Shelving Knowledge: How to decorate your own home library

A home library is not something for everyone, but if you do have an inclination towards books or even love collecting the rare ones, then this can really add immensely both to the look of your home and how people view you when they come for a visit. A home library talks about your personality, shouts about what kind of a person you are and it also ensures that those who walk in, leave with something added to their wisdom. It can make for a great topic of conversation and earn you some great new buddies.

Of course, a whole library at home looks hard to put together, but with these tips, you will find that it is not that hard as you thought.

#1 Pick the perfect room and devote the required space
The most significant aspect towards building a grand home library is to pick the right room. Obviously, preferable it should have a high ceiling along with space for racks and other accessories. You can of course, devote just a part of a certain room for this purpose, but an entire room that is totally dedicated makes it a lot more wonderful. Also make sure it’s large enough to accommodate your entire book collection and maybe the ones you are going to add in the future.

#2 Choose the type of shelves that you feel would be apt
You can either go for built-in shelves, racks that are made of wood, separate standings sshelves that occupy more space or the ones that hang from the ceiling. No matter which variety you pick ensure that they all go well with the furnishings you have in the room and are all crafted from wood. Wooden racks give your home library an authentic and original feel that cannot be achieved by other modern materials.

#3 Colors, shades and usage of materials
Dark and Victorian styled colors are often used in libraries to give them a more antique feeling. The same can be done for your home library. Once again the use of woodwork grained in darker textures helps a great deal in capturing this essence. This will go well with any collection or theme you chose. Such as the French, Spanish or Italian collection. The appeal for such interiors is almost universal.

#4 Accessorize with rugs, lamps, tables and chairs
Use tables and chairs inside your home library according to the space available and the comfort factor. You can get a bit unconventional and even go for a couch so that you feel more at home. A small television that is put in a closed cabin, a fine rug and an antique lamp will do wonders to the interiors. This though is a matter of individual choice and you can go the way you chose with accessories.

#5 Use lighting to add to your book collection
Use lighting smartly so that it brings the beauty out of your rare and specially bounded books while it hides those rugged looking old copies of the paperbacks. Your home library can be altered and changed by using lighting in various different patterns. The lighting must be most often soft, ambient and must reflect the studious mood inside.
Apart from all those, one can also add a dash of class with sculptures and plants which will bring life to the home library. Since the walls are already full, it will be such standing decorative that will bring added beauty to your home library. If you are willing to spend a tad bit extra, then you can create your very own favorite library in your own home.

Stylish DIY Project Ideas

Kids' Room Window Seat
Here's how to make a comfy hideout complete with built-in storage cubbies and a work surface for coloring or homework.

Furniture Redo
Sometimes all that blah piece of furniture needs is a dose of style CPR. Check out these two easy projects for ideas.

Grid Wall Project
Here's a great way to add storage when you have no space to spare. We used 1x2s for the horizontal bars and 1x3s for the vertical bars and hung artwork, bins, and peg racks to hold toys galore.

Baby Furniture Gets a Redo
See how we turned a baby-changing table into a handy (and stylish!) bar cart.

DIY Urn Table
Create a stately side table out of a metal or resin urn in minutes.

DIY Bracket Beauties
Add an easy embellishment to your kitchen island with these brackets.

DIY Twig Lamp
A lamp kit and a sweep through the backyard to collect twigs are all you need for this natural lamp.

Custom Curtain Rods
Pruners, a relatively straight tree branch, white spray paint -- voila! A nature-inspired, functional work of art. Use tie-top curtains to adjust for the curves of the branch -- no rings or clips needed.

Stylish DIY Project Ideas

Easy Upholstered Headboard
We made a gorgeous tailored headboard from plywood, foam, and a tight-fitting slipcover. Try it yourself with our how-to instructions below.

Dressed-Up Curtain Panels
Cottage-style rooms would look amazing with windows dressed with these flirty curtain panels. Start with purchased panels and add the ruffle yourself.

Restyled Store-Bought Lampshade
Turn discount-store lampshades into style markers in your home. Try this no-sew lampshade slipcover to add elegance and class.

Country-Style Coffee Table
This country-style table is both pretty and practical thanks to a clutter-concealing skirt attached with hook-and-loop tape. To get this weathered look, follow our step-by-step instructions.

Easy No-Sew Bed Skirt
Bring the plushness of terry from bath to bed with an easy layered bed skirt.

Stylish Shelves
Learn how to make this and two other shelves for your entryway, bathroom, or bedroom. All you need are a few supplies and basic woodworking skills.

3-Step Makeover: Breakfast Nook

Step 1: Getting Started
Breakfast rooms are, by definition, sunny, cozy, and inviting. But this one was the opposite: tract-white walls, a predictable chandelier hung too high, bare windows, and a way-long table. The room's architectural features were a bonus -- and a curse. How to make the mismatched windows seem like they belong together? How to soften the harsh angles? Tame the cavernous ceiling?

The Makeover To-Do List
Make the small nook seem larger.
Create a roomy and functional floor plan.
Add character and style.

Step 2: Color and Character

The room's natural focal point -- the tall wall with the arched window -- fell short of its potential. Robin's-egg blue paint and flowing draperies create a dramatic accent wall. Playing off the arched window, a chunky round table and oversize drum shade light fixture add curves to the boxy space. Finally, two slipcovered chairs cover hard ladder-backs, inviting diners to sit a spell.

Step 2 Room Elements

Accent Wall: Leave an area of the accent wall white, creating a floor-to-ceiling arch around the stacked windows and uniting them. The arched window now looks larger.
Window Treatments: Floral panels soften the windows and introduce pattern. Hung just below the top window, they draw the eye up. Dressed with a simple Roman shade, the small window doesn't shout for attention.
Lighting: The large drum shade holds its own against the vaulted ceiling and adds texture and dimension to the room. Cover a plain shade with fabric for a customized look.
New Furniture: The glossy white round table gives the nook breathing room and brightens its center. A simple ribbon boosts the style on the plain slipcovers that camouflage the old chairs.


Step 3: Accessorize



With a few high-impact finishing details, the breakfast nook becomes the welcoming spot it was meant to be. To play off the blue wall, add bright yellow slipcovers and a colorful striped rug in the center of the room. With the scale and balance issues resolved, it's time to focus on the little extras to pull the room together. Piping and two colors of ribbon detail the slipcovers and a scalloped border accents the curtain panels. Potted plants bring texture, color, and softness to bare spots and are longer-lasting alternatives to fresh bouquets.

Step 3 Room Elements



Window Treatments: A scalloped border trims the curtains and breaks up whiteness. The dark blue edging links to the Roman shade.
Artwork: A decorative platter is a fresh alternative to boxy framed art.
New Furniture and Greenery: Plants on a new sideboard add color and texture. Remove the plants and the table is a handy buffet.
Textiles: Coordinating outdoor fabrics that resist staining and fading unite mismatched chairs. New custom slipcovers are short for a kicky look. With the oval rug, the nook's square look is finally history.

3-Step Makeover: Small Living Room

Stage 1: Getting Started
With spartan white walls, bare windows, and mismatched furnishings, this small living room lacks personality and coziness. Pushing the furniture against one wall -- opposite the entertainment center -- is a no-brainer floor plan, but it leaves a runway down the middle, blocks the tall windows, and squeezes access to the adjacent stairs.

Stage 2: Color and a Floor Plan
Begin the living room's transformation with lush green paint, plucking the hues from a fabric you want to add later. Light celery washes the walls and ceiling; a darker shade in a durable lacquer-like gloss makes the simple woodwork pop. The door is no longer in use, so we pulled the seating to the room's center, using a sisal rug to define the area. The new arrangement guides you through the room, making it feel more spacious than its 200 square feet.

Stage 2 Room Elements

Existing Furniture: Dress up the slipcovered sofa and chairs with two-sided fabric pillows and new upholstery.
New Furniture: Multitaskers that fill in the holes and adapt for entertaining are key -- the elegant black tray table folds away when there's a crowd, and the space-saving green demilune table doubles as a mini bar.
Windows: Wood blinds with wide fabric tape give windows a finished look.
Artwork: Banish blank walls with a simple grid of framed vintage prints from old books. Green mats coordinate with the trim color.
Lighting: A pair of celadon lamps draws the eye to the room's focal point, the sofa.

Stage 3: Pile on Pattern
In the final stage, the details make the difference. Take the room from livable to lovable with the addition of a few new pieces, layers of pattern, and a mix of accessories.

Classic Kid's Room Summer gallery

Summer Breeze in White

Summer Breeze in Toffee Brown

Summer Breeze in Black

Classic Kid's Room Collection

Laguna Beach

Newport Beach