Home Libraries: Interiors Inspiration

Charleston House

Tim Gosling

Displaying books in a traditional library style provides a unique and striking backdrop for a formal dining room. Interior by Tim Gosling

Farr Estate

An old-school home library – think tartan blankets and leather – is wonderfully inviting when grouped around the fireplace.

Image: Farr House, on the Farr Estate in Inverness

Nicola Harding & Co.

A beautiful blue dining room by Nicola Harding & Co. doubles as a striking space to house a huge collection of books.

Bowood House Hotel & Spa

Adding a cushioned fender to your fireplace creates extra seating space for when you want to read around the hearth in the winter months, as in this cosy library.

Image: Bowood House Hotel & Spa

Salvesen Graham

If you’re all about the aesthetic (and know exactly what titles you have) colour-coding can be a great look. Painting the inside of the shelves a darker colour – like in this elegant living room by design duo Salvesen Graham – creates depth and interest.

Natalia Miyar Atelier

Cosy reading nook with chaise lounges by Natalia Miyar Atelier

Broosk Saib

A library in the loo? Considering the amount of time we spend in there, it isn’t too crazy an idea. Adding a bookshelf – as seen here by interior designer and self-confessed library obsessive Broosk Saib – is a great way to get creative in a small guest bathroom.

Ben Pentreath

An elegant books corner in a living room by Ben Pentreath

Sigmar

This stunning wall of books, courtesy of Swedish designer Ebba Thott of Sigmar, also works as a divider between living room and library.

Heal’s

Darker shades create a more intimate, enveloping space – ideal for losing yourself in a book.

Image and armchair by Heal’s

Gavin Houghton Interior Design

This dramatic living space by Gavin Houghton Interior Design breathes new life into the retro talking pit – it would be the perfect spot to curl up with your favourite novel.

Christopher Peters

Thinking of designing your own home library? Bespoke is the way forward – Christopher Peters designed this Prussian-blue Newgate bookshelf to be adjustable so that shelves can be moved around, with large cupboards underneath to provide ample storage (all the better to store more of your favourite books).

Kate Guinness

This bright and breezy library is part of a London project by Kate Guinness. We love the calming shades of blue and cosy reading nook with its deep armchair and retro reading lamp.

Photo: © James McDonald

Clive Christian & Taylor Howes

Clive Christian collaborated with interior design studio, Taylor Howes on this stately, traditional library.

Hatchards Piccadilly (a partner of Clive Christian) helps add the final touches to projects like these – sourcing special editions and rare issues. It will also continue to help you build your collection after a library is finished, as part of Clive Christian’s membership service, The Club. After all, what dream library would be complete without piles of beautifully-bound books to immerse yourself in?

clivechristianfurniture.com; taylorhowes.co.uk; hatchards.co.uk

Courtney Madden

Self confessed hoarder, Courtney Madden (of @cococollective, her Instagram that’s a treasure trove of her maximalist take to interiors), has a splendid example of how home libraries can be done.

Magpie-ing elements of vintage pieces, to contemporary artworks, to books all in between; it’s a feast for the eyes.

Charleston House

The Bloomsbury group ‘paints in circles, lives in squares, and loves in triangles’. That’s how the literary group of the early 20th Century (including the likes of Virginia Woolf), were famously described.

So it makes it no surprise that their house they lived in, Charleston House, was a manifestation of their creativity. We have a particular penchant for this hand-painted muraled home library that stacked their books, inspiring the creative genius of Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, among others.

charleston.org.uk

Image: Charleston © The Charleston Trust; photograph: Lee Robbins

Clive Christian

© Clive Christian

Colefax & Fowler

© Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler