Friday Fun: Window Seats in Home Libraries

In addition to ladders, all good home libraries require a comfy window-seat for reading and gazing aimlessly outside, preferably at an inspiring landscape.

I could happily sleep in that window-seat, in this off-grid house built by Highcraft Builders, from Highcraft.net

Combining ladders and window-seats sounds perfect, but I have some concerns about how accessible those books on the higher shelves really are. From home-designing.com

If the window-seat is taken, you can always use the armchair next to it, and enjoy the warmth of that stove, from The Spruce.

Even the smallest nook can offer that combination of books and comfortable seating, from My Domaine.

This one doesn’t look all that comfortable (a bit narrow), but it gets extra points for cat content, from Homes and Antiques.

Now that’s what I call a view, and a possible book club, from Pinterest.

A bit dark and gloomy, but oh, the comfort of those sofas/windowseats, photo credit: Aaron Leitz at The Nordroom.

Friday Fun: City Views

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Friday Fun: Bauhaus Inspiration

Back in the days when I didn’t have children and lived on my own, I was very keen on a minimalist, clean-cut type of house. I still find them immensely restful, and couldn’t really cope with something very flowery, fussy and maximalist. But the pictures below are more aspirational than realistic for my current lifestyle. Perhaps the Bauhaus aesthetic is more appealing on the outside than the inside?

I think that sofa needs to be more comfortable, but I love the rug. From Livingetc.

Functional and light-filled, Kasthall, from Dezeen.com

I do like the calm of this bedroom – and the cosiness of the fireplace, but it does feel a bit hotel-like. From Design Tips.

More warmth and comfort in this living room, photo by Stephen Kent Johnson.

Bauhaus principles with nature coming into the house – and lots of bookshelves in this villa in Haifa, from Interior Design Ideas.

A skylight to maximise the sunshine and help the indoor tree grow, from Dwell

The contemporary version of Bauhaus is of course the Huf Haus, with its countless combinations of glass walls.

Friday Fun: Blue, Blue, Electric Blue…

As per my favourite colour and my favourite singer… a combination of books and blue shelves and/or decorative accents is irresistible. I may finally succumb to this palette in my next house (where I have no one else to please than myself!).

Blue and white are such a great combination, and white(ish) sofas might work now that I no longer have toddlers with chocolatey fingers. From vanessafrancis.com

A calming look for an office, especially if it’s not in a very cold climate. From Charlton and Park.

If blue bookshelves are not quite your thing, then a blue sofa can inject that spark of colour. From Apartment Therapy.

If you want to make the reading nook even more special, add some blue-and-white porcelain on a high shelf and an adorable furry friend, from FrancesZook.com

No, I’m not sure if that’s a sofa or a bed either, but it certainly would be good for a group read. From UrbanElectric.com

OK, wood panelling all around the walls might be a bit much nowadays, but it does look elegant, doesn’t it? From Elle Decor.

Love the contrast between the blue, orange and browns, design by Cory Connor, from Houzz.com

Friday Fun: Watching the World Go By…

It has been quite a week, so I think I deserve to just sit and enjoy the spring weather (hopefully), and read a little bit, of course.

Porch in San Francisco, from Pinterest

Another American porch in the Deep South, from Southern Living

Another traditional porch, from City Farmhouse.

Space in Japan is at a premium, but this house makes the most of its vertical structure to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji, from Tezuka Architects, Design Boom

A pergola can be just as nice as a porch, from Better Homes and Gardens

And of course any outdoor space is enhanced by a pet, Peter Fudge Gardens, from HomeDesigning.com

Friday Fun: Libraries Throughout the Ages

I was recently looking through some mid-twentieth-century libraries and thought how perfect they would be for my needs, but then I decided to go a little further back in time… and yes, I like all of them.

Baroque library in Prague, from smb-sarl.com

Regency library at Stourhead, from Country Life Picture Library.

Victorian library at the Athenaeum Club, from Country Life Picture Library.

Gothic Revival at Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham.

Edwardian library, from Pinterest.

Art Deco, at the French Institute, London. From lepetitjournal.com

Art Nouveau at the Munich Law Library.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Hanna House.

Mid-century from Australia, from architecture.au.com

Friday Fun: Back to Reading

The holiday fun is over, but as long as my appliances don’t fall apart all at once, I am in a studious mood once more and happy to sit quietly among my shelves. Or rather, those shelves below.

Home library in Brazil, from noterra.us

Tower House in Australia, from dezeen.com

The Long Brick House, UK, from Foldes Architects.

Townhouse in US, from Arch Daily.

Living room leading to the dining room, from feeta.pk

Cotia Library in Brazil, Granja Viana Architects.

I worry a bit about the books exposed to the sunlight below, but I like this teardrop-shaped two-storey library, from Decoist.com

Friday Fun: The Rollercoaster of Marseille

I finished off my trip to France last week with a very brief (one evening and one morning) stay in Marseille. I had never visited this city before, although I felt I knew it from the pages of Jean-Claude Izzo’s books. Undoubtedly, it is a tough city to live in: while I was there, a couple of buildings collapsed and burnt just two streets away from my hotel. I saw smashed shop windows, armed police in busy areas, heard the wail of police cars everywhere and was repeatedly warned to watch out for pickpockets. For all that, it is also a beautiful town, especially at sunset, bathed in a golden glow. It is also a very hilly town, so it’s an excellent work-out to wander through its streets, with an ice-cream reward at the end.

Friday Fun: Coucou from France!

I have scheduled this post to be published while I am away in France , hopefully not suffering too much travel disruption with the ongoing strikes and demonstrations. I am sure that there would be a public storming of the chateaux below if they were still owned by the aristocracy or the government! But Friday Fun bears little resemblance to reality, so let’s have some fun with chateaux again.

Now this is what I think of when I hear the word ‘chateau’ – for sale from the Patrice Bresse Agency.

A far more modest affair in Bourg-en-Bresse, the administrative seat of my ‘departement’. From Sotheby’s International.

Another charming (and abandoned) symmetrical chateau, courtesy of EMC2 Property.

This chateau is available for rental and it’s set in the Dordogne, a favourite region with Anglos. From Luxury Rentals Dordogne.

I never can resist a turret or two though, even though this chateau looks slightly out of place in the south of France, from Forbes.

You know what? This one looks almost manageable – only slightly bigger than a detached house in the UK (and probably a good deal cheaper), plus the indispensable turrets! Chateau du Pin.

Friday Fun: Books in Corridors

Don’t let an awkwardly-shaped space or too many windows stop your book shelving impulses. Here are some examples of how you can decorate your house with books.

Elegant sweeping corridor bookshelves, from Pinterest.

This house in the Texas desert uses every inch of wall next to the window, from Dezeen.com

Very similar concept for this house in the Hebrides, despite the clear difference in light. From WT Architecture

Another view of the same house – clearly built for booklovers, as there seem to be book spaces everywhere. From WT Architecture

This bookshelf is in the living room, but I could see it working just as well in a reasonably wide corridor. From Remodelista.com

This was my favourite discovery last week: a holiday home in British Columbia designed specifically around the huge book collection of this couple. I would certainly happily spend all my holidays here if I had such a wondrous property! From Blue Sky Architecture on 1Kindesign.com