Books Make A Home: Elegant Ideas for Storing and Displaying Books (2022)
£23.20£33.30 (-30%)
Books Make a Home explores the important role books play as decorative as well as functional items. Bibliophile Damian Thompson tours the rooms of the home in turn – Living Rooms, Home Libraries & Studies, Kitchens, Bedrooms & Bathrooms, Corridors & Staircases and Children’s Rooms – discovering a host of techniques for stacking, shelving and closeting volumes, and a wealth of practical design solutions for each space and every size of collection. You will learn how to make the best use of existing storage and create new space for an ever-growing collection; how to combine books with other personal effects to create eye-catching displays; and how to organize and care for your books. Books Make a Home is an insightful guide to enjoying books with the eye as well as with the mind. First Published in 2011, this is a new edition.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Ryland Peters & Small, Revised edition (12 April 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 192 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1788794222 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1788794220 |
| Dimensions | 21.97 x 2.29 x 27.94 cm |
by Vera Waters author
A beautiful, elegant book. Each page offers the reader a gift.Amazing photography, desriptive text delivered with warmth and insight.Although this book will grace any coffee table it will never rest there for long. The hard back cover and colourful jacket invite even the most reticent reader to explore within.If like me you are a collector of books, with a ‘would like to own it’ approach then be warned you will be re-reading it for hours and then find youself searching for similar books in this genre!
by Amazon Customer
Superb selection of photographs. Everything from formal libraries to overflowing night-stands. If you are seeking ways to order your own collection, or merely wish to have a nose at how other other addicts store their tomes, then this is the book for you.
by Catherine
Very. Ice book.
by Ashraf Ring
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A beautiful book full of inspiring text and impressive photos. Many good ideas for setting up books, how to take care of your books, etc.
by Hande Z
The book itself is excellent if you haven’t already bought it, but if you already have the 2011 edition, it may not be worth your while or money to buy this edition, described as a ‘revised edition’. I have gone through both editions, but nothing seems to have changed. The photographs are identical on every page and so are the verbal commentary. Maybe I had been drowsy and missed a corrected typo here and there, but otherwise, only the cover and the page on ‘Resources and Suppliers’ at page 149 are different.
by Mrs M
I bought it to get some ideas for fitted bookshelves in a barn conversion (which is rather awkward due to it’s shape) but actually did not come up with anything helpful. Some of it is just pictures of odd shaped bookshelves and things like that. What I wanted was design ideas for fitted shelving with adjustable shelves, what to make them of, how to finish them off and how to fit them in difficult spaces, what options there are to get up to high shelves – that sort of thing. I did not really come across what I was looking for. Having read other reviews I thought that might happen but thought I would give it a go. Overall the book has some nice pictures and is well presented so I am happy to keep it and will no doubt look at it again – however I would say it is a little bit lightweight if you have already got a bit of imagination and know that bookshelves look good in obvious places like the recesses either a fireplace etc.
by daftasabrush
Very interesting and full of ideas
by Julia Flyte
In this age of the E-reader, is there any point investing in shelves and bookshelves? The question is raised at the beginning of this book and not surprisingly, the author argues in favour of the visual and tactile qualities of having books in a home and how it signifies our desire to give them a permanent place in our lives.
The sub-title of this book is “Elegant Ideas for Storing and Displaying Books” and this is what it delivers. With the chapters focusing on different rooms in the house, it talks about the specific storage and display options that work best in those spaces. For example in living rooms you may choose to group books by colour for a more appealing aesthetic, in dining rooms it’s best to match the thickness of bookshelves to the dining table and in bathrooms – which are exposed to humid air – books must be stored behind doors or glass. There are also plenty of ideas for “eccentric” shelving – bookshelves that work almost as a piece of art or a conversation starter. One thing I appreciated is that many unusual shelving units are credited with their manufacturer or designer’s name, so that you can track them down for yourself.
The book includes useful tips on caring for and cleaning books, how to store old and valuable books, and different methods of organising books. It’s often amusing: for example the author discusses the dread that most bibliophiles feel when lending books to friends.
There are a few books around that cover similar territory, for example
Books Do Furnish a Room
and
At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live with and Care for Their Libraries
, but this is my favourite to date. I also appreciated the fact that the photographs usually allowed me to read the titles of the books in people’s collections.
One comment: you may have seen some of the photographs before. I recognised two from
Children’s Spaces: From Zero to Ten
and therefore I assume that others may also have previously featured in other publications.