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Reading Time

o matter how many full
N there’s something special about
bookshelves a home may have,
owning a dedicated library.
Who hasn’t dreamed of curating
their own shelves, dusting off
old favorites and getting lost for countless
hours between the pages? The popularity of
the personal library as a luxury home feature
seems to have increased over the past few years,
perhaps as a reaction to the pervasive presence
of digital consumption. In the online era, a room
full of books is a regular reminder to reconnect
with the pleasure of reading, to surround yourself
with words that have personal meaning, and to
define a space that’s screen-free.
While studies and home offices imply the
drudgery of work, a library can be something
much more whimsical—and this is reflected
in design approaches. “They provide endless
opportunities to add a personal touch,” say
designers Clémence Pirajean and James Lees
of London-based firm Pirajean Lees. Indeed,
the recent “bookshelf wealth” trend points to the
power of expressing oneself through the books
and items on home shelving. For a 2023
townhouse project in London’s Marylebone
neighborhood, Pirajean Lees included a library
as an “inviting, quiet retreat—a relaxing space
perfect for a morning coffee or a Sunday read.”
Layered with the owner’s collected novels and
titles on art, fashion and design are pieces of framed art, sculptural vases, and
decorative objects that reflect his life story.
Compared to the neutral color scheme for the rest of the townhouse, the “
“Hague Blue” by British paint and wallpaper company Farrow & Ball. The THEY PROVIDE
library sets a different tone with bookcases painted in the rich and nostalgic
compact space has several touches that work together successfully: a deep-
seated armchair, a variety of lamps, a handcrafted rug and a wood-paneled AN INVITING,
ceiling that adds warmth, while absorbing sound.
A glamorous Toronto home designed in 2023 by leading American interior QUIET RETREAT
designer Kelly Wearstler in 2023 also offers a small library as a place of escape.
Like a castle turret, this dramatic wood-paneled room has a circular plan PERFECT FOR
where shallow bookshelves sit between slot windows. The family’s large-
format books are the crowning glory here; the front covers face outward, A MORNING
displayed as they might be on the shelves of a shop, allowing their designs to
be fully admired. Instead of a chair to sit in, a glass table in the center of the COFFEE
”
room is the place to leaf through anything that takes the reader’s fancy.
Families are particularly keen on imaginative library spaces as they draw
members together, away from the allure of personal devices. In a 2022 remodel

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