Old Sweetwater

Old Sweetwater

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

I'm A Bookie

No, not a bookie as in taking bets, but a person who absolutely adores books!  My honey and i had our our first home that I designed, custom built when we were just 19 years old. It had a built-in, floor to ceiling bookcases in the living room. In our Atlanta home, we had them in the Morning Room and in our Master Bedroom. THAT was luxury!  In fact, we've had them in every home ever since, except our current *lake home* because we ran out of steam. Here are some wonderful examples. Anyone else smitten with them? Photos: all are pretty traditional except the last one...a new, contemporary design that makes it easier to read the titles.






43 comments:

BonjourRomance said...

Bonjour Janean,
Thanks for all these great images from one "bookie" to another! I especially love old leather bindings with all the gilt edges. Perfect for a lazy afternoon of reading as well as a great drcorative element - perhpas the perfect design tool! Sorry I've missed a few posts, I've gotten a bit behind in my blog rounds.
Hope you're having a good week.
Mimi

Cindy said...

i love home libraries. i love the 5th one down. such a cozy looking reading nook....
hugs, cindy

Shay said...

It is totally my dream to have a house that will support a bookcase display as large and gorgeous as some of those ones are!

I gave away 400 books about 6 years ago because I didn't have the room to keep them in this house.

Robin@DecoratingTennisGirl said...

Janean,
I love bookshelves. I have a small one next to the fireplace at the Cape house. When we build on our family room, I am planning one wall to be a window seat flanked by bookcases. I have to have somewhere to put all those "old Hollywood" books!
xo
Robin

Gail said...

Uh, do you like books?

Deb said...

the last one is very unique...

Anonymous said...

Janean,
Love them! I'm a fellow bookie! I have a love for old shabby dressers that I make into bookcases. With my collection growing it is hard to accomadate all these books! At one of my favorite stores, they converted an old 1950's retro fridge into a bookcase, Pretty Fun! Keep up the good work, I would love for you to visit my site sometime, I'm a newbie to blogspot! Take Care

Steph (A Move to Small Town USA)

Unknown said...

Gosh, I could be happy with any one of those book shelves.
My home is small so I do a lot of thrift store book and then pass them on. But oh for a cozy place with just all books.
Thanks for posting these great pictures.

Tammy @ tinselshop.com said...

Hi Janean,
There is just something about a bookcase full of books that says "home". I would LOVE a little nook filled with books and magazines just for me!

Best wishes,
Tammy

ain't for city gals said...

I love books but seldom read one more than once...I have about 10 that I have kept..might change my mind after seeing these book shelves for the new house..

Pondside said...

Bookcases in the living room, kitchen, family room and guest room, but not yet in the master bedroom. I'm a bookie too, and love the traditional sort of bookcase.

Maura @ Kisiwa Creek Photography said...

Good Morning Janean! I LOVE book cases..but I don't have one. Too many moves have lightened my load of books plus our little cottage doesn't have a lot of room for that kind of luxury. I LOVE the first and second to last photo's the best...I'm a Traditional kind of girl I guess. I hope you have a wonderful day.... Maura:)

Ticking and Toile said...

Hi Janean,
I love books.....in fact I have been known to get kicked out of bookstores at closing time.....I just can't leave....I would love to have a "library" someday with comfy chairs & a big row of books!
Thanks for the nice post.

xo,

Shellagh

Farm Girl said...

Oh Janean, I have more book cases than furniture. I have more books than any one person should ever have. "I am Kim and I have a book addiction." I love all of those pictures of book cases. It is so nice you share my problem. I would rather go into a book store than eat.
Great post by the way.

Suz said...

The book group I belong to is called the Bookies...and we always get a laugh when we make reservation for lunch....
I love the one that looked like a nook....a special hideaway to read
I have a few bookcases!
I love old books
oh heck I love books

Julie Harward said...

Me too...I have a wall of them in our little library...a peaceful place to sit. Come say hi :D

FairfieldHouse said...

Janean,

We have floor to ceiling book cases taking an entire wall in the family room. The shelves are filled with classics and antique books that we read.

Deborah

It's me said...

I love books.............wowwww these cabinet are so biggg and nice,..........have a happy evening...hugs from me Ria....come to see my post please.......it's my colection.........service.............bye !!

Andrea said...

LOVE them "all!" I have missed you.
Hope you are doing well. Praying for you and yours!
Hugs, andrea

Barb said...

Oh my goodness! I love books, especially old books! The bookcases were beautiful and gave me some great ideas - thanks for all the inspiration! And, thanks for all the lovely comments you make on my blog!

Blessings,
Barb

Melissa Price said...

Oh, how my heart leaps with joy to think of having my own library some day! I absolutely love to read. I love the feel of the pages between my fingers, the sound of the pages turning, and the way your able to relax and let all your cares fade when you read. I'm not crazy about the Kindles... give me paper pages please! I could seriously go for a quiet cozy corner as pictured in the 5th photo. Thanks for sharing!

God's Peace,
Melissa

myletterstoemily said...

you had me drooling over this post.

we are building a staircase around a
book shelf to connect three floors,
and i am so excited.

i wanted books to be the central
focus of our home.

Bernie said...

Love, love, love books and can never have enough bookcases..books are everywhere in my home and I make no apologies....:-) Hugs

Kymberly Foster Seabolt said...

Gorgeousness! Makes me want to curl up with a cup of hot tea and a few great books.

Thanks for the comments on my blog re: Manual DeFrost and Me (For the record I'm not a fan but I'll take your good advice under advisement. Thanks!)

Karen said...

I'm a book-a-holic, and don't have enough bookcases!

Tanna said...

Hello, my name is Tanna. I am a bookie. Love books... the smell, the feel, the words... take you any place, teach you anything, lift you up, make you cry, elicit a bellylaugh... books are good!

KTW said...

Beautiful! :) My books (and there are many) are stashed all over because I can't seem to convince the Hubster how much we need built-ins. :( Perhaps these pics will inspire him!

Susan B said...

Love that last photo! I love books too...and have so many that I love to read. As well as a collection of antique books. I would love to have a house with a library, with cozy places to sit and read. Thanks for sharing all the great photos!

Dolores said...

I love the warm look that book shelves add to a home. I love all the ones in your pictures, except .......I'm not sure about the books over the mantle.....

We have wall to wall ceiling to floor bookshelves in our living room.... love it!

Cassandra said...

I, too, as you can see from my blog, am an ardent bibliophile, Janean! I am blessed to have bookshelves in almost every room of my townhouse and farmhouse and fill them with my collection of antiquarian decorative publishers' editions. Now that I am retired, I am enjoying reading each one...Cassandra ♥

Cindy said...

Me too! Books are a passion and I almost always am reading more than one at a time. To quote Erasmus: “When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I know that I could have shelves like that in my home now but my dream is to have walls of shelves in several rooms when we move to a smaller place someday. I like the movie The Holiday & I love the house that Kate Winslet lives in, tiny with lots of shelves.

Just a little something from Judy said...

I would enjoy sitting in any of these libraries. Reading has always been one of my favorite pasttimes. I think the 5th one is the one I would choose, but I will take any cozy, comfy corner and lots of good books.

Thud said...

Some interesting ideas here for my current project here in England...thanks.

Technodoll said...

Ohhhhh you hit a soft spot o'mine... and a dream... someday, we shall have a library in our home. Floor to ceiling shelves. Cozy. Inviting. Peaceful. YUM!!

Anonymous said...

Janean, Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully we will be able to quit our day jobs sometime! HA, I love books and book shelves. I work for a custom furniture company and i appreciate all the bookshelf pics, I have saved them for ideas!! Sue

Julie said...

Janean!
Hello. Catching up with all my bloggy sisters. Been tied up with more urgent things and missed staying in touch with all of you...
Love the post. I especially liked picture #6. And I wondered what the two things were in front of the black marble fireplace in pic #3..... not familiar with those.
Thanks again for a wonderful and enjoyable post. Hugs to you. How are your changes coming in your changing over to more white???:-)

Katie said...

I'm actually working right now on finding the perfect reading chair for our library. The right chair is out there somewhere I just have to find it. I love the book cases so much I whined until my hubby built some..LOL! Really nice pictures Janean!

Suzy's Vintage Attic said...

I too love books. If I had a bigger house, my husband and I would love to have a library. We have so many books spread out throughout hew house. Having a reading room would be wonderful!
I love the photos

Have a lovely weekend
Warm wishes
Isabelle x

Melkorka said...

I love all these images - books make a home so much more cozy :) thanks for sharing

Beverly @ My Sew Sweet said...

I love books too. One of my favorite things to do is curl up with a good book. I used to keep them all, but in the last few years, pass them on or give them away. I have a lot of shelves in my sewing room, and have had various ones in other houses.
I do love a library look bookcase full of books and often find myself looking to see what others read.
Thanks for the great pictures.

Debbiedoos said...

What great inspiration....I appreciate you stopping by so much:O) Debbie

Deana Sidney said...

I live with a history professor, so don't get me started about books! LOve them. My dream library has walls of them everywhere especially curling around doors and windows. Lovely photos.