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How to choose and arrange the library in your living room?

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Lolpo
How to choose and arrange the library in your living room?

Who has never dreamed of having a beautiful library in their living room? As aesthetic as it is functional, the bookcase is highly coveted in the world of decoration. Today, it has 2 main functions: storing books, and displaying decorative objects or travel souvenirs. But it also plays a major role in interior design.

It makes it possible to delimit two spaces, most often kitchen and living room. In wood, wickerwork or metal, high or wide, with rounded shapes, with niches or closed storage, in the industrial, Scandinavian or vintage style, the bookcase is an element as decorative as it is functional, not to be neglected in your living room. 

You don't know which shelf or bookcase to choose, or how to arrange it in your living room? Design, use, layout ideas, decorating advice, Homary supports you in choosing your future library.


3 questions to ask yourself when choosing the library for your living room

How much space do you have to fit out your library?

Where are you going to install your bookcase?

If you have a large living room, there are many layout possibilities: several wall shelves fixed side by side, a huge bookcase placed against a whole section of the wall, or even a bookcase shelf as a delimitation between the kitchen and the living room.

In the case of a smaller living room, you will make more use of the corners: in an angle, on the attic side, under the stairs... You can also integrate your TV corner to save space. Also exploit the walls by opting for a thin and high bookcase or for wall shelves behind the sofa.

Finally, the small library is also very present in the studios in order to separate the bedroom from the living room while benefiting from an additional storage unit. And if you're short on space, why not create several small bookcase corners?


What design for your library furniture?

To find the model that will capsize your heart, nothing better than to ask yourself about your tastes: 

• What is your decorative style ? (vintage, industrial, scandinavian, art deco)

• Which shape do you like? (corner bookcase, rounded, with niches, asymmetrical)

• What color would you see your future library? 

• In what materials? (wood, metal, caning, tempered glass)

• What dimensions (width, height, but also depth)? 

• Do you prefer a through model or with a bottom? 

• Do you want your bookcase to be the central element of your living room or do you prefer a discreet design? 


For what use? 

Store your books, display your travel memories, highlight decorative objects like a cabinet of curiosities, embed the TV, create an office area, separate two spaces... a bookcase can be used both for the decorative side and for the practical aspect. as storage furniture in its own right. And you, what will be its primary function? 


The library shelf: a showcase in your image

Whether you are keen on reading, sensitive to decoration, passionate about travel, the library is a field of expression that is sometimes underestimated. Exhibiting one's passions, one's taste for an art, one's attraction for a particular decorative style, one's most beautiful works, one's travel souvenirs, one's creations, collectibles... is a nice way to express one's personality and character, but also, and above all, to feel (good) at home. 

Carefully furnished, the library reflects the soul of the owners and becomes a real showcase in their image. You cannot dedicate an entire room to it and you are therefore wondering how to arrange a library in your living room? Here are several layout possibilities with our bookcases and shelves:

• Glue 2 identical bookcases against a wall to make only one XXL bookcase.

• Delimit 2 spaces without partitioning or losing brightness thanks to a library with crossing floors.

• Divert the primary use of a dresser: behind the transparent glass, your books and decorative objects will be displayed like a cabinet of curiosities… without gathering dust!

• Attach one or more wired metal wall shelves for an overhead bookcase: practical in case of lack of floor space! Fix them in staggered rows to dress your wall with more freedom than a linear arrangement.

• Combine order and aesthetics by opting for bookcases equipped with clever and modular storage such as drawers, cupboards or glass doors in addition to niches, for optimal storage: very useful for hiding certain elements such as cables, chargers or papers for example.

• Daring the bookcase with an original design: rounded, coloured, with asymmetrical niches, bi-material (caning and black oak, metal and tempered glass, etc.).

Homary tips: equip your bookcases with some pretty storage boxes and decorative baskets. Also, make sure everything is in its place to avoid a mess in your library. 


Development of a design library

The arrangement of books to furnish your library with style

You are free to arrange your books (or not) by color, theme, format or alphabetical order.

In the case of a classification by color, some even go so far as to store them upside down for more aesthetics and visual harmony. By reversing the binding side (apparent title) with the page side, you get a palette of whites and beiges.

In this case, the books are often classified so as to achieve a gradient of light and soft hues. You can also arrange them in the form of horizontal piles in order to break the classic vertical storage.

Homary tips: display your most beautiful books as real decorative elements. Open on a book rack or placed horizontally, this trend is super hot! Travel books, photography, decoration or even design, many works are now dressed in their most beautiful covers to decorate our libraries and take their place in our interiors with style. 


Decorative objects & travel souvenirs

Punctuating your library with items that are dear to you is probably one of the prettiest ways to decorate it. Highlight the memories brought back from your last trips by displaying them alongside your beautiful decorative objects.

So, alternate between books, small decorations (candlesticks, candlesticks, planters, figurines, vases) and travel souvenirs. Also think of plants, boxes and storage baskets (rather at the bottom of the library). Arrange all these elements in a staggered and asymmetrical way, while making sure to visually air your library. 

Homary tips: use some of your decorative objects as bookends to cleverly organize your library. In concrete or terrazzo, in wood, copper or gilded metal, in the shape of a feather, apple or palm tree, dare a little touch of stylish fantasy. Ideal for the development of a design library ! 

Materials, colors, plants, brightness, these are the key ingredients to highlight the library of your living room. Keep in mind that the decoration is not fixed : for an interior full of life, you are free to change the layout of your decoration as often as you wish! 

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