I Dreamed of a Library (Part 4) — The Reveal

There are two kinds of vacations: an adventure vacation and a relaxation vacation. Also known as, my kind of vacation and Matt’s kind of vacation. If you go on an adventure vacation, your priority is exploration, finding great places to eat, seeing everything you can, as well as squeezing in some quality beach time. A relaxation vacation involves lying on a beach or relaxing in a hammock in the mountains. Period.

And in my opinion, there are two ways to approach bookshelf decor: Let the books speak for themselves and fill the shelves. Or, decorate your shelves for aesthetic tranquility. This involves turning your books around like they’re in time-out. You see it on all the home design shows, and I always wonder what crime the books have committed. Now, I love a beautifully decorated room, but I hate pristinely decorated bookshelves. Probably because the most beautiful and engaging sight in the world is a shelf full of books. To me, books are the whole point.

The bookshelves close to finished and screaming for books. All we had left was to finish a little paint and re-attach the carpet.

In my attic, for the majority of my marriage, I’ve had enormous tubs full of books I’ve spent a lifetime collecting. The bookshelf next to my bed overflowed with books until the piles on top towered to the ceiling. In my kids’ rooms and in the hallway upstairs, books were stacked behind and on top of each other. In other words, my Library dream wasn’t just fanciful for my house. It was a dire need. Okay, so that might be a matter of opinion, but it was a strongly felt opinion.

From the beginning of my Library dream, I didn’t want to get into the trap of having to decorate my shelves. I wanted the focus to be the books themselves. I wanted it to feel like you were being hugged by books when you walked in.

The paint hadn’t dried on the trim before I’d dragged my eight tubs of books downstairs and placed my first treasures on the shelves. It felt like Christmas. I giggled to myself as I skipped between the shelves and the tubs of books. I greeted old friends, stroked covers, and experienced a flood of memories. It took all of my willpower not to curl up in a chair and read. Which was exactly the feel I was going for in the room.

I could barely get through unloading a box without stopping to read an old friend. And my hair had been in a hat all day for this picture that I didn’t know was being taken. But who cares about hair when standing in a Library!

The books are organized by genre and then by size. It’s a strange system, but I know where everything is. I’m like the crazy librarian who reinvented the Dewy Decimal System by shuffling! Bwahahaha.

Notice the empty shelves. Do I need to go book shopping or write more books? Probably both, but I left some shelves intentionally open for basket storage.

Originally, I left space on the three center shelves for basket storage. IKEA sells these beautiful baskets which perfectly fit their Billy bookcases. Unfortunately, due to Covid, they’ve been sold out in every store for the entire year. I hunted everywhere for other baskets I liked as much, and in the meantime, the spaces filled with books. I had to laugh because this is exactly what I wanted. Books, books, and more books.

Can you feel the hug yet? Come on over and read for a while. I’d love it.

I can tell you where I was and how old I was the last time I read every series on my shelves. Some of the books have been read so many times that the words have meshed with life and memories, and I couldn’t separate them out even if I wanted to. There are books that my dad read as a child that became part of my childhood, that my grandfather gave to me, that my mom bought for my insatiable reading habit. Christmas presents, birthday presents, rummage sales, gifts from friends… so many beautiful moments. And then I married a reader who brought his own books to the marriage. More reasons to love that man! The most precious shelf in my Library is the one that holds the books that contain my own words. I can’t even tell you how much that shelf means to me. Of course, there will always be space in my Library for many more of my own books.

And that, dear friends, is the story of my Library dream. I probably don’t have to tell you that this room is my new favorite spot in my house. I work here, I drink my morning coffee here, I have my quiet time here, and teach piano lessons here. But most importantly, this is where I write —— surrounded by friends on the pages that have inspired all of my best dreams.

Related Posts:

I Dreamed of a Library (Part 1) — Framing the Door

I Dreamed of a Library (Part 2) — Assembling Bookshelves

I Dreamed of a Library (Part 3) — Lighting

I Dreamed of a Library (Part 4) — The Reveal