Dreaming up a Modern Library

I love bookcases and bookshelves and book cabinets, and even books stacked up in random places--I love it all, which makes it quite difficult to design a library. Because, you see, I want it all. I have some pre-set parameters, however, which as good a place to start as any in whittling down my options. Obv. I have mid-century modern house, so the Edwardian and the Baroque styles are out like trout. Also, I actually like the books themselves too...which means that we need to consider the storage space and browsing friendliness: this isn't just an art project. We are not paying homage to the idea of a home library, we actually want a home library.

First of all, there is a must-have: I must have an Eames lounge chair in my library.  Just looking at it makes me itch to cuddle up and read (and you can't get much more mid-century modern than Eames.)  Super <3 <3

Second, the space I have to work with is one of the few spots in the house that is confined by a moderate ceiling height.  It may be true that the "ultimate" library requires a ladder and/or a telescope to see what titles are on the top shelf, but since that isn't really an option for me, I've decided that it is over-rated anyhow.  What real reader is okay with their books being inaccessible??  Besides, I'm a little too good at weeding out unwanted books to really justify sky-scraping, dust-catching shelves.  The books I have, I want to see.

In another room, I may just have to do something decorative, especially since I'm looking for the perfect way to display my collection of classic novellas.  Maybe something like these:

If anyone is in the mood to make one of those for me, I have no problem accepting charity!  But for the library, we need some serious book storage capacity.  However, I'm not feeling the whole normal-built-in-boring-shelf-syndrome.  Here are some shelves that inspire me:

A little awkward perhaps, but at least it's interesting.

Probably not practical enough for serious book
storage, but I love it all the same.

This is the most serious option--tons of character, tons of
storage, and varying heights for books of all sizes.  AND
it's gorgeous.

(bookshelf photos courtesy of the bookshelf blog--fabulous site, check it out!)

Engineering, Plans, and Permits

It's been a year since anything remotely interesting (construction-wise) has happened at our house...as I'm sure you've surmised, since there have been no updates on the blog.  Our other house still hasn't sold, but some renewed and enlarged contracts at work are bringing our project closer to becoming a reality.  We have our house plans basically finalized and approved by the Home Owner's Association's Architectural Review Board, which means the next steps are getting the plans engineered and permitted through the city.

The architect we are working with is Jeff Jeannette from Jeannette Architects.  Everybody in the office has been great to work with, and we are getting eager to see some of these drawings come to life.

 This is going to be a big project, even though there won't be a lot of structural changes happening.  The biggest change will be the addition of a large subterranean level, complete with a theater, bar, and wine cellar (underneath the dining room and kitchen). The kitchen and master bathroom will be getting completely redone, but the rest of the house is staying much the same--mostly a matter of finishings and surfaces being updated.

I'm glad that we got the chance to live in the house before working on it.  In many ways it has brought me to appreciate the house more for what it is.  It has also helped me to let go of some of my romantic notions (for example, the master bathroom has a very unique bathtub...when I finally fell into it last week I instantly became much more willing to accept a new design.)  We did end up doing a major clean up of the front yard, since it was really getting out of hand.  There is simply too much landscape to make it easy to keep up!

First on the task list is making a hallway to the room above the garage that is currently only accessible through the garage.  It is time for our girls to have their own rooms, so we are preempting any other house plans in order to accommodate this.  As a side note, if you are interested in the mid-century modern style of the house, the book Atomic Ranch has some fabulous examples of how other homeowners have managed to preserve the spirit of a house like this, while also fully updating it.