Saturday, September 14, 2013

Surrounded by books!!!


I LOVE them - everything about them and can't imagine living anywhere where I didn't have an abundance of them at my fingertips..............they're everywhere in our home - the Kitchen - night tables - piled on the floor beside my bed - on coffee tables - everywhere!

Which is why I saw the below makeover as a desk - with book storage ( while John saw it as a bar HERE )



For now I have our books on a wall off the living room - in cheap Ikea bookcases - me - a furniture painter with Ikea bookcases - oh the shame of it all!!!  I think this is Caroline's Piorra Maison favorite part of my house though - Ikea book shelves or not -
" it's a WALL of books Suzan - I love it "
She gets it - she really really gets it LOL


they're in the dining room


 I use them to give height


and leave favorites laying around so that I can read them over and over again - and although I obviously spend time " staging " for photos - I didn't this time - this was simply walking around the house snapping photos of books


I've just started this one again - probably the 20th time I've read it - it NEVER gets old


Read this again last month - AND watched the movie - double dose!!!


I've packed away my " kitchen books " but this one stays on a shelf


I.
LOVE.
BOOKS.

Sometimes I even paint them HERE


And so when I dream of home decor - these are things I dream about...................

SOURCE


                                      Traditional Hall by Somerville Design-Build Firms Morse Constructions Inc.




                                             Rustic Hall by Scottsdale Architects &; Designers Don Ziebell


                    Traditional Powder Room by Norwich Architects & Designers Smith & Vansant Architects PC

SOURCE

SOURCE
SOURCE
SOURCE

I see built ins in my future :)

Dreams are good.
Books are better...................

Have a wonderful Saturday all - I'm washing all the windows - the FOR SALE sign goes up on Monday so this weekend is frantic!!!
( does anyone else get mixed up over the words Sale and Sell - I'm good with There - Their - and They're - but sell and sale always mess me up - you'd think with all the reading I do it would be a cinch lol )
I believe ( I before E except after C ) I'd better practice that!!!  ( oh and practice is another one )

But for now I'm going to take an hour out of my day and read!!!



If you'd like to read a post on my love of books as a little girl and the great lengths I went to - you can find it HERE



P.S.  Sometimes I reread my posts and all I can see are the rambling words of a mad woman LMHO
This would be one of those times.

Much love,

Sharing with !!!
It's Overflowing                                    Under the Table & Dreaming               Not just a housewife
Savvy Southern Style                           Shabby Creek Cottage                                French Country Cottage
Chase the Star                                     One Artsy Mama                                        My Romantic Home
Miss Mustard Seed                              The Shabby Nest
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48 comments:

  1. JunkchiccottageSeptember 14, 2013 at 4:11 AM

    Hi Suzan,
    I love all your books and how you have them displayed throughout your house. I think it is great you surround yourself with something you love. In the source pictures I just love that rounded door with the rounded book shelves. How sweet is that. Good luck on Monday. I cannot wait to go on this journey with you. Selling and buying oh my!!!!! The fun part will be finding he new place. Wooooo Hoooo! You are doing this!!!
    Kris

    ReplyDelete
  2. Three Birds InspiredSeptember 14, 2013 at 4:15 AM

    In my house in Virginia we commissioned a carpenter to build a bookcase that stretched across from one of the living room to the other. It was completely full of books. In the study, my husband put up shelves all the way around the room above the window and door casing and those were full of books. Now they are stacked up everywhere in my house...and in bookcases.

    I started reading by the light of the streetlight when I was 9 because I was forced to turn off the light and stop reading. Reading has always been my "escape".

    Get those windows washed and then enjoy the rest of the weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kerryanne @ Shabby Art BoutiqueSeptember 14, 2013 at 4:29 AM

    You are not a 'mad' woman Susan - lol
    I love books too and I hope electronic devices never completely take over from paper books.
    Hugs,
    Kerryanne

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  4. Kirby CarespodiSeptember 14, 2013 at 4:32 AM

    I love books. I have had to part with a few, but we are looking for a way to add them over a doorway or two!

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  5. Kirby CarespodiSeptember 14, 2013 at 4:33 AM

    Oh...and thanks so much for having me guest--you have some really nice followers!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kathy @ Creative Home ExpressionsSeptember 14, 2013 at 4:41 AM

    I love books, too, Suzan! I have them all over. I had many more before we moved two years ago and had to go through some to donate. I would have brought them all, but they are heavy once packed in boxes {and movers charge by weight!}, so I kept most of my favorites. I have since added more since our library has a book sale twice a year, and my daughter and I go and fill up bags with books!

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  7. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2013 at 5:27 AM

    So many lovely ideas for book storage. We have books everywhere, like you. I dream of having a 'library' one day. I always love the libraries in the stately homes I visit. Until then I will squeeze them in anywhere I can!

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  8. Caroline (Piorra Maison)September 14, 2013 at 5:33 AM

    Thanks for mentioning me :). Btw I also love books but especially vintage books. AND I love your wall of books. I'm glad I passed that love on to my children but when my son lends me books to read he gets angry at me for turning down the pages to mark my spot. I guess I need to change that out of respect for him and his book collect. Old habits die hard, and this old bag has a few. Lol. Lovely post.
    Caroline

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  9. chateau chicSeptember 14, 2013 at 5:57 AM

    Fabulous inspiration for books and shelves. I had to share this with hubby because he's a lover of books and they spill over everywhere. He loved the shelves in the bathroom!!
    Mary Alice

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  10. andi filanteSeptember 14, 2013 at 6:56 AM

    I love books too! I especially love that shelf in the loo. I could sit there for hours! :P

    -andi

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  11. Plowing Through Life (Martha)September 14, 2013 at 6:57 AM

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE books, too! And I also have them around the house. I wish I had built in bookcases; they are my favourites. I've been a biblioholic since I began reading way wAY WAY back. Like a gazillion years ago. Life without books? My life? Unthinkable! LOL...

    ReplyDelete
  12. EilisSeptember 14, 2013 at 7:46 AM

    I love all these photos (especially since I miss the built in shelves we had at our old house). I am trying to find a place to add shelves in our new home. I never thought of books in the bathroom....
    Good luck with the home selling adventure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 19, 2013 at 12:33 PM

      But aren't they just perfect in the bathroom lol ?
      Thanks so much Eilis!
      XOXO

      Delete
  13. Art and SandSeptember 14, 2013 at 9:08 AM

    LOVE LOVE LOVE books - reading them, looking at them, decorating with them.

    LOVE LOVE LOVE the photos you shared.

    HATE HATE HATE washing windows, yet that is on my list today along with cleaning the rest of the house.

    Have fun washing windows and dreaming of your next home.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Donna WilkesSeptember 14, 2013 at 9:22 AM

    I have to sleep with at least three books in bed in case I wake up and need to read something. I read the range from trash to treasure. I reread some books every year. A few years ago when our book population had grown so large it threatened to take over the house, my husband and I severely cut the collection to just must-haves. We now rotate the books in and out. This morning for example we only bought 20! I think I would have hired someone to wash the windows so I could sit in the sun and read.

    ReplyDelete
  15. LenaSeptember 14, 2013 at 9:34 AM

    I LOVE books! I have them everywhere too! I dream of having a separate library/office with a ton of built-ins...Sigh...

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  16. UnknownSeptember 14, 2013 at 11:31 AM

    I love love love books, the feel of them in my purse, the sound of turning pages, the smell of dusty vintage books...oh yes. no kindle for me please. and I love all these bookcases!!!!
    Debbi
    -yankeeburrow

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    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 14, 2013 at 12:30 PM

      I think we're all birds of a feather us bloggers - really - we all have so much in common!
      Thanks for coming by
      ( I don't own a Kindle - and really don't want one )
      XOXO

      Delete
  17. mail4roseySeptember 14, 2013 at 12:50 PM

    We had a whole wall of built-ins made for the biggest room on our main floor, and turned that room into a library. It's everyone's favorite room in the house.

    ReplyDelete
  18. NanaDianaSeptember 14, 2013 at 1:20 PM

    The more I know about you the more I realize how alike we are. I have been sorting books for the last two days. I had piles of them- some to keep (forever)-some for a friend-some for donations. I decided to keep those I love best and that have a meaning to me and all the old classics I have. I am letting go the light romances that I will never read again. I have a wall of decorating books (seriously) and have bookcases built into three areas of my house-to say nothing of the separate stacks.

    Anyway-the FAT BABY came over last night and before I could stop him had mixed up three piles I had on the floor. I am resorting tonight after Thing 2 and Thing 3 go home. I also reread one old book yesterday-lol Couldn't help myself.

    You can do this SALE thing-I know it will go really well for you, Suzan...keeping you in my prayers cuz I know how hard it is to "let go". xo Diana

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  19. CynthiaSeptember 14, 2013 at 1:53 PM

    Suzan, you are a huge reader like my husband. He reads constantly. By the way, Breakfast at Tiffany one of my all time favorite movies!!! Try surviving cleaning the windows. That job is not a fun one at all!!

    Cynthia

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  20. AnnMarie aka Vintage Junkie aka NaNaSeptember 14, 2013 at 1:57 PM

    I absolutely love the pictures of the bookshelves by the tub and the toilet! Perfect! I was fortunate to have bought an 1870's house with 10 foot floor to ceiling bookshelves in the parlor on either side of my window seat. I didn't know how fabulous that is until this post. Thank you! I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time ever....I know, I am so overdue!

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  21. UnknownSeptember 14, 2013 at 3:29 PM

    Well, let's be crazy together - my mind wanders in about 1000 different directions most of the time and my words match. I can't even complete a sentence correctly most of the time. lol

    As for books - can't live without them! And these ebooks - no thanks. I want the tactile feel of real paper and if it's musty, that's even better.

    ReplyDelete
  22. ~Lavender Dreamer~September 14, 2013 at 5:43 PM

    I'm just like you! I LOVE books! in every room of the house...everywhere I look! I should have put some in my new bathroom! heehee! Sweet hugs!

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  23. betsySeptember 14, 2013 at 5:46 PM

    I love some of those bookcases and will be pinning them shortly. I used to get into trouble because I would be reading instead of whatever chore I was supposed to be doing. And I reread books that I love over and over (and over). When I read I "see" the book playing out like a movie in my head. You never sound like a madwoman to me ;-)

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  24. MaureenSeptember 14, 2013 at 6:10 PM

    You are a mad woman! But that's a good thing where I come from.....which as you know.... is where you come from. So it's all good! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  25. lynn cockrellSeptember 14, 2013 at 7:46 PM

    I love this post and all the great bookcases and I agree, Suzan, that life would be a lot less beautiful without books. Books are a passion of mine, also magazines. Kindles and Nooks may be "all that" for those who choose them and I wouldn't mind having one myself, but there will always and ever be many books and magazines in my home. As long as there is me,I will have my books about me! There is just something so relaxing, comforting and sublime about the feel and even the smell of a book. Yes, I love that, too. It doesn't matter if a book has that "just off the press" new fragrance and has crisp, clean pages or whether it smells as if it has been around for years, is well read and is somewhat musty and yellowed. There is nothing like the written word in bound pages. My home is filled with them, as well. My father instilled in me a love of reading and I grew up with books everywhere and it is in my blood. Anyway, I get it too. I really, really do get it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Meredith @ The Laundry Can WaitSeptember 14, 2013 at 8:27 PM

    Yes yes and yes. Books are essential for living and for decorating. The Catcher In the Rye is one of my all-time favorite books, and you're right - It never gets old, just keeps getting better. Your pictures of your books look great, clearly you know how to stage!

    XOXO,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  27. Vicky HuntSeptember 14, 2013 at 8:55 PM

    We definitely have this in common! I love books and have them in every room of my house! I am planning to eventually build a little library area to house the majority of my books. I just love everything about them....:) I have been thinking about doing a post similar to this one....maybe someday soon!

    Blessings, Vicky
    Life On Willie Mae Lane

    ReplyDelete
  28. TobeystrashortreasureSeptember 14, 2013 at 10:39 PM

    I love books too and until I discovered Pinterest I had a magazine addiction too. I love the idea of built in's too, I love the room with both walls of built in's and a bench seat on the other wall. I would love to do a room like that. I think I am going to have to get back into reading over the winter. hugs Tobey

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  29. Danni@SiloHillFarmSeptember 15, 2013 at 3:41 AM

    What a great round up of book storage ideas. I love books too. Looks like we've read a lot of the same ones Suzan..or maybe John and I read a lot of the same ones. Here's the thing...I have never read a book twice. Never. I love that people do, Sam does it all the time. Good luck on the sale of your house girl...fingers crossed!

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  30. Feral TurtleSeptember 15, 2013 at 4:36 AM

    I will probably get shot down for this one, but I love my Kobo....Hubs got the Kindle and he loves his as he works out of town. All he has to take, is a thin black book and he's got a whole library. I have tons of books here and read both. I figure whatever way you can get your read on, is good! Love your Ikea bookshelves. You have them set up so pretty. You should have been a home stager. I suspect your place will sell very quickly!

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  31. dee -@ The Old Fat HenSeptember 15, 2013 at 4:49 AM

    I would love a large built in bookcase-one day maybe....-love dee x

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  32. Rhonda @ home.made.September 15, 2013 at 5:20 AM

    Wow. Those are some great inspiration pics! I love love love the bookshelf nook in the powder room...

    Easy tip to remember when to use sale and sell... Sell is an action and sale is a descriptor or an event. #closetenglishnerd

    ReplyDelete
  33. Amy at Ms. Toody Goo ShoesSeptember 15, 2013 at 7:47 AM

    I'm with you, Suzann - never too many books! They make home look....homey. As much as I love my kindle, sometimes it makes me sad to go into a bookstore and not come home with an armload of novels. At least there are still cookbooks and interior design books to be bought the old fashioned way. Great inspiration photos...I wish I had room for some of those giant bookcases!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Tuula @ Thrifty Rebel VintageSeptember 15, 2013 at 7:53 AM

    We're big readers here, and there's nothing we love more than a whole wall of books. I built a wall to wall built-in years ago for hubby's office to gather up the books that were all over the house, but we filled that up and still have books all over the house. lol. Love them!! Can't get into the new technology... there's nothing like the feel of a real book, especially vintage books that have been read many times. It's a tactile connection thing. Your shelves look lovely!! I think you could stage anything!!

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  35. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2013 at 12:52 PM

    I agree, what beautiful photos, wow, books to me are like old friends and i have certain books I read for certain experiences and feelings, a book for everything and everything in a book I say!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouseSeptember 15, 2013 at 1:52 PM

    I have books everywhere as well, also in the bathroom. I love reading in my bath! I lust remember to have a bookshelf in the bathroom later. I'm keeping some of your inspiration pictures for later as I'd love a wall of book in the living-room and one on the landing...

    ReplyDelete
  37. AnneSeptember 15, 2013 at 2:42 PM

    You did a beautiful job displaying your book collection!
    xx
    Anne

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  38. Carla from The RiverSeptember 15, 2013 at 3:19 PM

    I love your copy of, To Kill a Mockingbird, my favorite book ever!! Beautiful book display ideas...and decor ideas. :-)
    I love books too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 15, 2013 at 6:02 PM

      Hi Carla - I'm reading it now and loving every single word!!!
      I can't tell you how many times I've read it and it just keeps getting better lol !!!
      XOXO

      Delete
  39. Pamela GordonSeptember 15, 2013 at 5:04 PM

    Wonderful bookshelf ideas in this post Suzan! All the best with your house listing tomorrow. I wish you well. Pam

    ReplyDelete
  40. Maureen WyattSeptember 15, 2013 at 9:34 PM

    Life without books is unthinkable! I have them piled on the floor, overflowing the many bookcases and covering every table in this house. And yes, some are stolen. lol

    ReplyDelete
  41. Mel@Mellywood's MansionSeptember 16, 2013 at 1:42 AM

    Okay so don't hate me but I have been trading paper versions for e books because I have no storage space here. I love that I can fit hundreds of books on my iPad and kindle and we can all read them at the same time with one purchase that's cheaper than a paper version. Love the arched bookcase!!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Tina@WhatWeKeepSeptember 16, 2013 at 12:50 PM

    I love my books, too. It's hard to let some of them go, but others I will never part with. Love all the storage ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  43. AbbySeptember 17, 2013 at 7:17 AM

    I completely agree, books are marvelous, and the more room a house has for them the better! I was lucky to get several built in book shelves in our house. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  44. The Vintage ChateauSeptember 18, 2013 at 9:37 AM

    What a great post! Thanks for sharing some really clever bookcase ideas!
    Karee

    ReplyDelete
  45. lorraines resources and rewardsSeptember 20, 2013 at 8:14 AM

    I'm a book freak and so in love with this post the bathroom pictures are so cute and funny. thanks for sharing lorraine at http://lorrainesresources.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Due to a large amount of spam ( that I'm tired of going back to posts and deleting ) I'll be using comment moderation from now on !!!
Can I beat these spammers at their own game? Probably not - but I'm going
to try my damnedest !!!
xoxo

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