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Simply Home, calm and serene....

4/3/2013

16 Comments

 

Cath raised an interesting point in her comment on yesterday's post. If we love books, which come in assorted shapes sizes and colours, but we also love a calm and serene environment how do we create this?

For ideas on book storage click here - gorgeous rooms filled with books, but not one of these is restful to the eye.

We've made one of our bedrooms into a study, and all our books are in there, covering two walls. Two desks, a comfy chair and a lamp - this is my ideal arrangement. See here, and here. Of course I sometimes take a small stack into the cosier sitting room, and there are always a few beside the bed.... A dining room or a guest room might also double as a library.

Picture

You could organise them according to colour! This is the header photograph from the Danish blog Style Files but I do like my books organised by subject..

Picture





If it is not possible to have a separate room you might have some of your bookshelves with doors - sliding doors, to hide a television, or books, take up less space; or blinds, or a Japanese paper screen, or ceiling mounted curtains - but solutions would have to be thought through carefully to balance accessibility with visual impact.

Lovely challenge, isn't it!

PS  If you liked the Worst Ice Skater Ever video on Saturday's post, you may have missed at the end of the video it says 'click here for a longer performance' - I think it's worth watching. About 8 minutes. Clever, and funny.
16 Comments
julia
4/3/2013 11:41:25 am

hi freda...good question!...my take is that if we want our books to present in a calm and serene environment, and not be clutter, they need to be the only "busyness"..ie the rest of the room needs to provide that serenity and calmness (groundedness)...i don't think they need to be "organized" according to color or size...category works, or theme...or even alphabetized...the arrangement needs to be alive, and to make sense....not "filed"...those are my thoughts anyway!

Reply
Freda
5/3/2013 12:52:21 am

I do agree that if the books are the only busyness visually, the room can still feel calm and 'grounded' - good word for it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts Julia.

Reply
Ruth Tapping link
4/3/2013 04:38:04 pm

I have all my better (as in more interesting and better condition) books in the dining room, the rest are in a loft room. The pile beside my bed becomes ever higher too. I wouldn't want to hide books away and when I visit a house where there are no books on show then I think that's a shame. A library with all 4 walls covered in books and library steps is what I dream of. I have become more ruthless over the years and send books I will never read again to the charity shops.

Reply
Freda
5/3/2013 12:55:44 am

A real library is every book lovers dream isn't it! Like you, I give more books away now....thanks for your nice comment Ruth.

Reply
Sarah link
5/3/2013 04:00:03 am

Our books are arranged by colour but they don't look as good as the ones you have shown! I have found it a good way of finding a book in a hurry.
Sarah x

Reply
Freda
5/3/2013 05:22:19 am

You must have a good colour memory - I bet it looks great!

Reply
Annie Cholewa link
5/3/2013 09:55:14 am

Oops, I clicked away to watch that fabulous video and nearly forgot to pop back!

Books ... we're like you, we've put nearly all of them - and we have a lot - in our study. I really don't like how cluttered a bookcase can make a room seem, they're not visually sympathetic at all.

Reply
Freda
6/3/2013 05:00:29 am

So glad you liked that video! And I do agree with you about the books..

Reply
cath
5/3/2013 04:07:14 pm

Even though we have books through the whole apartment, excluding bathroom and kitchen, your post gives me quite a lot to think about. I don't think sorting them in colour would be the solution for me but I could start with changing my archive boxes, which are on the shelves in my work/restroom too, to all the same colour and possibly some weeding may be in order again. It is a good place to start with while thinking about the other rooms. So thank you very much Freda.

Reply
Freda
6/3/2013 05:01:33 am

Thank you Cath for bringing up this interesting subject.

Reply
Liz B
5/3/2013 08:10:11 pm

I came out as Suspected Handcrafted Obsession - whatever that means??? Good fun.

Reply
Freda
6/3/2013 05:02:42 am

Oh, that's a good one!

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Liz B
5/3/2013 08:16:26 pm

Ooops, wrong day - I got behind. My books are all over the place, but I don't keep a huge number. Most paperbacks get passed along. Art books mostly in the studio. Reference in a small bookcase in the sitting room for crosswords. Assorted others elsewhere, though it would be nice to tidy them all into one place. I might even be able to find things.

Reply
Freda
6/3/2013 05:04:24 am

This is the first house where I have had all the books in one room, and I do love it. I'd call it the library but it sounds so pretentious!

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chris link
8/3/2013 07:46:23 am

I fret slightly about people who have to sleep in our guest room: we have library shelves almost to the ceiling ( and a step-stool to reach them with!) and when the windows are shut I think there's a smell of ... books. They're not all new and they certainly don't look serene, though the novels are arranged alphabetically and the rest by genre. Sort of.

Reply
Freda
10/3/2013 09:21:15 am

Are you worried they will stay awake all night - reading? Could be nice!

Reply



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