Rule Book

 

 

 

Some of the "rules" that one may be told to "follow" when it comes to having and displaying books in your home:

 

 

1.  Don't fan your books - stack them neatly.

2.  Don't stack your books on tables - keep them on shelves.

4.  Don't take the book jackets off.

5.  Do take the book jackets off.

6.  Don't use your books to decorate with.

7.  Do use your books to decorate with.

8.  Don't line them up in height order.

9.  Do line them up in height order.

 

 

My little rule(s) or thoughts about having and displaying books in your home?

 

It's YOUR home and they are YOUR books.  Read them, stack them, fan them, protect them, flaunt them, decorate with them, LOVE them.  Period.  The end.

 

Oh and then sit back and watch the sunlight dance on them too. 

 

 

xo,

Kim

Comments

[Marianne]

Good morning Kim
I agree with you about books totally. I love them, stack them, decorate with them and look at them on a lazy Saturday afternoon
Have a great day!
(((Hugs)))

[Bobbi]

Ok! Now I know what to do with all these books. Thanks :) I decided to do all of the above... Have a beautiful weekend.

[susan]

I love to be surrounded by books! Books make our lives so much richer. And I love your pretty house! So happy I stumbled upon your blog - I plan to visit often.
Good wishes to you!

[Daisy Cottage]

Thank you Susan! I'm so happy you are here!!

xo,
Me

[All things nice...]

you are so right, I am going to have a little room in my new house all for my books :) They deserve a wee area for themselves :)

All things nice...

[Barbara Anne]

Amen, sister! We have thousands of books and that's no joke. DH is a scholar and we're all bibliophiles.

What totally mystifies me is that - just to be different - some decorators have clad books in matching jackets without titles or placed them backwards on bookshelves. You'd think they never heard of the principle that "form follows function" since the book you want cannot easily be found if your books are displayed like this. I'd imagine the homeowners in these homes must have endless patience in looking for books or they just don't use their books very much. How did this idea fly in the first place?! Head shaking in puzzlement here. :D

Hugs and Happy Saturday! It's All Hallows Eve Eve!!

[Tammy]

Too cute for words. Your photos this week have been beautiful. Hugs. Tammy

[Daisy Cottage]

(((Tammy)))

THANK YOU.

xo,
Me

[Mindy]

I love, love, love books!! They are the accessory that goes with everything. I'm sure where books go is one part of my home that is seldom planned. They are in every room including the bathrooms, and I'm usually reading no less than fifteen at a time.

[Julie Harward]

Oh, I so agree...let them live! ;D

[Patty M]

Yeah, for no rules in decorating...period. Cute post.

[sue silva]

Right on, sista!

Sue
xo

[racheld]

Yessss!! Ours are lined up, laid down, standing beside, lying under, holding up, filling in, supporting, matching, keeping company with, leaning against, sliding down from, towering over, slanting toward, waiting, lurking, anticipating, remembering, napping, close to hand, shoved beneath, and just generally being themselves and making us happy.

They pose on shelves and sit beneath benches, stack on tables and provide support for candlesticks, picture frames, teapots, lamps, a tarnished old silver champagne bucket (now holding a jaunty jack-o-lantern in a wizard's hat) and whatever other old lovey things we put there. The stacks fill corners of the floor, fit like bright puzzle pieces to fill the area beneath a park bench in the sitting room, and gleam with the colors of flowers from all corners of the rooms.

Books are the multi-taskers of Life: They entertain, comfort, soothe, teach, provide information, educate, amuse, reminisce and look pretty darn good lounging around the landscape.

Thank you for the reminder---I can see probably four hundred from here, and I'm gonna go around the house and enjoy looking at them all for a while.

[Laura Lee]

Because of you, I've been flinging off my books' dust covers with aplomb, and discovering the prettiest colors underneath! Your blog is still my favorite "happy spot" on the net, even after 3+ years.

[Ricki Jill Treleaven]

I looooooove this post, Kim! I am a new follower (I read about your blog in Blogging for Bliss), and I must say I love your blog! I am an English major, and I love to read. I have books all over my house. Books are one of the few things I collect! Although I have read most of the books in my home, my "to be read" pile is high, and I hope to be caught-up with my reading by Christmas.
I also have books in my car because that's where I tend to get my reading done (not while driving, but while in carpool and waiting for my kids to finish activities).

One of my favorite "book rules" I read in a decorating magazine was this one: "It is impolite to have books in your home you have never read." Seriously????

[Penny @ The Comforts of Home & Lavender Hill Studio]

Yes! I agree.... I am a rule breaker :-0!
xo
Penny

[Maggie]

Thank goodness for books. My life would be lost without them. I am afraid I put them everywhere and have no rules. Enjoy your weekend
Love
Maggie

[Susie]

Don't you think there are just too many stuffy rules...I love to decorate with my books. They often add just the right height to a vignette. And when you have books here and there, a visiting Grand may pick one up and actually read it...

Susie

[Vee]

Thank you for the permission to do all of the above...I have done and will continue to do all of the above. Have a happy weekend...

[Sandy]

We are readers. We have lots of books - everywhere! We have a beautiful Danish bookcase in our living room that is filled with books...just books...nothing else. It would drive the interior decorators mad. One small bedroom we call our "library" because we have built shelves for our paperback books. Another bedroom has our sleeper sofa and houses more of my books and my teddy bears. Two Danish units are filled in our family room with books and magazines. Oh, yeah, did I mention we like magazines too. Even our finished basement has books - although we did clean some of the older ones out this summer. I like that you encourage readers to be themselves when it comes to their homes and that rules are meant to be broken. Have a wonderful weekend Kim!

[Peggy]

We are also huge readers. Just yesterday I was going through shelves of books at Goodwill for something new to read! I have books displayed in my living room, on my side table in the bedroom and in a shelf in the spare room... that doesn't count the stacks of country and cooking magazines that I collect too! I stack my magazines in pretty baskets in the living room and kitchen~ I even display my cookbooks! I love this post, thanks for sharing!

[Stephanie]

Oh I love books - and I have most of those in the photo too! Why follow the rules when your home is so perfectly warm and welcoming as it is? Follow your heart and we'll keep following you!

[kathy]

I have no choice but to stack then sometimes, I think I have too many books! lol. I hate the silly jackets too. They slip and slide around. I usually end up taking them off.

[Charlene]

Thanks so much for your lovely pictures.....I cannot wait until your post for Halloween.I am having a party tonight and will decorate with books.Happy Halloween ALL!

[Jean]

Well said, Kim! With anything, it's what you like and what makes you happy with your home.

[Kathy]

I love it when you say stuff like this, it is like a burst of freedom to be yourselves and sometimes that is a hard task to do, but then here comes Kim and poof a breath of fresh air , thanks

[Hattie]

Hi Kim!
I'm with you, dear Lady! Love your posts, each and every time!
xoxo

[Carrie Merth]

I do not follow the rules. I have books in various locations of the house... on tables, beside beds (on the floor) and a few in closet shelves.

[My Blessed Serendipity Life]

I say throw the rule book out the window and do what makes sense to you!

-Danielle

[maria]

when reading the do's and don'ts it made my emotions go all over the place but, when you put it in perspective i felt a sense of peace, it's what's pleasing to each and everyone of us, it's what makes us happy and joyful and a since of peace - you are a delight - you're a ray of sunshine every day in my life/ours.

love ya, maria - cottage feel-
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

[Kimberly Padilla]

We love books as well. We have antiquarian books, books on psychology, technology, math, electrical plumbing, religion, sociology, history, biographies and everything you could possibly think of... everything but fiction - my husband has just bought a very few fiction, which my husband bought because they were collectible. This is my fourth year in college and I have barely ever had to go to the library in search of material to source my papers. I don't think we ever stop learning, and as you said, we never stop learning. Our living room is a library. As far as how we decorate with them, they are mostly in shelves and my husband tried to categorize them so that we can find them easily, since most are research books. Blessings!

[Jill]

Amen, sister! I follow my own rules and I love that you do too. I love using books in decor. In fact, I've incorporated the Harry Potter and Twilight books into my Halloween decor this year!

Thanks for always making me feel better about being a rule breaker~ :)

Hugs,
Jill

[D]

I totally agree, Kim. And I love the way you display your books. :)
D

[Betty Jo]

Kim I always love your rules best! I honestly don't follow any rules when decorating with books or anything else. I simply do what I like! Love you!! ♥

[Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife]

Nope, no rules. I have a couple thousand books, scattered everywhere so rules wouldn 't work anyway. I do know where they all are though. That's kinda crazy.

[Peg]

My decorator told me to do this. Her name is Kim and she comes highly recommended. I just love what she has done for my home (and my mood!)

[La]

I AGREE! La

[sandy]

That's why I love you Kim! I must have broken all the rules. I spray painted some, stacked them, tied them with raffia, then put some dried fall foliage on top. I always was a rebel :).

[sarita]

MY addiction is books - found on amazon tht you can buy books for a penny - shipping and handling 3.99. This way i have found authors that i never would have found otherwise.
Just got one with Letters from Women from revolution to today. wonderful book.and i know some people don't like to "dog ear" their pages..not me! dog ear those pages - then you know people have read them! i like and make book marks but still like to dog ear the pages! Woke up to lovely gentle rain this morning in the southern california desert. it was cool - but i opened my sliding glass door to listen to the rain. Makes my heart beat a little slower. i hope that you have a great week ahead dear kim

[Trish Rowley]

Hi Kim, Until I visited you I had no idea what to do with my books they were under the bed in boxes but now they are in little stacks thanks to you. I change them around because I have so many and they look great I have a stack in the loungeroom and one in the Kitchen of cookbooks and I love them. Have a great weekend Trish xox ;)

[Suzanne]

"Books, I found, had the power to make time stand still, retreat or fly into the future." -Jim Bishop

[jennifer]

OH yes!! Yes, yes!! Amen and Amen!!
And have books in every room. Enjoy them , savor them, gobble them up like a delicious pastry! Books are wonderful!! I do love books. :)

[Linda from Heartfire At Home]

Ah yes, when it comes to books the only rule is... 'There are no rules!' I too have them all over the place on display in many different ways! A room without books is like a room without a soul for me. I can't imagine EVER giving up reading 'real' books for reading them electronically. I like the feel, look, and smell of real books too much. Each one is like a friend I can visit whenever I please.

Linda. xox :)

[vintagesue]

right kim. i totally agree!! not only do i have a bunch of stacked decor books hangin round, i will also stack old books high like a column or tower and top them with a statue used like a finial. books are fun. i think they are the good clutter...functional clutter....inspiring clutter.
thanks for such a great post.
always a fan!!!
sue

[Sarsaparilla]

I'm glad to see from all the comments that I'm clearly not the only one who is in love with books! I just posted about a wonderful early 1900's journal I found at an estate sale. Luckily for me, not everyone values books as much as I do - so I was able to snatch it up on the second day for half price.

Your posts always inspire me...
Happy Halloween!

[Nancy Jane York]

I love books and have a lot of them and love seeing how you use them to decorate. Kim be sure and keep all the dust jackets as they represent at least 70% of the books value. I learned this while volunteering with a local book store years ago.

[Ann]

Read and enjoy them are my two rules. Some books need to have their covers removed and some don't. If I paid for the book that decision is up to me. House Beautiful magazine has a long list of "dos" this month and I laughed at most of them. I've always done my own thing regarding decorating and that's why I like you Kim.

[I Love Pretty Little Things]

I Do Love Them! All of Them!!!

[Vick Cotnoir]

BINGO!

[Lynn Paterson]

Amen......I love to see hardback books in a home. They just add to the warmth of the surroundings. But then again, I'm a huge book junkie. And totally hooked on booksignings too!

[Rhonda]

I a-gree wholeheartedly!