43 inventive bookshelf and bookcase design ideas
There is no furniture so charming as books, even if you never open them or read a single word,’ said the nineteenth-century writer Sydney Smith. A shelf full of books adds instant appeal to any room, whether in the form of bespoke joinery or stand-alone shelves. We've gone through the House & Garden archive to find the most inspiring designs for bookshelves in the living room, bedroom or study. From modern designs, to mid-century classics and spy novel numbers which conceal hidden doors, there are bookshelves of every type in this gallery to inspire something as intriguing as the tomes that fill them.
Bookshelf and bookcase ideas
Chris Horwood1/43If you happen to have a reasonably wide hallway or landing, adding bookshelves can be a brilliant way to add interest (and storage). At her converted schoolhouse in Battersea, Atelier Ellis founder Cassandra Ellis has created a library with floor-to-ceiling shelves in the hallway.
Mark Anthony Fox2/43Bookshelves themselves can create a welcome accent of colour in a room with neutral walls. In the rented Stoke Newington home of photographer Ahmed Hassan and garden designer Atticus Branch, bookshelves painted in Little Greene's ‘Atomic Red’ pick up on the bright primary colours in the furniture and textiles, popping against the white walls.
3/43This display of cookbooks on simple homemade shelves at Farrow & Ball brand ambassador Patrick O'Donnell's house is a brilliant way to liven up a bare wall in a kitchen. Patrick has drenched the walls and woodwork in a single colour, Farrow & Ball's ‘Biscuit’ in the Dead Flat finish, which allows the colourful books themselves to become the focus.
Owen Gale4/43Double doors divide the sitting room from the study, which features built-in shelves that have been painted in Dulux’s ‘Ruby Fountain 2 Red Gloss’. The cane and metal chair was bought by the owners in Cape Town when they lived there and was woven by the blind makers at Cape Town Society for the Blind. The rug was another find from Morocco. Explore more of this colourful London house.
Paul Massey5/43This eighteenth-century barn has been converted into a stylish sitting-room-cum-guest-cottage, by its owner Emma Burns, managing director at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. Emma adapted the internal configuration to create a striking way of displaying her book collection. The built-in bookcase equipped with a ladder also acts as a secret door to a hidden bathroom.
Ben Pentreath6/43The walls in this library are lined with a dark caramel velvet by Lelièvre. Secret doors lead through the bookcase to the drawing room. Explore more of this Regency villa in Hampshire, designed by Ben Pentreath.
Line T Klein7/43The bookcase in this colourful Copenhagen apartment appears to be floating. The walls, woodwork and ceiling in the TV and reading room are painted in Castle Made of Sand by File Under Pop. The low sideboard is by Tylko, and pillow by Durup. On the ceiling the pendant light is by Helle Mardahl. Wall art is by Frederik Næblerød, Cathrine Raben Davidsen and Richard Mortensen, bought in independent Copenhagen galleries and online art auctions.
Chris Tubbs8/43Designer Adam Bray transformed this typical Eighties conversion in east London for a young client to create an environment that is 'dark, exciting and sexy', stripping out non-original ornate cornicing and replacing it with simpler architectural detailing. The rear sitting room has been reinvented as a library, with book storage cleverly integrated in above-door shelves.
Hugo Rittson Thomas9/43Who says you can't fit a square peg in a round hole? This nifty bookshelf design in Beckside House fits the neoclassical style of the room perfectly, with the alcove at the top displaying three lovely vases.
Owen Gale10/43In this jewellery designer’s playful house, ‘Hunters Dunn’ in a gloss finish from Paint & Paper Library makes the bookcase and woodwork stand out against ‘Lichen’ by Farrow & Ball on the walls.
Simon Brown11/43A jib door opens from the library into the kitchen in this London flat designed by Hugh Henry.
Michael Sinclair12/43A painting by Sidney Sime hangs on bookshelves above a Gothic Revival desk in Guy Tobin's London house. ‘I put it here partly due to a lack of wall space, but also because it depicts a Shakespeare play, so having it over a library feels appropriate,’ says Guy. For a picture hanger who could recreate this look, try Paul Carter at Phoenix Fine Art (020-8319 3527).
Line T. Klein13/43A bed with built in booksheves is quite possibly a book lovers dream. The bed is designed by Vidar Malmsten and is called ‘Fata Morsgris’. Explore more of this Swedish home.
Paul Massey14/43Green covers both the walls and bookshelves in the eclectic, colourful London house of a novelist and lifelong collector.
A vintage Venetian mirror from Tarquin Bilgen is flanked by paintings by Anne Rothenstein and a pink lamp by Cressida Bell. A flamingo from Graham & Green is beside an armchair in an Ian Mankin blue stripe, next to which is a statue of a boy from Bora Bora.
Simon Brown15/43When Emma Burns inherited the former stables that her parents had progressively converted as a weekend retreat, she put into practice the principles that guide her professional work as a designer. The oak corner cupboard is eighteenth century and came from Cowbridge in Wales.
Maura McEvoy16/43Stained walls in four different shades of blue-green in varying states of wear never seem to date in this shingled cottage in Maine.
Michael Sinclair17/43Interior designer Pallas Kalamotusis of Studio Krokalia designed the bespoke joinery for her bookshelves herself. The space at the top is cleverly kept for displaying a collection of pots.
Owen Gale18/43George Saumarez Smith designed his bookshelves himself to be the exact height of his books, filling them with books on architecture. A Howard armchair sits in front of the chimneypiece, on top of a French rug that belonged to George's grandparents.
Paul Massey19/43The bookcases in tech entrepreneur Rose Hulse's house were designed by Rose and built by Brian Purnell from Distinctive Country Furniture. Walls in ‘Mossy Stone’ by Dulux create a refined backdrop. The painting above the mantelpiece was bought in Hamburg, where Rose’s husband George has an office.
Alex James20/43There's something so charming about an abundance of books. Eschewing the trend for a perfectly harmonious, colour-coded display, the study in this family home designed by architect Chris Dyson makes the most of unusual shelving, from the vintage Danish desk from The Conran Shop, to the stackable shelf (pictured right).
Lucas Allen21/43The walls, ceiling and woodwork of this snug reading nook in a house by Rose Uniacke are painted in a custom-mixed shade of blue with a textured finish. The dark colour allows the colour on the books to pop.
Simon Upton22/43In a Chelsea townhouse by David Mlinaric, the bookshelves are divided into symmetrical boxes, with a mirrored chimney breast in the middle.
23/43'This used to be one big, open space,' says Beata Heuman of her living room and dining room, 'and I added the bookshelf wall and sliding door. Strangely, I think it makes the house feel larger. The walls are light, but the bottle-green hue inside the bookshelves adds depth and mystery.'
Andreas von Einsiedel24/43In the library area of Farrow & Ball colour curator Joa Studholme's house, the bookshelves and ceiling below the gallery were painted in ‘Railings’ by Farrow & Ball to create a dramatic contrast with the lighter look of the main living space. The rugs are from Bluebellgray.
25/43Kate Aslangul of Oakley Moore decorated this light-flooded library on the second floor of a Parisian home, in which architect Pascal Collange incorporated a bookshelf into the staircase, a signature style. The room is painted in Farrow & Ball's 'New White' while the pendant lights are from Mullan. Bespoke metal spindles create an arts and crafts feel together with a striped runner from Hartley Tissier, an Anglo-French carpet company.
Yuki Sugiura26/43At Matilda Goad's new north London house, the sitting room contains reeded joinery designed by Matilda's husband Tom and built by his company Blockhouse Build. It hides a radiator and is flanked by deep drawers either side. The paint colour is 'Beetle Nut' from Paint and Paper Library. Matilda added brass bow-shaped handles from Beata Heuman.
Natalie Dinham27/43Tara Craig designed this living room in a London home, finding the perfectly proportioned bookcase for the living room. The shape adds interest to the space and mirrors the lines of the cornicing.
Paul Massey28/43In the open plan living area of Bridie Hall's North London home, the shelves are painted in Paint & Paper Library’s ‘Chinese Emperor’ and filled with books, trinkets and decorative objects.
Paul Massey29/43Beata Heuman worked on a Sussex cottage, giving it a modern country look. The carpeted dining room has a wall of bookshelves in a calming teal, broken up by a central pair of French doors through which light floods.
Ngoc Minh Mgo30/43This cosy corner in the informal snug of designer Harriet Anstruther's restored Sussex farmhouse features a stand-out armchair in front of casually arranged books.
Simon Brown31/43Taking time to execute his ideas, the owner of this London flat has created a spacious and airy home with interiors to match the stunning views. The large open-plan living area contains a library, which has bespoke bookcases that draws your eye up to the high ceilings adding height to the room.
Michael Sinclair32/43In the drawing room of the London house of Lady Wakefield the fireplace is flanked with traditional fitted bookcases which hold both a treasured collection of fiction and ceramics from Iran.
Paul Massey33/43A recessed bookcase has deeper shelves for larger tomes and, above a ledge, space for smaller books, in a spare bedroom at Giles Vincent's west London townhouse, rich with inherited and collected antiques. The dark, handsome wooden furniture in front of it make the space a seamless study area.
Simon Brown34/43In interior designer Vanessa Macdonald's elegant Georgian home, a large bookcase with Georgian-style reeded uprights and an elegant architrave fills a wall and provides both book storage and cupboard space. Details which seem as though they have always been here - a tribute to her sense of proportion.
Michael Sinclair35/43An ethos of timelessness combined with simplicity and sophistication characterises Arnaud Zannier's collection of hotels, and his family home. The elegant rural villa not far from Aalter, between Ghent and Bruges, is styled with a wealth of organic materials lending it depth and warmth. This library area adjoins the living room, which has plenty of shelving to display books and family photographs.
Paul Massey36/43The library in the Tudor wing of this Neoclassical pavilion English country house has bookcases from Langford Grove, a demolished house also designed by John Johnson. The bust of Darcy John is by Sheila Arbuthnot.
Simon Upton37/43In the library at Bowood House, Etruscan-style Wedgwood vases dating from 1813 stand on bookcases under the coffered ceiling, both of which were designed by Charles Cockerell in 1821. The 5,000 bound books were mostly collected by the 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne. Through the double doors is the drawing room.
Simon Brown38/43The sitting room of this converted artist's studio decorated by Caroline Holdaway is lined with books. A fire flickers within a stone chimneypiece and in the broad, high alcoves on either side of the chimney breast, bookshelves climb towards the apex of the double-height, sloping ceiling. Around the fire, two plump sofas and two stout armchairs offer an irresistible temptation to sink down, kick off your shoes and settle in for a quiet read or a long conversation, while admiring the view of trees, birds and sky through the towering studio window. The painting hanging about the chimneypiece is by John Bellany.
Davide Lovatti39/43The library of Carskiey Estate, returned to the first floor by owner Tom Helme, has a B&B Italia sofa and Maxalto ottoman, covered in Fermoie 'Silver Something' linen. The bookcases are original to the house and were made by Whytock and Reid.
Simon Brown40/43Reclaimed ceiling beams were hollowed out to conceal steel structures in Robin Muir's study, where the look of shelved books is reflected in a striped rug.
Sharyn Cairns41/43Across the landing in this house designed by Rabih Hage, the study has bespoke built-in shelving to display not only the owners' large number of books the couple have collected, but also the Chinese artefacts and Danish blue-and-white porcelain that they own. The white sofa lifts the beautifully dark room.
Simon Upton42/43A hallway or landing is a prime location for a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. 'Never be afraid to scale up; rooms can be theatrical and comfortable at the same time,' says Emma Burns, one of the leading interior design directors at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. The lesson was gleaned from legendary designer Roger Banks-Pye and executed at The Dovecote, Emma's home in the country.
Rachel Whiting43/43The bookshelves were already in place, but were repainted by Maria Speake for the owners of this Barbican flat, high up in one of the towers of the Grade II-listed Seventies brutalist landmark. Maria created a sliding door so that the sitting room can be shut off from the hall for extra warmth. Maria runs Retrouvius - the reclamation company - with her husband Adam Hills.
