Short of actually curling up in a relaxing space to get lost in the words on a page, there’s nothing reading enthusiasts love more than gazing at photo after photo of beautiful libraries, especially those they could potentially recreate in their own homes. This inspiration gallery of home libraries runs the gamut between secluded cabins in the woods and clever hammock placement to secret rooms and even bathtub-adjacent mini libraries.
Secluded Library & Guest House in the Woods
If seclusion is what you’re after, this ‘secret room’ in the woods of upstate New York offers an elevated level of privacy as you browse a floor-to-ceiling collection of books. Studio Padron designed the ‘Hemmelig Rom’, a 200-square-foot black cabin made from oak, as a guest house immersed in its woodland environment. The logs that make up the bookshelves and walls came from the forest outside.
Reading Net for Kids
Perfect for homes with mezzanines (especially if you line the walls with bookshelves), this idea from Spanish studio Playoffice would be fun to recreate. The ‘reading net’ is a meshed fabric suspended from the railings of a family library so kids (and adults) can climb in and enjoy a book in elevated comfort.
Dynamic Wall-to-Wall Library in Costa Rica
Architect Gianni Botsford designed this unusual narrow home on stilts for the tropical jungle of Costa Rica, lining an entire wall of it with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves broken up by dynamic diagonal lines that meat the beams of the roof.
Library in the Home of Architect Mario Bellini
Presented as part of a Salone del Mobile exhibition called ‘Where Architects Live,’ this photo lets us peek at Mario Bellini’s home drafting table in his mezzanine library, as well as the piano and record room below. What you can’t see in the picture is that the bookshelves in that library continue nearly 30 feet into the air, accessible by sliding ladders.
Wraparound Home Library
Books are the primary focus in the entire common area of ‘Hendee-Borg House’ in Sonoma, California by William O’Brien Jr. The living and dining area is flanked by wall-to-wall bookshelves on three sides.
