These images are not from my home... unfortunately! I found them all on a Google image search of
"Home Libraries". Head over to Google for these and many, many more images of Home Libraries.
Aren't these fabulous spaces? Oh, let the dreaming begin! I wouldn't know which book to choose first. I would be able to spend hours and hours with all these books. I have a friend that once said she would sooner lend out her car than her books. And, she wasn't kidding - not even a bit!
I'm just trying to figure out where I could fit even a small version of one of these lovely libraries into my home. I think that with my stamping space, and my sewing stuff (the sewing stuff is stored in the guest bedroom, and has become quite a stash over the last 2 years), and with 3 kids and a husband who all have hobbies of their own - my dream library will have to wait.
But, I can dream. And, as I read on someone's post yesterday:
"It doesn't cost any more to dream BIG
than it does to think small. "
So, I dream for a big library. In the meantime, I feel blessed that I have access to 2 great libraries - one at my church, and the public library down the road, plus my kids have a great library at their school, which has just been beautifully remodeled. I'll have to do a before and after post about that soon, too.
The pictures I've collected jumped out at me for various reasons.
I love the crispness of this library. And its sheer size. A wall of books, but not dusky and dim - bright and inviting!
This one looks very functional, but I think that it is perhaps book overkill. There must be a dozen or so books in there that could be donated to MCC so you could fit a photo on one of the shelves to break things up!
I like how the next one is decorated. This is appealing for a family because it is more of a multi-use room. There is a TV in there, although, who in their right mind would choose television over this gorgeous selection of literature?
This is a modern library, but I would be frustrated by those shelves. I have a few open ended shelves in my house and it really bothers me when books are not supported at the end of a shelf. But the fireplace is a nice cozy touch!
I think this one, with the curtain, would be most realistic for my house, I'm just not sure where it would go. Then you could use your space for formal gatherings, or pull the curtain open and be surrounded with books!
I am in awe of the multitude of books in this next photo, but I would feel claustrophobic in this space. Look how books are even stored underneath the shelves. This is not a book-lover, this is a hoarder - there are even books on the reading chair... now, what's the point of that?! But, I must give them credit because the books are very neatly displayed. I just don't believe for a minute that this person has read, or even browsed all of these books.
This next one would be considered a dream within a dream (have you seen the movie Inception?) To have a grand piano like this would just be fantastic. However, the chairs in this room would not invite me to sit in them to read a book. I would love the large windows on either side, but those chairs would be replaced with leather couches. Actually, the leather couches I already own would be quite perfect!
The colourful effect of these next books jumps out at me, but I think it must have been edited in photoshop, or the owner makes a hobby of searching out books for their spine colour, not their content. In which case, it is beautiful, but there are probably few books that he or she would like to read for real.
I saved this photo for last. Can you guess why? Look at the walls. Red walls in themselves make me happy. So, to have them behind all these books, that's brilliant!
What do you dream about?
With some friends... their oldest daughter placed 6th in her age category for the 5K, and their oldest son placed 2nd overall in the 10K, which put him first in his age category. These kids are amazing (there are 6 of them!) and they all ran, including their parents!! Elise is proudly holding a medal in this pic, but she just borrowed it for the photo - didn't want to be left out just because she didn't race!!!
The race day events were great, too. Bouncy castles, slides, food, free Starbucks coffee, and lots of music. A really well-planned, and well-attended community event, with global focus.
My boys really loved the food tent for runners. Water, fruit, power bars. I think they really just wanted to run the race so they could eat the food at the end!!! Oh, and Todd wanted a medal :) He said he is now going to collect medals!
