Home Libraries Undergo Changes, Too

For those who can afford this amenity as practiced by the interior designers interviewed for this article.

Excerpt: In 2011, we are buying fewer and fewer physical books and are downloading more and more to our Kindles, smart phones and iPads. Without massive collections of books on hand, how does one fill up the shelves in a home library or library wall? I asked two designers who are well known for their talent at filling large book shelves what their thoughts are on the subject.

Brooke Giannetti, interior designer at Giannetti Home Architecture and Interior Design in California and blogger at Velvet & Linen and author of the new book Patina Style, says that very few of their clients are asking for dedicated libraries these days. Says Brooke, "Rooms are becoming more multi-use - we are designing more 'dining room/libraries' as well as family play rooms or studies that incorporate a wall of shelves for books and display. We are also getting more requests from clients to remodel existing libraries to create art galleries or playrooms. Several clients have shown us their iPads and said, 'This is my library!'"

Joni Webb, Texas based interior designer and blogger of Cote de Texas. Webb also notes that libraries are playing double duty as home offices, especially in smaller homes, but that in her area, big readers are still looking to create dedicated spaces for their collections.

In addition to books that people actually read, there has always been a market for books that are collected for their aesthetic value alone. Beautiful leather-bound tomes with gold leaf print have always been popular. Webb says, "Homeowners can buy books just to fill the shelves and can be bought by the box load very inexpensively. The books are new without the jackets and look lovely in shelves. This is perfect for people who have libraries to fill, but not enough books to fill them."

Interior decorating on a shoestring.