{"id":6843,"date":"2026-09-18T04:50:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T04:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sometimesraw.com\/?p=6843"},"modified":"2026-09-18T04:50:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T04:50:41","slug":"making-your-home-feel-like-a-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sometimesraw.com\/?p=6843","title":{"rendered":".Making Your Home Feel Like a Library."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you came to my house, you\u2019d find stacks of books everywhere.<\/strong>\u00a0On tables, in bookshelves, on counters; I just love having books in every corner. It makes me feel like I live in a library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I talked about the importance of creating an intentional space for learning or reading at home. It\u2019s something I think about often as I reorganize and redecorate. How can I create a space that truly inspires learning? Over the years, I\u2019ve embraced a few practices to make it feel more like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Take advantage of vertical space<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Something I love about libraries and secondhand bookstores is the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. That is the\u00a0dream<\/em>! But for now, I\u2019m making do with what I have. I spread out my bookshelves all over the house (I even have books in the bathroom). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Use your books as decor\u2014and entertainment!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I referenced this quote last year, and I still love it. I came across it while reading Modern Swedish Design: Three Founding Texts.<\/em> I 100% agree\u2014but I also think it should be a natural, organic process. Don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The bookshelves at Casa Pedregal in Mexico. Stunning. <3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Slowly acquire your books<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s no rush. You\u2019ll come across the right books when the time is right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buy secondhand as much as you can\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best books are discovered in dusty bookstores, on the street, on eBay, or when gifted from friends. Sometimes the most interesting books aren\u2019t the ones on this year\u2019s best-selling lists\u2014they\u2019re gems that were written years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Paris Review from Spring 1990 that I found on the street years ago. Such a cool cover.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Have a system (or at least try to)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I watched\u00a0Party Girl<\/em>\u00a0(1995) for the first time on the plane, and I\u2019m 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\u2019ve moved stacks of books from one room to another, bought shelves (and then gotten rid of them), reorganized my books\u2026it never ends. I spent an entire day creating new stacks of books in my living room. And I\u2019ll probably switch things around in a month again. C’est la vie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allow a little imperfection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The stacks of books don\u2019t have to be perfect. The shelves don\u2019t 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\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t finish reading your entire 300-page interior design book. There\u2019s nothing wrong with unread books! I read this article the other day on\u00a0the hidden value of unread books<\/a>. They\u2019ll be there waiting for you when you\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Happy reading! I would love to see pictures of your bookshelves if you would like to share. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you came to my house, you\u2019d find stacks of books everywhere.\u00a0On 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\u2019s something I think … <\/p>\n

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