Show Me Your Bookshelves!

[Haven]

Our new bookshelves are finally up!!!!

I know we have a lot of book lovers on PS, so I just wanted to share our new bookshelves.
I've been hemming and hawing about what I want for ages, so it's taken me nearly four years to make up my mind. But I'm so happy with them, so it was worth the wait.

We have a wall of bookshelves in our family room, too, but they aren't nearly as pretty as these shelves.

I'd love to see everyone's bookshelves, if you care to share. I could look at bookshelves all day long . . .

Here are mine:
It's really difficult to get a good shot of the entire wall.

Close-ups. The top photo is from our wedding day, obviously. But I took the other two in Ireland and Switzerland.


My sister took the top photo in The Burren in Ireland. I took the middle one in St. John, and the bottom one in Napa this month.


The shelves are the Holman shelves from Pottery Barn. We also hung more on the other side of this room, one set over our wet bar that hold glasses and wine bottles, and another set over the reading nook. I really love the shelves, they're great quality and really sturdy.

So, show me your bookshelves, please! Books . . . nomnomnom.

 

[Circe]

I will take pictures posthaste, but in the meantime ....

... you MUST tell me where you got your pig-with-wings. WANT.

 

[distracts]

OMG GORGEOUS. EVEN PRETTIER THAN SHINY THINGS. (Not that I should say such things on PS!)

I wish I had taken pictures of my shelves at my parents' house earlier today when I was there - they're much prettier than the makeshift, temporary shelves my fiance and I have! We just can't figure out where to PUT shelves because the house has few walls suitable for them, so until we figure it out, it's double and triple-stacked shelves and many freestanding stacks.

 

[Haven]

Circe--Isn't he wonderful? I got him at Z Gallerie, and then promptly saw flying piggies at Pottery Barn AND HomeGoods. Apparently, they are the very in thing at the moment. I just love him because, well, he's a flying pig.

These are my two favorite shots of my new shelves, I forgot to share them in my last post. I'm definitely going to print the first one and put it on my office door.


I wish my photos didn't look so washed out once they upload to PS. Oh, well. You get the picture.

I can't wait to see your shelves, Circe!

Distracts--Thank you! I love bookshelves, and I spend waaaaaay too much time looking at pictures of other people's shelves on Pinterest and Bookshelf ****. I tend to agree with you that bookshelves are prettier than shiny things. Not that I'd admit that on PS or anything.

 

[that_someone_special]

Just wanted to say I love how you arranged them by color. I am much too OCD.. my books have to be "together" lol

 

[Enerchi]

I love the colour coordination of your books! That's awesome! It would have taken quite some time to get the graduating colours to work out - very impressive
Nice shots Haven - love the Ireland sheep!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Beautiful display. I love how you grouped the books by colors. It creates an asthetic appeal that combines both the beauty of books and the gorgeous colored covers that they're housed in. I've never seen that before.

My books are a scattered mess right now! Your photos inspire me to get mine in order. I have them on the cases and then stacked up along side and on top of other books. Then I hid all my controversial books because when people come over, I'm not sure how they'd react to some of the odd books we've added to our collection over the years.

ETA - You and I have a lot of the same books. No book collection would be complete w/out Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. lol You know, I bought the book b/c it had a pretty cover! hahaha

ETA - are these just your books? Do you and your DH combine books or keep them on seperate book cases?

 

[Haven]

Just wanted to say I love how you arranged them by color. I am much too OCD.. my books have to be "together" lol

You sound like my husband. He was all "How am I going to FIND anything?!?!" and I was all "Wait, you don't remember the color of your books' spines?"

These books only account for a tiny bit of our collection, so I figure arranging them by color isn't too horrible. And I DID keep fiction on the two lower shelves and nonfiction on the top. That's something, right?

 

[Haven]

I love the colour coordination of your books! That's awesome! It would have taken quite some time to get the graduating colours to work out - very impressive
Nice shots Haven - love the Ireland sheep!

Thanks, Enerchi! It really didn't take long at all, though I like that it *appears* to have been laborious!

 

[Haven]

Beautiful display. I love how you grouped the books by colors. It creates an asthetic appeal that combines both the beauty of books and the gorgeous colored covers that they're housed in. I've never seen that before.

My books are a scattered mess right now! Your photos inspire me to get mine in order. I have them on the cases and then stacked up along side and on top of other books. Then I hid all my controversial books because when people come over, I'm not sure how they'd react to some of the odd books we've added to our collection over the years.

ETA - You and I have a lot of the same books. No book collection would be complete w/out Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. lol You know, I bought the book b/c it had a pretty cover! hahaha

ETA - are these just your books? Do you and your DH combine books or keep them on seperate book cases?

Thanks, MC! I pretty much always have to put things into color order, so this is no exception! What can I say? I love rainbows.
There are so many awesome color-arranged bookshelves out there, though. Are you on pinterest? Search for bookshelves and you'll see them. DROOLWORTHY!

I must know--what are these controversial books?!?!

I love Balzac, and I probably picked it up because of the cover, too! I'm a sucker for a great cover.
DH and I blended everything when we moved in together, but most of the fiction is mine because DH doesn't read much fiction. I gave away several hundred books when we first bought our house, so we've actually picked up a good amount of these together. Anything that has to do with dog training, science, or the human body? Those belong to DH.

I want to see some shelves, people! Where are they?!

 

[Mike R]

That looks great Haven!

Here is my collection of jewellery books, I have had a bit of a clean up since I took these pictures and I've added about ten more books.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Haven! I love your new bookshelves. As per your request, I took a couple pictures this evening of our "library." Okay, it was actually a 4th bedroom but there aren't doors so we hung curtains, put up bookshelves and renamed it "the library."

Shelves are from IKEA.

First is the view from outside the room.


Here's a shot of the little sofa bed & the single bookshelf.


Here is a shot of a few of them together. The far right shelf has a mirror in it, also from IKEA.


And finally, this is a print on Etsy that I really want to buy and put in the room (from the shop HesedBooksAndGifts)

 

[allycat0303]

Haven,

NO WAY am I putting a picture of my book case up after that!!!! I really like the pig as well, your house must be outrageously neat considering that the books are color coded

It seems you have many hardcover books... It makes quite a visual impact. I'm kind of relegated to paperback books, so nothing to see at my house.

 

[Circe]

You have the JAR book.

This? Is me keeling over with longing.

 

[Mike R]

You have the JAR book.

This? Is me keeling over with longing.

What, this old thing?

 

[Okie_girl]

I'll play, although my bookshelves do not hold a candle to yours, Haven! I've loved books all my life. My mother was an English teacher, so I came by it honestly. I've lost count of the number of boxes of books in the attic for which I have absolutely no room. But I can't get rid of them, what if I want to reread one of those books?!

Haven, your setup is very striking.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Beautiful display. I love how you grouped the books by colors. It creates an asthetic appeal that combines both the beauty of books and the gorgeous colored covers that they're housed in. I've never seen that before.

My books are a scattered mess right now! Your photos inspire me to get mine in order. I have them on the cases and then stacked up along side and on top of other books. Then I hid all my controversial books because when people come over, I'm not sure how they'd react to some of the odd books we've added to our collection over the years.

ETA - You and I have a lot of the same books. No book collection would be complete w/out Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. lol You know, I bought the book b/c it had a pretty cover! hahaha

ETA - are these just your books? Do you and your DH combine books or keep them on seperate book cases?

Thanks, MC! I pretty much always have to put things into color order, so this is no exception! What can I say? I love rainbows.
There are so many awesome color-arranged bookshelves out there, though. Are you on pinterest? Search for bookshelves and you'll see them. DROOLWORTHY!

I must know--what are these controversial books?!?!

I love Balzac, and I probably picked it up because of the cover, too! I'm a sucker for a great cover.
DH and I blended everything when we moved in together, but most of the fiction is mine because DH doesn't read much fiction. I gave away several hundred books when we first bought our house, so we've actually picked up a good amount of these together. Anything that has to do with dog training, science, or the human body? Those belong to DH.

I want to see some shelves, people! Where are they?!

I haven't given into looking on Pininterest yet...I know I should, but I fear it'll be yet another addiction that keeps me from getting anything productive done! lol My husband and I each currently have our own book cases, plus I have a lot of archaeological/anthrolopological books and all of those are stacked on our living room side tables...and then little nooks and crannies have books here and there. People do come over and look a bit overwhelmed when they see all our books but we're soon to get a new couch so we'll be moving one book case into another room, which will reduce the cluttered look. I'm really tempted to try out your rainbow organization for fun! Also, rearranging books reminds me of all the books I've purchased but haven't read yet, so it's a good time to do that. (I just finished my first book on the Kindle I got - "1Q84" and noticed I read A LOT faster on the Kindle, so I may not be buying as many books any time soon.)

The controversial books: eh, well, some are not that exciting, like I hid my Stephen King books (lol!), but we have some wilder books such as the Anarchist Cookbook, which was a book dh picked up over 20 years ago. It's not like it's regular reading material in our house...just something we hung onto from when we were in high school. Also, I went through a wiccan phase when I was 14 (hahaha!)...which was also in high school, and I am wanting to keep the books, but am not sure how others feel. Plus, oddball stuff like Edgar Cayce and then we own a Buddist Bible and books on spirit guides. Oh, and I have a book on reading Tarot cards. Nothing so crazy, but still, we're in a conservative area and nobody I know, except for the gal who gave me the Kindle, has a serious book collection they display so it's hard to know what is acceptable.

 

[Saoirse2]

What, this old thing?

Oh dear, the JAR book!
Here's my tiny collection:

 

[zoebartlett]

They look great, Haven! I also love how your organized them by color.

This is a timely thread for me because we're looking at different types of bookshelves. I can't figure out what I want. Pinterest is great for inspiration.

 

[zoebartlett]

TravelGoddess, I love your library! I'm assuming you have the Billy bookcases, right? We're thinking of getting them but I'm not sure I have the patience to put them together.

 

[Amys Bling]

Wow haven- such inspiration !!!

 

[Haven]

Mike R--Oh man how I would love to browse through your jewelry book collection. I imagine that would be a very dangerous library for many PSers. And your books are so NEAT! Wow.

Travel Goddess--I love your library! It's so cozy. I wish DH and I had a nice space that we could devote to being an actual library. If we ever move or add-on to the house, that will be top of the priority list. I love the way you set up the shelves, too. VERY nice. DH and I have been searching for a globe for a long time, but we have yet to find one that DH likes enough to purchase! He's picky. And that etsy print? LOVE IT.

Okie Girl--I LOVE your bookshelves! It's clear that your house is filled with books, which makes me think it is a very nice place to be. Love the kitty, too. Books and cats--what else could anyone possibly want? Your first bookcase with the glass covers is very nice. If I had more signed and rare books, I would love to get a case like that.

Saoirse--Your home looks like a model home! Very beautiful. I could sit in that room for hours!

Zoe--I love Pinterest for design inspiration! I filled my Book Love board with bookshelves, and convinced myself of about seven different designs before we found these shelves. For a long time we were going to have built-ins made, but I'm really glad we didn't because I don't think they'd fit the style of our house. Even though I love them. Have you seen http://bookshelfporn.com/? Brace yourself, it's amazing.

Thank you for your kind words, everyone. I'm still not sure if we're going to keep them exactly like this, but I like them for the moment. I'm more used to very sparse decoration, so this is a bit much for me at the moment, but I still like it. This wall is in the middle of a very large, long dining/living room combo, so all that space makes it feel okay to have such a busy spot. The ceilings are pretty high, too, and the two end walls are lined with windows, so I think it works. But who knows? We'll see.

Okay, more bookshelves. Need more bookshelves!

Thanks so much for sharing, everyone!

 

[stardust97]

Haven, your shelves are beautiful! I love all the colors and it looks very homey. I am not much of a reader myself anymore (I do like non-fiction) but I would love a little reading nook like that in my place. The only book I can honestly say I've never forgotten was called "The Secret Lives of Gnomes". My grandparents had it in their home, and the text and illustrations were fascinating. There were a few parts I thought were very scandalous at that age lol (probably why I loved it so much ). It was written for kids, but in such a different way than most children's books. Unfortunately, my cousins destroyed it, but I was recently able to find a copy on ebay for my nephew. I hope he loves it as much as I did. What is your all time favorite book, fiction and non-fiction?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Haven, your bookshelf looks amazing!! Definitely worth the wait!

I love that yours is organized by color, but we have ours organized by section. We have a shelf each of: domestic travel, international travel (I just counted a dozen Rick Steves books), mountaineering, reference, investing/money managment, dog care (and now baby care), audio books and then regular ol' fiction. We also have a bookcase in our bedroom since D is an avid reader at bedtime and a couple of cheap ikea bookshelves in our basement for all the "crappy" books.

I only have one photo on this computer from about a year ago. The office is in the old 18th century part of the house, but these built ins are from the 1940's, I believe.

 

[Jennifer W]

I'll play, although my bookshelves do not hold a candle to yours, Haven! I've loved books all my life. My mother was an English teacher, so I came by it honestly. I've lost count of the number of boxes of books in the attic for which I have absolutely no room. But I can't get rid of them, what if I want to reread one of those books?!

Haven, your setup is very striking.

All our book shelves look like the first picture in your post. We got some from DH's family home when his mother passed away, and some belonged to my grandparents. They are wrapped in plastic bubble wrap right now, because we're in the process of replacing the library ceiling, so I won't post a photo. Also, it's been a slow process, because we live like it's an episode of hoarders. The workmen haven't been back in ages so the whole room is silting up with junk, ...

Thank heavens for Kindles!

 

[Okie_girl]

I'll play, although my bookshelves do not hold a candle to yours, Haven! I've loved books all my life. My mother was an English teacher, so I came by it honestly. I've lost count of the number of boxes of books in the attic for which I have absolutely no room. But I can't get rid of them, what if I want to reread one of those books?!

Haven, your setup is very striking.

All our book shelves look like the first picture in your post. We got some from DH's family home when his mother passed away, and some belonged to my grandparents. They are wrapped in plastic bubble wrap right now, because we're in the process of replacing the library ceiling, so I won't post a photo. Also, it's been a slow process, because we live like it's an episode of hoarders. The workmen haven't been back in ages so the whole room is silting up with junk, ...

Thank heavens for Kindles!

Ah, Jennifer! Sounds like you may have some antique lawyer's book cases. That would be my dream, mine is just a cheap knockoff but I love it anyway. Hope you can get the ceiling finished so you can get the room sorted out soon.

Haven, good eye! I wondered if anyone would notice that my old girl snuck into the picture.

 

[Jennifer W]

Okie, in spite of recently qualifying as a lawyer, I had NO idea that is what they were. How funny!

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

TravelGoddess, I love your library! I'm assuming you have the Billy bookcases, right? We're thinking of getting them but I'm not sure I have the patience to put them together.

Yep! They're the "Billy" shelves. It actually wasn't so bad putting them together. Took maybe 2 hours total. I love that you can buy the really skinny ones and round out a corner.

 

[Circe]

The light isn't giving me my best light ever, but I wanna play!

First up: the bulk of my collection of jewelry/design books (top shelves are a mess - just toss in in Cartier: Power of Style - which I would recommend heartily, btw - and some McQueen books).

Second: my office. Now with bonus feline photobomb!

Third: the living room, from two different angles. I have the Ikea Billy's, too. If I ever win the lottery, I'm getting nice glassed-in law-library style bookcases, but until then, I dress them up by making the rest of the furniture fancier. I'm deeply envious of those of you who have the space for a dedicated library!

 

[Jennifer W]

Your apartment is very much to my taste! I know we're supposed to be looking at the shelves, but can I just say how much I love the floor!