposed to do with that depth of shelf… unless you have a ready-made nook in the room. From Pinterest

A realistically messy study at last, with a comfy sofa too. From Pinterest

An elegant and feminine solution for those who don’t have a lot of books and don’t work from home all the time. From The Spruce

I know that white shelves make a room feel more spacious, but I can’t quite warm up to them. From 1Kindesign.

Another endearingly messy room, great under-the-eaves suggestion, from 1Kindesign.

Now we’re talking realistic (although the prices are quite high): these shelves can be customised and bought, remains to be seen whether it’s cheaper to hire a local carpenter. From Hozolighting.nl

Friday Fun: Mostly Classic

There is just something timeless about classic bookshelves and home libraries, even if you might want to add some good light and a contemporary twist or two.

Custom-made bookshelves for awkward spaces in Laurel Canyon, California, from Apartment Therapy.

Large skylight floods this room with light, while plenty of sofas and a pool table make it a multipurpose room. From Interior Archive.

A warmer, less institutional feel to this New York brownstone with a side skylight. From brownstoner.com

You can’t beat a comfortable reading chair with a footstool, blanket and good reading light. From This Old House.

I still think a double-height library has that true wow factor. Designed by Chang and Sylligardos, from Houzz.com

This one might look mean and moody in this light (shaded as it is by trees outside) but in winter light must come streaming in. From Bored Panda.

Friday Fun: Libraries are good for the soul

… and home libraries even more so (although I like the sense of the unexpected that you get with public or university libraries… although I do frequently forget what books I have on certain shelves).

I was unable to discover a reliable source for this one, so it makes me think it’s a fantasy painting: certainly fits with my fantasy of everything a home library should have – shelves, greenery, natural light and a cat…

An antique desk, books with leather covers and a library ladder never go out of style. From behance.net

Not quite as stuffy in its classical style, with a daring blend of colours but perhaps too dark. From Laurel Bern Interiors.

OK, this one looks more corporate and bland, but the gallery line for art and the comfy seating are winners in my book. From Pinterest

Well, who doesn’t want a turret and a bookish staircase leading all the way up to Rapunzel’s office or reading room? From tomaseth.it

So the colour of the bookcases might be slightly sickly, but with a room this size and the beautiful paintings, I think we can forgive this momentary lapse of reason. The Library of the 18th Duchess of Alba, Palacio de Liria, Madrid.

Getting Your Priorities Right: Moving a Library

The most important part of the moving process (other than the emotional impact on the children and the cat) was the library. How do you weed out the books you simply must take back to the UK? You may think it’s easy. After all, it’s a case of moving from less to more…

Shelves in France - just two. — Shelves in France – just two.

Shelves in England: three and a half. Still Billy, of course.

But that does not take into account the books I had double-shelved or set in careful piles on the floor and the filing cabinet. ‘You do have a lot of books…’ sighed the removal men (and I don’t think it was wistfulness I detected in their voices).

I did donate some to the local libraries in France, but I ended up with many more than I had originally come with to France. As any book loverwill understand. So somehow, all of the contents of these boxes…

…have to find a home in the new house. Yes, the study might be bigger here…

… but did I mention that I have twice as many books in the loft, waiting to be rehoused together with their more travelled cousins?

After a week or two of utter panic (not finding the legs for the desk, not opening the right boxes, laptop dying and then the e-reader/tablet dying, I finally managed to get things somewhat presentable (though not arranged yet according to subject, language and other esoteric criteria).

Time to be reunited with some old friends from the loft.

Sadly, my copies of ‘Brideshead Revisited’ and ‘Vile Bodies’ seem to have suffered from some warping in their box in the loft. But I have Jean Rhys’ unfinished autobiography ‘Smile Please’ to read for Jean Rhys Reading Week and Barbara Pym’s diaries and letters, as well as Dostoyevsky and other Russians (short story writers) to keep me company. Plus a few of my favourite children’s books, which I brought back with me from Romania: Arthur Ransome, Paul Berna and Eleanor Farjeon’s collection of stories ‘The Little Bookroom’.

There is more digging to be done, as well as more writing and reading, but for now, this was just a post to let you know my books and I are alive and well.

Friday Fun: Libraries

From the smallest to the most generous spaces… there’s always room for a few more books!

(If you want to wrap up all your books in white covers for a streamlined look…)

Karl Lagerfeld's Paris library, Decoista. — Karl Lagerfeld’s Paris library, Decoista.

Book Mountain Library, Spijkenisse, The Netherlands. Photo: Jeroen Musch.

Cosy reading nooks and home libraries

It’s a dull, cloudy day and I know I should be going up above the clouds to see the sun and some skiing action. But it is so much more tempting to curl up with a book, especially if you happen to be in one of the places below…

Or, if you are after something a little more ambitious, here is Christian Louboutin’s holiday home and its tempting library.

And finally, the outlandish, futuristic and exciting Walker Library in Connecticut. Star Wars with books!

Fun Sunday: Gorgeous Home Libraries

I’m not quite sure I ever understood Silent Sunday, so I won’t claim to be part of that, but here are some more pictures of inspiring home libraries, all of from that wonderful website Decoist. I do like white shelves!

Decoist5 — I might worry about sun damage to the books in this one, though.

Home Burrowing Time

After a few weeks of business travel and hard work, it is time to burrow and enjoy some home comforts.

But because other people’s houses are so much more spectacular than mine, here are some homes that make me dream…

The Beach House for Those Who Don’t Want to Go to the Gym

The ‘Can’t Believe It’s Not Public’ Home Library

The ‘Bet I Could Create in that Environment’ Mountain Cabin

But a modest microhut will do just as well…

And on that dreamy note, I’m off for a week of holiday to reconnect with my family somewhere far away from the Internet. Have fun, be good, and look forward to seeing you again in a week’s time!