{"id":16376,"date":"2025-10-27T17:46:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T17:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/?p=16376"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:28:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:28:26","slug":"aspirational-libraries-and-our-guestroom-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/aspirational-libraries-and-our-guestroom-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspirational Libraries and Our Guestroom Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The National Library of the Czech Republic
Over 27,000 books, globes, and astronomical instruments
Built in 1722, designed by architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, a German Bohemian architect of the Baroque era
Located in the Clementinum complex in Prague
Photo by Jorge Royan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

Library photos I have saved have towering vertical shelving in multi-story rooms. We have 9-foot ceilings.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Baroque library in Prague
Photo by Jorge Royan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a beautiful 18th-century baroque library, but it also has some practical features.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Baroque library in Prague
Photo by Jorge Royan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is lighting in this library, so you can find the book you want, if you were still actually allowed to touch the books.<\/p>\n

Old libraries in photos are dark and kinda moody. I want enough light to find what I am looking for.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Baroque library in Prague
Photo by Jorge Royan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A rolling ladder gives access to the highest shelf. A convenient step stool works for me.<\/p>\n

Most of the photos I have saved have dark wood, like mahogany or walnut.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Gustavian Style Drottningholm Palace Library
Royal Domain of Drottningholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Photo by Uwe Aranas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have dark wood in our living room and dining room, but we have stuck with white wood in the bedrooms. I\u2019m thinking more Swedish Gustavianish, although it is actually more Swedish IKEA.<\/p>\n

\"\"
1920 Photo of Swedish Interior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I love the idea of a crystal chandelier, though.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Detail of Gothic Library
By Frederick Clarke Withers (1828 – 1901)
English architect in America, especially renowned for High Victorian Gothic and Gothic Revival Ecclesiastical designs.
1859 Walnut, oak, pine
American Decorative Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Hamilton Fish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I love the gothic decoration on this bookshelf.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Books on shelves at UWI Library, Trinidad and Tobago
Photo by Ramchand Bruce Phagoo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Library Bookshelf
Photo by Stewart Butterfield<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I would love it if all of my books could be arranged, in order and easy to find.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Decorative Bookshelf
Photo by Aashaa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"\"
Arch Bookshelf
Library in Malo Crni\u0107e
This is just decorative. The rest of the shelves are decorative.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This arch bookshelf is interesting, but not really practical.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Saakashvili Presidential Library in Tbilisi, Georgia
Photo by Giorgi Balakhadze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This arrangement fits bookshelves under a staircase, but curved shelves are not going to store as many books.<\/p>\n

\"\"
My office in the ’90s
A sheet of glass is supported by bookshelves.
Wall brackets hold shelving boards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was my office some time in the late ’90s. See my Gateway computer and box of floppy discs?<\/p>\n

My desk was a sheet of safety glass on bookshelves from Office Depot. I am still sitting on the same steno chair.<\/p>\n

Wall brackets in every stud hold up shelving boards. I had more shelves like this in every room in the house.<\/p>\n

\"Putting
Putting away books and hanging paintings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We found these bookcases at an estate sale.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Bookshelves in our living room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They go well with my Arts & Crafts style furniture. Work in progress.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Bookshelves in our living room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They don’t hold a lot, so they are just for travel related books.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Unpacking books in the new house<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We bought IKEA HEMNES Bookcases for the guestroom\/library.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Our Guestroom\/Library
This was the first arrangement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At first we went around the corner.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Our Guestroom\/Library
I organized the books as I unpacked them.
I stuffed them where they went and then re-organized over and over because I had not left enough space.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I unpacked my books and my husband’s books. I kept shifting as I filled up shelves.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Our guestroom with library shelf labels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It helped that a we had so many duplicates.<\/p>\n

I bought library shelf labels,<\/p>\n

\"\"
Plastic Storage Bins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I added plastic storage bins above the shelves to control that clutter.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Our guestroom with most of the books un-packed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We found we could add even more shelves if we moved the bed under the window. The narrow shelves fit in our bedroom.<\/p>\n

\"\"
More Bookshelves in our bedroom filled with DVDs, books, craft projects and more
(This is the Gateway cow that came with my first Gateway computer.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Library Idea Pinterest Board ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21,31,8,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration","category-new-house","category-projects","category-research"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/featured_guestroom-library-1.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14807,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2024\/08\/edith-farnsworth-modern-one-room-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":16376,"position":0},"title":"Edith Farnsworth Modern One Room House","author":"Carla","date":"August 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The one room glass and steel Edith Farnsworth House seems to float above the ground. It was designed in the International style of Modern architecture by Mies van der Rohe. In 1945, Edith Farnsworth purchased nine acres of beautiful wooded property on the Fox River near Plano, Illinois. She was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "House Plans"","block_context":{"text":"House Plans","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/house-plans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Featured Image Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/featured-farnsworth_house.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/featured-farnsworth_house.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/featured-farnsworth_house.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/featured-farnsworth_house.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14869,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2024\/08\/1116-square-foot-pearlman-mountain-cabin\/","url_meta":{"origin":16376,"position":1},"title":"1,116 square foot Pearlman Mountain Cabin","author":"Carla","date":"August 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The 1,116 square foot Pearlman Mountain Cabin is in the Idyllwild art community of Mount San Jacinto, California. It was designed by a renowned architect, then built by family. The cabin was designed and built to be a weekend cottage for the family of a doctor in Santa Ana, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "House Plans"","block_context":{"text":"House Plans","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/house-plans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/featured-Pearlman_Mountain_Cabin.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/featured-Pearlman_Mountain_Cabin.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/featured-Pearlman_Mountain_Cabin.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/featured-Pearlman_Mountain_Cabin.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":73,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/katrina-cottages\/","url_meta":{"origin":16376,"position":2},"title":"Katrina Cottages","author":"Carla","date":"January 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"For those who don\u2019t remember, after Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) there was an urgent need for housing in the Gulf Coast. Katrina Cottages were an alternative to trailers and temporary housing. And they were adorable. Designer Marianne Cusato and architect Eric Moser won the 2006 People's Design Award from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "House Plans"","block_context":{"text":"House Plans","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/house-plans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"FEMA Katrina Cottage photo from Wikimedia by Jennifer Smits","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/katrina_cottage.jpg?fit=760%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/katrina_cottage.jpg?fit=760%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/katrina_cottage.jpg?fit=760%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/katrina_cottage.jpg?fit=760%2C400&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16183,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/the-modernist-ben-rose-house-in-the-movie-ferris-buellers-day-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":16376,"position":3},"title":"The Modernist Ben Rose House (in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)","author":"Carla","date":"July 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When I posted about the Farnsworth House, I was asked if it was from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It\u2019s not, but there is some crossover. The house they are talking about isn\u2019t Ferris Bueller\u2019s house. It\u2019s Cameron Frye\u2019s house. 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We decided we could use the money we were paying every month for DirecTV to buy an antenna and DVRs instead. We buy each season when it comes out, then binge watch without commercials. This is great! But we ended up with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Log Cabins"","block_context":{"text":"Log Cabins","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/log-cabin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Project: Storage for DVDs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/featured_image-DVD_card_catalogs.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/featured_image-DVD_card_catalogs.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/featured_image-DVD_card_catalogs.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/featured_image-DVD_card_catalogs.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/featured_image-DVD_card_catalogs.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6606,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/fema-tiny-modulars-create-temporary-tiny-house-neighborhoods\/","url_meta":{"origin":16376,"position":5},"title":"FEMA Tiny Modulars Create Temporary Tiny House Neighborhoods","author":"Carla","date":"July 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"After every natural disaster FEMA provides temporary housing. There have been a lot of different options tried. Some people are put up in travel trailers. Other times small modular or park model trailers are used. These trucks are bringing in small modular homes to set up a temporary neighborhood. 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