Aspirational Libraries and Our Guestroom Library

I absolutely love Baroque libraries. I have torn pages out of magazines and now I collect them to Pinterest. My goal is to have the look by connecting sturdy bookcases and add some millwork to make them look built-in.

This is the National Library of the Czech Republic. It holds 27,000 books. I don’t have that many, but maybe close.

Library photos I have saved have towering vertical shelving in multi-story rooms. We have 9-foot ceilings.

This is a beautiful 18th-century baroque library, but it also has some practical features.

The bookcases we bought from IKEA are 6 feet and 5.5-inches tall. Eventually I would like to add another layer of shelving, then have continuous crown molding finish them to the ceiling.

There is lighting in this library, so you can find the book you want, if you were still actually allowed to touch the books.

Old libraries in photos are dark and kinda moody. I want enough light to find what I am looking for.

A rolling ladder gives access to the highest shelf. A convenient step stool works for me.

Most of the photos I have saved have dark wood, like mahogany or walnut.

I have dark wood in our living room and dining room, but we have stuck with white wood in the bedrooms. I’m thinking more Swedish Gustavianish, although it is actually more Swedish IKEA.

I love the idea of a crystal chandelier, though.

I love the gothic decoration on this bookshelf.

This is the Alma Jordan Library at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad and Tobago. They have as much trouble fitting all the books as I have.

I would love it if all of my books could be arranged, in order and easy to find.

Book shelves as wall decor are great, but they aren’t as practical for storing and later finding a lot of books.

This arch bookshelf is interesting, but not really practical.

This arrangement fits bookshelves under a staircase, but curved shelves are not going to store as many books.

This was my office some time in the late ’90s. See my Gateway computer and box of floppy discs?

My desk was a sheet of safety glass on bookshelves from Office Depot. I am still sitting on the same steno chair, although I had it recovered.

Wall brackets in every stud hold up shelving boards. I had more shelves in the dining room, kitchen and bedrooms.

We found these bookcases at an estate sale.

They go well with my Arts & Crafts style furniture. Work in progress.

They don’t hold a lot, so they are just for travel related books.

We bought IKEA HEMNES Bookcases for the guestroom/library.

At first we went around the corner.

I unpacked my books and my husband’s books. I kept shifting as I filled up shelves.

It helped that a we had so many duplicates.

I bought library shelf labels,

I added plastic storage bins above the shelves to control that clutter.

We found we could add even more shelves if we moved the bed under the window. The narrow shelves fit in our bedroom.

Library Idea Pinterest Board >