Now more than ever, Mason Cooley’s famous quote is resonating with us collectively: “Reading Gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are.” Since most of us are stying put, now’s the time to dig into any unread books around the house. But then what to do with all of the wonderful books you collect on your journey? Sometimes it’s more impactful to leave books out rather than storing them neatly away. I’ve always been a sucker for the romance and implied intellect of teetering stacks of books on the brink of falling over. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a family of avid readers so there were always books lying about. My sister surrounds her bed in books — you literally have to step over them to get in the bed. That might be taking things a bit far but still I love to see signs of what people are interested in and books are probably the best indication of a person’s personality and tastes. For me, the more the merrier.

And be sure to check out more fun book display ideas on my Pinterest account: https://www.pinterest.ca/sdimma/books/

I love this image because, not only is the classic architecture beyond stunning, it also showcases one of my favourite ways to decorate a room with books. This symmetrical set up is one of my go to’s — where you place a pair of matching chairs in front of a table or cabinet and then load the surface with stacks of books and objects.

Between Arriz and I, we have so many books that we never have enough room on the shelves so we gravitate to ideas like this. In our old house we created this exact set up in front of the large front window in the living room. It’s a great trick for making a large room feel more intimate — the table pushes the chairs closer to the furnishings so things get cosy.

It’s all about the layers here and especially about the haphazard way that the books and mags have been put back on the full height shelves. You know that the person who lives here is a die-heart reader, constantly pulling books and catalogues out to read: signs of a life truly lived in a home. And that pink and black paint combo is pretty memorable too!

I know this look is not for everyone, especially anyone with kids and pets. Although, If your staircase is wide enough, you could pull it off. And you have to admit, there is something very romantic about books stacked up on the stairs. It reminds me of some wonderful old second hand bookstores I have visited over the years. The patina on the steps and walls adds to the overall romance. Why do we all try yearn to keep things so new and perfect when age is such a beautiful thing?

There are many versions of this cool stacking shelf design that transforms a stack of books into a modern sculpture. My favourite is the Story shelf from DWR because it’s nice and sturdy and amazing quality.

The white version looks especially great against white walls and creates a very cool seamless floating effect as seen here in Alaina Kaczmarski’s home.

Well seeing this washroom pretty much made my day — a room that you never need to leave. It might not be the most practical design but I imagine myself floating in the tub for hours, languidly pulling out books as I fancy. Heaven.

In this stairway and hallway, book storage becomes part of the salon style wall of art – within a bookshelf that appears to have been created by filling in an old doorway. Leaving the old door frame and trim is just so much more compelling than covering up the entire space with drywall, not to mention a whole lot easier! Seeing the remnants of the house’s former life brings so much soul to the experience of the space. A home’s history has more impact then we might first imagine.