home library inspiration

by | Aug 8, 2022 | Decorating | 30 comments

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As I bought more and more books, Jeff and I smiled and made two references – a cinematic one and a Biblical one (fitting for a pastor.) “We’re going to need a bigger boat.” and “I just need to build bigger barns to house all of my grain.”  Of course, neither of those contexts is a positive thing, but it’s what came to mind as more used books trickled in from library sales, eBay, Amazon, and Thriftbooks.  I’ve built up a collection of several hundred books (most of them on the larger, heavier side of the book spectrum), so I’m definitely looking for some home library inspiration for our next house.

home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

We had great storage in our previous home for books, but it started to get a little tricky to figure out how to organize the books in a way I could easily find them.  I wanted to keep all of my design and decorating books together in my office and I wanted my art reference, history, and instruction books in my studio, but it was becoming clear I was outgrowing that system.  If we lived in that house much longer, I was going to need to come up with a better solution.

home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

So, as I’m thinking and dreaming about the next home, I’m thinking about where we can have a library.  Of course, the room won’t just be a library, but likely a living room/library or a dining room/library, or an office/library.  And I am excited about it.  Perusing books and the internet for home library inspiration has been almost as fun as shopping for books to add to my library!

Here are some inspiration photos I found as I’m thinking about my future home library (the sources are liked below each photo)…

I love this hallway-turned-library with a few places to sit and some natural light coming in.  I also like the moody blue/gray/green color of the shelves that set it apart and make it look and feel more like a library.  This wide hallway has gone from being a pass-through space to a highly functional one.  If I have a “dead space” in our next house, like a landing or a small room that is little more than a glorified hallway, I can see turning it into a small library like this one.

@janiemolsterdesigns | home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

@janiemolsterdesigns

In this inspiration photo, I love how you can see a little peek of this home library in what looks like a living room.  It could be a sitting room, sunroom, or den, but it’s the kind of multipurpose room I have in mind.  I can just imagine pulling a book off the shelf and snuggling into a comfy sofa.

@cafedesignblog | home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

@cafedesignblog

I was hoping to keep the antique round oak table that was in our basement in the event that we have a room that could be a library/dining room, similar to the one below.  I am so drawn to stacks of books on a round table, surrounded by chairs, with shelves behind.  There is something inviting and beautiful about it.  Perhaps I will be able to recreate a similar look in the next house…

bunny williams design | home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

@bunnywilliams_interiordesign

While this inspiration photo of a home library shows a couple of skinny shelves, it does provide a lot of storage and there may be more shelves in the room to balance these out.  I like that they are making a feature of the window and making the most of a skinny bit of wall.  I bet the picture lights over the shelves look great at night, too.

@nineandsixteen | home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

@nineandsixteen 

I think bookshelves, trim, and walls painted all in one lovely color, like in the inspiration photo below, looks so classic.  I’m not sure if this is a small room or just a corner of a larger room, but there is so much inspiration in this home library.

kate guinness designs | home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

@kateguinnessdesigns

Even though this home library is in a very old home (just look at those beams), I feel like this is a very accessible design.  It looks like some freestanding shelves were built-in and arranged to accommodate a piano.  This room packs so much style and functionality in one space and that is inspiring!

@myoldpub

While all of these home library inspiration photos are favorites, I think this one might be at the top of my list.  Oh, that trim, the green paint, the brass details, that rug…it’s just a lovely design.  Of course, my shelves would likely be packed with books!  Jeff had better brush up his woodworking skills if I’m going to get a home library similar to this one.

North Shore Nest | home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

@northshorenest

I’m not sure if I’m in love with the checked backing on the bookshelves, but it’s nice to see how that idea looks.  The pale blue shelves, trim work, and matching upholstery are just perfection, though.  I also love the little details like the pleated shade on the sconce and floor lamp and how the books are arranged in a way that’s pleasing to the eye but it’s not overly color-coordinated.

sarah bartholomew design | home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

@sarahbartholomewdesign

I definitely need a house before I can really formulate a plan for a home library, but it’s fun to gather inspiration and ideas.  I can’t wait until I know what spaces I have to work with so I can start making plans.

Do you have a home library or is it something you would want?  I know not everyone wants or needs one, but if you use books heavily as a resource for your work, inspiration, hobbies, or education, it’s nice to have a place to accommodate them.  As I’ve said before, I see my books as my “continuing education” and a worthwhile investment.  Books don’t flash ads in front of your face or control what you see or don’t see with algorithms.  They don’t blast trending music at you when you’re just looking for home library inspiration.  They teach, inspire, inform, entertain, and educate.  They are the collective minds of millions of authors, photographers, poets, designers, innovators, and more all at the ready.

Books are pretty awesome and while I once thought sites like Pinterest, Instagram, eBooks, and Kindle would replace them, they just don’t and I don’t think they ever will.  I think as long as people are on the earth, we will have shelves for our books.

home library inspiration | miss mustard seed

If you’re a fellow book-lover, here are some posts you might enjoy…

Book Reviews

My Growing Collection of over 300 Art Books

100+ of my Favorite Decorating Books

A Gorgeous Book all about Libraries

All the Cool Kids are Reading Tee | It’s not Hoarding if it’s Books Tee

 

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    30 Comments

    1. Connie

      Love the pictures. I especially like the hallway library – very creative. I have always wanted a combo library & dining room.

    2. Colleen

      I love how all of your examples had seating with good lights! So cozy and useful! I find when I go to my bookshelves I find something and immediately sit down and start looking through the book, even if it wasn’t what I went there for!

    3. Mayanna

      I find it amazing that you are looking for bookcase inspiration. You are my inspiration with your Minnesota studio art book storage!

    4. Judy

      When we built our retirement home recently, we had a wall of floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves put in my husband’s study, which is the first room seen when you enter our home. Our cabinet maker was meticulous and these shelves are one of my favorite features of our home. Expensive but worth every penny! And they are not ‘styled’ but filled with our books. I encourage you to follow your dream, Marian! Your shelves will bring such joy!

    5. Jill Bakeman

      We turned our living room (wasted space when we bought our home) into a library for me! I love my husband! Our carpenter built bookshelves across the longest wall and then we added a huge antique armoire, bought a chair and a half, and ottoman. Puppy on lap. Reading Heaven!

    6. Linda

      So fabulous! In fact, I just built some floor to ceiling bookshelves with a library ladder. I now have significantly more space than my previously overflowing bookshelves. I love your inspiration pictures.

    7. Lenore

      I saw something on tv where they turned a room into a dining room and it was pretty much open but two walls to enclose it a little bit, kind of an alcove. They made a dining room out of it but put bookshelves on the two long side walls and I think the far end wall was windows. They had a rectangular farmhouse table and it was so cozy and lovely. It felt really special.

      • CathyR

        While all of them are beautiful the first one spoke to me the most. I’d love to see the rest of that house, I’ll bet it’s gorgeous.

    8. Sandi from the Cape

      My books are my friends! As we are downsizing I have to relinquish several but I’m keeping my favorites that I revisit all the time. I love your words….

      .” Books don’t flash ads in front of your face or control what you see or don’t see with algorithms. They don’t blast trending music at you when you’re just looking for home library inspiration. They teach, inspire, inform, entertain, and educate. They are the collective minds of millions of authors, photographers, poets, designers, innovators, and more all at the ready.” It’s getting copied to a framed sign that will go on my shelves! I’ll give you credit! xoxoxoxo

    9. Peggy W

      Oh Marian, ok so I don’t know if huh remember me recently mentioning doing a major room shift. Dining room into the family then turning the dining room into my studio. Well what I didn’t mention was that part of the process will be incorporating a library into the new dining area as there is a fire place and it’s the biggest room in the house. You have given me so many things to consider! Thank you for sharing the inspiration!

    10. Betsy

      You had me a the first photo! What a great space. When do your boys start school? My daughter in law is a teacher and classes I’m her elementary school start on August 15. So many schools start before Labor Day now.

    11. Babs

      Books add soul to a home. I like my Kindle but I love my books.

    12. Taria

      What great inspiration. We had two walls of bookshelves in a dining room a couple of houses ago. A nice sunny window and rocking chair made it really wonderful. My dad (a carpenter) turned some upstairs attic space into his little secret book room. That was pretty fun. I wish I
      had a picture of that. Hope there is a home in your future soon.

    13. SUSAN

      Love them all!! I think home libraries are dying out. People now had rather google it or download something ?. There’s just nothing like holding a book in your hands. I feel the same about magazines.

    14. Michele M.

      Love this inspiration! I grew up with a library room and both parents taught us to love reading – my hubs and I have
      been considering putting up built-in shelving in the loft upstairs or possibly re-think our semi-recent woodwork trim we had installed in our home office. I may lose it on the big back wall and just have cabs on bottom for needed office stuff – and
      book shelves on top. I think he’d prefer that over the loft cuz who the heck wants to go upstairs in they don’t need to, right?

    15. Jerry Stocks

      I recently had the opportunity to visit the home my parents built when I was in high school. The new owners had built book cases on one long room in the dining room. So it became a dining/library room. I thought this was such a clever idea.

    16. Debbie

      It was so fun to see so many of your inspiration photos for a reading space/library. I think you will find what works for you and create a beautiful library in your next home. I have both of your books in a small bookcase near my bed. The rest of my decor/art books live in my walk in closet. I know I have more books than shoes! I love built-ins and am loving the bedrooms I have seen with tall built-in bookcases that flank a bed in a guest room. I would love to do that in my guest room.

    17. Dorothy Person

      I so love this post. In a previous home years ago, my dad built floor to ceiling shelves on each side of a window in the sitting room area of our master bedroom. We recently downsized our large home and moved into a much smaller condo. I had to donate most of my book collection. My dad made a dry sink which is in the dining area of our condo. Without book shelves and fewer books, I turned the dry sink into a place for my books. I use the drawers pulled out half way as book shelves. I put hooks for my antique tea cups to hang. It doesn’t t fit the Florida coastal decor genre but it looks cozy and does the trick.

    18. Jean

      We have bookcases in every room in the house save the bathrooms (they all have baskets for magazines and paperbacks!). My daughter built into her very large dining room an entire wall of cupboards and book shelves – an IKEA hack. Have fun!

    19. Dawn Harris

      Books have always been some of my best friends. I was the kid who would climb up a tree as high as I could and read a book. I would even read in the shower! The house I grew up in had a library and books have always played an important part in all of my homes. I am now in my forever home (that we built) and am working on giving my beloved books new homes. I find that, rather than one space for books, I like them throughout the house. So, certainly bookcases of some sort in every room, small shelves over doors, etc. I will say that, in my experience, the libraries with small window seats look more cozy in photos than they are in reality. I had a couple of those in my former home and, unless they are substantial in size, no one but very small children (or cats) ever use them. They really need to be deep enough and long enough for an adult to rest there for them to be used regularly. Just an observation. Love the book T-shirts! I have one that says “I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie.” I always get lots of comments on it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing some library inspiration!

    20. Rita

      We have a full basement. I wish I had the funds to turn this space into a light, useful area. My husband has a small finished room in the corner with a small library. He has his own book collection with being in the ministry. It’s part of the territory. I have a small collection but have weeded them out recently. I love that green room as well that was your favorite. It’s so warm with the green and wood. The small little alcove/hall is also cozy. I hope Jeff is nearing something soon. I’m sure you all want to be settled soon, even though this short term nomadic life has been fun.

    21. SueA

      I absolutely have a home library! I inherited books from my children when they moved out (I insisted that each of them maintain a library), from my parents when Dad passed and Mom downsized, from my husband and his Mom and my own collection which I have kept close since my college days and continues to grow. Every type of bookshelf has been employed throughout the house and don’t forget the paperback sci-fi collections on a very long narrow shelf perched above the doors! Heinlein, anyone? My only suggestion is definitely have a desk or other surface on which to open books, especially if you have reference books that you use. A “library table” if you will.

    22. DeeDee

      We added a library when we built our house. Our foyer ceiling is 22′ tall. There are balusters separating the library, which is on the second floor, but one can look over them to the foyer. My 15 year old grand daughter loves to sit there and read. She said, “Grandma, I think you have more books that many libraries.” We’ve lived here 20 years, and I hadn’t been to a library in many years, even before we moved here. I learn about a book I’d like to read and I just buy it. My sister in law orders books from her library that she wants to read, but I’ve never developed that arrangement. (I wish I could send you a picture.)

    23. Cheri

      I would love a library! Especially if I could have a round table with books on it in the middle of the room! These are gorgeous!

    24. Loretta

      Ah Ha! Now we know the real reason you are moving..you ran out of library space! ?
      I’m a kindred spirit. Art books, sewing books, knitting books and Bible study books. My husband has cut me off on bookshelves so I buy paper books carefully and fill in with kindle. I also go through my books from time to time and donate them to our local library.

      What fun imaginings! Can’t wait to see what happens Marion.

    25. Claire

      We moved to a new state to be near our daughter last summer. My husband has a lot of books he cannot part with. Some of his things are in notebooks or are paperbacks and I didn’t really want to see it all so I bought some very nice gray upper bookshelves that sit atop matching cabinets with sliding doors at Ikea. The closed cabinets contain the more unattractive clutter and the glass fronted shelves are nicely staged. I was pleased with the solution.

    26. Joan

      I almost have bookcases in every room! In planning my several bookcases, here are some things I learned from my research and experience… For bookshelves that mainly hold fiction and books that are NOT art or gardening or design books, generally a depth of about 10 inches works really well; you don’t end up with a lot of dust-catching space behind the books. This also allows a narrower bookcase in a room that might not be able to handle something bulkier (like a dining room). In the living room, our bookcases flank a large window, so I have a window seat under the window, with cabinet storage underneath the window seat. These cabinets are a great place to store a collection of seasonal books (Christmas, Easter, etc.) as well as board games and puzzles. The bookcases on either side of the window are enclosed storage up to about 30″ high, and then open bookshelves above. The bookcases are not as deep as the cabinets, so the “shelf” on top of the cabinet is able to hold the large art or coffee table books. I also went with thick shelves (1″ thick) so under the weight of the books, they don’t bend. Plan for the lights over the bookshelves when you build them so they can be turned on with one switch. Put an electrical outlet in the enclosed cabinet space or on the back wall of one of the shelves so you can easily plug in a small light or speakers (or even a coffee maker). Finally (whew!), in the children’s playroom I made the window seat between the bookcases as wide as a twin bed and as long, and then had a custom dense foam cushion made for the space. It works as a spare bed for a sleepover or a napping place or just a really comfy place for parent and child to read together…

    27. Kim

      This is such a pretty post full of so much inspiration! Thanks for sharing as I am looking for a way to add book shelves or built-ins into my home.

    28. Wendy York

      Thank you once again Marian for posting something that was just what I needed! I love the saying on the black tee shirt too! ?. I have been going through all of the books in our library, which includes my mother’s books. At one point I tried to have a book sale with forty boxes (yes 40!) on my lawn, but hardly sold any. I donated a lot to my church library as well as my public library. Then I gave 100 to a friend who is home schooling her children and is a voracious reader. I still culled another 4 boxes last week. But what I want to thank you for is validating the idea that it is ok to still have a home library! I really do still want to read a lot of these books, as well as be able to recommend them to others who could benefit from them.
      We are probably going to move before long, and these decisions need to be made. Thanks for all your thoughts on all the moving parts of making a move. Hoping you get the perfect house where you can do all the things you and your family are dreaming of too ?❤️

    29. Gillian Zylka

      love love books. I was ordering like crazy and I have amassed lots of books on various subjects, but lately mostly about vintage interior design…however I was running out of room. I begged my husband to build me a wall of book shelves in our basement reno…I’m still hoping…in the mean time I did cull out a bunch of books that I won’t read again and keep all the books that I want to refer to. I found I was ordering a lot of books…I decided to check the library first from now on, if the book is a keeper I will order it on amazon. I love the feel of books and the smell and the visual appeal. Kindle is not for me. I hope you find the perfect house to house all of your books…I definitely can relate!

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    Marian Parsons - Miss Mustard Seed

    I’m Marian, aka Miss Mustard Seed, a wife, mother, paint enthusiast, lover of all things home and an entrepreneur, author, artist, designer, freelance writer & photographer.  READ MORE to learn more about me, my blog and my business…

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