If you love books and have a collection of them, you want to figure out how to store them and display them. These home library ideas help you show off your collection in your home.
Dedicate One Wall to Books
Do you have a large book collection, perhaps one big enough to fill up an entire wall? One of the best home library ideas for a larger collection is to dedicate an entire wall of a room to book storage. If your home doesn’t have built-in bookcases, a bookcase that you can add on to and customize, such as the Billy bookcase collection from Ikea, can be ideal. You can add extenders on to the top of each bookcase and purchase additional shelving units as your collection grows. If you are feeling crafty, you can add wood trim around the edges of your bookcases to make the shelves look as though they are part of the wall.
One advantage of dedicating an entire wall to your books is that your collection becomes part of the room itself. You can put seating directly in front of the bookcases, creating a reading area, or otherwise arrange the furniture in the room in front of the bookcases.
Help Your Books Float
A concealed floating bookshelf, such as this one from the Container Store, is a simple way to show off a few of your favorite, hardcover books. The shelf can support up to 15 pounds of books, with the book on the bottom serving as the support base. Once the shelf is mounted to the wall and the books are stacked on top, it looks as though they are floating. Hang one concealed shelf by your bed or reading area, or arrange a group of three or so on the wall to create a gallery of books.
Organize Your Books By Color
People tend to fall into two camps when it comes to sorting their books. Some will sort by genre, then alphabetical by author name. Others sort by color. While sorting by genre and author name makes it easier to find a book, sorting by color can be a lot more visually appealing, especially if you have titles in a variety of hues.
Arranging your books on shelves based on the color of their spines can give your library a more pulled together look. It’s also much more pleasant to look at, especially if you group the colors together as they would appear on the color wheel. For example, put your red books next to your red-orange and orange books and your blue books next to your blue-green and purple books.
There is one instance when grouping by color might not be the best move, and that’s if your collection is on the large side. It can be pretty challenging to find a title you’re looking for from a sea of 1,000 books that are arranged based on color only.
A great book collection enriches your life in a few ways. First, reading those books feeds your mind. Second, having a fantastic collection can make your house feel like a home.
