If you came to my house, you’d find stacks of books everywhere. On tables, in bookshelves, on counters; I just love having books in every corner. It makes me feel like I live in a library.
I talked about the importance of creating an intentional space for learning or reading at home. It’s something I think about often as I reorganize and redecorate. How can I create a space that truly inspires learning? Over the years, I’ve embraced a few practices to make it feel more like that.
Take advantage of vertical space
Something I love about libraries and secondhand bookstores is the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. That is the dream! But for now, I’m making do with what I have. I spread out my bookshelves all over the house (I even have books in the bathroom).
Use your books as decor—and entertainment!
“In every room of the house there should be a desk and books. Books are the foremost ornament of a house. All the members of the family must feel that their home is always able to keep them entertained, and to this feeling books contribute most of all.”
I referenced this quote last year, and I still love it. I came across it while reading Modern Swedish Design: Three Founding Texts. I 100% agree—but I also think it should be a natural, organic process. Don’t buy books just because. Buy them because you genuinely love them. And then put them all over your home! Have small stacks of books near your kitchen, on the coffee table, on your nightstand, near your entryway, next to the television. Having books everywhere is an easy way to skim through them more.
Slowly acquire your books
A personal library takes time to build. Umberto Eco, an Italian writer, had over 50,000 books in his personal library at the time of his death. My partner and I have around 500. It excites me to think about what my library will look like five, ten, twenty years from now. There’s no rush. You’ll come across the right books when the time is right.
Buy secondhand as much as you can
The best books are discovered in dusty bookstores, on the street, on eBay, or when gifted from friends. Sometimes the most interesting books aren’t the ones on this year’s best-selling lists—they’re gems that were written years ago.
Have a system (or at least try to)
I watched Party Girl (1995) for the first time on the plane, and I’m determined to learn the Dewey Decimal System, but for now? My stacks of books are categorized roughly by themes like art, health, nonfiction, interior design, classical drawing, furniture design, classic literature, and so on. And my system is flexible. The number of times I’ve moved stacks of books from one room to another, bought shelves (and then gotten rid of them), reorganized my books…it never ends. I spent an entire day creating new stacks of books in my living room. And I’ll probably switch things around in a month again. C’est la vie.
Allow a little imperfection
The stacks of books don’t have to be perfect. The shelves don’t have to be impeccably styled. Lean into the lived-in feeling of it all. Books are meant to be grabbed and paged through and put back on the shelf and moved from one shelf to another. Flip through them as much as you can. Enjoy them. Learn from them. And it’s okay if you don’t finish reading your entire 300-page interior design book. There’s nothing wrong with unread books! I read this article the other day on the hidden value of unread books. They’ll be there waiting for you when you’re ready.
Happy reading! I would love to see pictures of your bookshelves if you would like to share.
