Books, Bookshelves & Dining Rooms

I love books.  I love reading.  I love being surrounded by books.  (If you saw my parents' house you would know why I am most comfortable surrounded by lots of books.)

One thing that made me so excited about our new house was having a real dining room....a really big dining room.  Too big, in fact.  Which is perfect for my dream of having a dining room + library.  It's a work in progress as we acquire Ikea Billy Bookcases from Craigslist...why do we have to want what seems to be the least popular color?  Two weekends ago we got our 5th bookcase and I also bought a Groupon to a used bookstore...b/c I am out of books and I don't want to become a tchotchke lady...anymore than I already am.  I am hoping to find some design books...art books...architecture books...along those lines. If you have any good book suggestions....leave it in the comments, please!

Diane Bergeron Interiors

 My fear of heights kicked in when I saw this room.

House and Garden 

Mosby Building Arts

I have that room plus two other book shelves housing books and guess what...my latest idea is to build more shelves.  I could be overdoing it but I saw this project in BHG's Do It Yourself Magazine that I can't stop thinking about.  Also, you can't create too much storage in a Boston area home...b/c they come with almost none.  The creator in DIY built boxes to fit flea market drawers/boxes/baskets she found.  You have probably seen versions of box shelves but they are usually not touching...or one unit.  I recently saw a pricier version in Architectural Digest that are stunning.  The boxes are a mix of different stains.  Really pretty.  Can I find the picture right now?  No, b/c I hate tearing pages out of magazines which makes referencing things difficult.

My "for warmer weather" project list is getting awfully long.

Here are some unique takes on bookshelves (If you google bookshelves your mind will be blown.  Mine seem so boring now):

Charles Kalpakian

Olivier Dolle

This is similar to the version in DIY...but less do it yourself looking.

Sean Yoo

Source unknown

Apartment Therapy

And just when you think you have your plan all set...you see something that makes you rethink what you decided on....I like the design on the inside of the box.