15 Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor

It's a wonderful problem for a book lover to have - finding a place to store all one's literature in a manner that is both efficient and beautiful. In this piece I share some ideas for homes large and small that are both functional and stunning. 

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image via My Domaine.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image via My Domaine.

One can never have too many books. Ever. In fact, a home without books is like a home without art. It lacks warmth and dimension and intellectuality. Books serve a multitude of functions, and when displayed in bookshelves, on coffee tables, even in carefully curated piles they completely transform a space. Like art acquired for collections or from travels, books are another form of creative expression in home decor. Some homes are large enough to house separate office spaces and libraries, many are not. Smaller homes can find multiple uses for rooms, a dining room can be transformed to a working library. Who wouldn't love to dine amongst a hundred books? What a conversation starter that would be! Guest rooms can double up as home offices with book-lined walls. Attic spaces and dry basements can be completely transformed to become unique libraries in their own rights. Add some shelves to a window nook. Remove the doors from a large closet and line it with shelves. Create book nooks in corners, in lofts, in kitchens, bathrooms, and hallways. Some homes have large built-in bookshelves. Others do not. In the past I have created walls of books using inexpensive book cases from Ikea, they can be painted or remained untouched. I love the look of books piled on tables - coffee, end, and dining... Do remember to dust them frequently! When it comes to displaying the books, the possibilities are endless as long as we can step out of the proverbial book box! 

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Bunny Williams.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Bunny Williams.

Art and books always make a perfect pairing and give a living room a personal, homey feel. 

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Tumblr.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Tumblr.

Books displayed on a long table and on a wall add another element of texture to this industrial loft.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image via Harpers Bazar

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image via Harpers Bazar

A hallway gets a magical transformation with bright paint, decorative carpeting and a wall of books in brightly lacquered shelves.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Domaine Home.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Domaine Home.

A small book nook is created in a wall, surrounded by artwork to create a stunning and simply home office.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Domaine Home

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Domaine Home

Books carefully displayed horizontally and vertically, interspersed with art in a wall of black shelving creates a casual sophistication.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Apartment Therapy

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Apartment Therapy

A spare room is transformed into an office and library. Again art and books marry in an elegant black wall of books. 

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image House Beautful

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image House Beautful

The popularity of black bookshelves is not lost on me and perfectly shows how versatile this look can be.

Don't be afraid to let your books become a room's focal point. Here the eyes are drawn to the colorful shelves and the portrait that takes center stage. 

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Ikea

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Ikea

Inexpensive bookcases are pushed together to create a look that looks much more elegant than the simple white structures actually are.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Via Casa De Libro

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Via Casa De Libro

Line the walls of hallways, lofts and landing places to maximize the use of space in the home. 

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Tumblr

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Tumblr

The above photo shows just how piles of books can be visually stunning. 

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image HGTV

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image HGTV

If you don't have enough books to fill a wall, create a special corner dedicated entirely to them. Shelves look better completely filled than half vacant if they can't be filled in with pieces of art and other objects.

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image via Today Home

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image via Today Home

Multipurpose: a library, a dining room, a home office. Beneath the shelves of books cabinets can contain all sorts of office apparatus. Talk about maximizing space! 

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Bravo TV

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Bravo TV

An all season porch becomes a dining room lined with books. Can you think of anything better?

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Domino

Stunning ways to incorporate your book collections into your home decor. Image Domino

A home office becomes a guest room filled with books and a cleverly placed Murphy Bed!

I hope this piece has left you with some inspiration as to how you can decorate with books!

 

Architectural Digest Design Show 2016 :: Will you be there?

Not to be missed, the 15th annual Architectural Digest Design Show will be held from March 17-20 at Piers 92 & 94 in New York City. This event showcases the best in the design and luxury market, featuring over 400 premium brands from assorted categories including: furniture, accessories, art, kitchen and bath products, flooring, rugs, carpets, electronics, ceramics, stone + tile, wall covering, lighting, outdoor products, building products, and more. 

Be among the first to view new product launches and participate in various special events. If you get to one trade/design show this year, ADDS is it. A must-attend for the industry's top professionals and most discerning consumers. Architectural Digest is the international authority on design and architecture,  providing insider access to some of the world's most beautiful homes and the fascinating people who live in them. AD offers wealth of information from architecture and interior design, to art and antiques, travel destinations, and extraordinary products.. The publication inspires millions of affluent readers to redesign and refresh their lives through a multiplatform presence which include print and digital editions, social media, signature events, and the magazine's website, www.archdigest.com.

FEATURED EVENTS

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST DESIGN SHOW ANNOUNCES FOUR DAYS OF HIGH-POWERED, INSPIRATIONAL PROGRAMS

New York, March 2016 - From products to programming, the 15th annual Architectural Digest Design Show presents the best the design world has to offer. Held March 17-20 at Piers 92 & 94 in New York City, the show features a comprehensive exhibitor lineup that is complemented by an equally impressive seminar series. Centrally located in the Jenn-Air Master Class Studio, the two-part program will kick off with three lively and informative conversations hosted by Architectural Digest, which will be followed by three days of inspiring talks curated by The New York Times. Content, presented by today's design leaders, will cover everything from hands-on design tips to broad industry trends.

Thursday, March 17, Architectural Digest sets the stage with seminars geared specifically toward the trade. The noon keynote address features Architectural Digest Editor in Chief Margaret Russell in conversation with Delphine and Reed Krakoff, whose projects include the sensitive restoration of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s childhood summer retreat, as highlighted in the magazine’s April issue.

The next session covers the ever-important designer/client relationship and brings together some of the biggest names in the industry, including Rafael de Cárdenas, Founder, Architecture at Large; Suzanne Kasler, Principal, Suzanne Kasler Interiors; and Vicente Wolf, Founder, Vicente Wolf Associates, with moderator Mayer Rus, West Coast Editor, Architectural Digest. The program concludes with a conversation on design trends, sponsored by Pirch and moderated by interior designer and TV personality Vanessa DeLeon. It will feature panelists Leura Fine, Founder, Laurel & Wolf; Eugenio Minvielle, Founder, Innit; and Jeffery Sears, CEO, Pirch.

Friday, March 18 - –Sunday, March 20, The New York Times will offer consumers a look at the power of design—from the harmonious blend of technology and furnishings to the art of crafting the perfect pastry. With 11 carefully crafted topics, the panel discussions offer inspiration and insight from residential experts and hospitality leaders. The star-studded cast of presenters includes interior designer Campion Platt; architects Allan Greenberg, Joel Barkley of Ike Kligerman Barkley, and John B. Murray; master pastry chef Jacques Torres of Jacques Torres Chocolate; New York Times reporter Steven Kurutz; HGTV star Genevieve Gorder; DIY Network star Jason Cameron; as well as dynamic industry executives from exhibiting companies such as Farrow & Ball, The Shade Store, and Sony Life Space UX.

In addition to the programming on the center stage, exhibitors across the show will be hosting a variety of in-booth events, including culinary demonstrations with chefs from around the world, book signings, product presentations, and more.

I'll be there on Thursday and I hope to see you!

For More information visit the show's website : http://addesignshow.com/

The Bold and The Beautiful :: Pink Packs a Powerful Punch in Home Decor

I happen to adore pink. I prefer the bright, bold in your face pink. Dramatic shades that push the buttons between comfort and edgy. A ballet slipper hue pushed to the edge of safety, paired with a strong masculine color or print - so that it screams out "Look at me, I'm no wallflower!" I love a pink that dares to be different with a spirit that's both adventurous and dangerous. I go weak at the knees with deep shades that shake things up, with warm corals that add youth and energy and transform a space from safe and traditional to a modernistic one that dares to the push the envelope. Is pink ever really safe? I think it takes a strong sense of self to live with it. 

Image via New York Social Diary

Image via New York Social Diary

When pink is partnered with a classic hue such as blue, white, beige, even green what transpires is a space that is so much more than room; it becomes a work of art, a three dimensional, livable canvas. Pink transforms the ordinary to create the extraordinary. Below are some of my favorite pink spaces. Not one can be called quiet or demure. It was the ceiling in the image below in a room created by Parker Kennedy that long ago captured my attention and inspired this piece. Depending on how spirited your personal style is, whether you prefer a just splash, a pop or to go all out, there is a shade for you.

Image property of Dwell Magazine

Image property of Dwell Magazine

Image property of Joanna Henderson

Image property of Joanna Henderson

Image via Casa Abril

Image via Casa Abril

Image property of Alex Papachristidis

Image property of Alex Papachristidis

Image property Katie Rosenfeld Design
Image via Domino Magazine

Image via Domino Magazine

Image via Domino Magazine

Image via Domino Magazine

image via Vella Interiors

image via Vella Interiors

Image via My Domaine

Image via My Domaine