NEW YORK 鈥� Some people love the look of a bookshelf stuffed with books, and what that represents. Others see books as clutter and wonder why anyone owns them in the digital era.
But the 鈥渨ell-chosen book,鈥� or an artfully displayed stack of books, 鈥渃an be as powerful as any other design element,鈥� said Pablo Solomon, an artist and designer from Lampasas, Texas, near Austin. Books not only create a mood, they make a personal statement, he added.
And even when books are used primarily for esthetic effect rather than to show off a collection, the very act of displaying them celebrates them, according to Meredith Wing.
鈥淩epurposing books honours them,鈥� said Wing, a third-year architecture student at Columbia University who has her own company, Meredith Wing Design.
Because many readers consume literature digitally these days, physical books also evoke nostalgia 鈥� not unlike displays of other authentic objects that originated in earlier eras, such as wagon wheels or washboards. 鈥淭hese are the things we now kind of worship,鈥� Wing said.
But on a practical level, books offer a 鈥渞elatively inexpensive way to decorate on a large scale,鈥� Wing said. She鈥檚 bought books by the foot, covered them in white paper and created a 鈥渕inimalist library wall.鈥� She鈥檚 stacked them in nonfunctioning fireplaces and used them as pedestals for photos. And she鈥檚 removed dust covers to reveal book spine colours 鈥渇or dramatic effect.鈥�
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, The Tavern restaurant stacked books along a room divider between the dining area and bar in a coloured geometric pattern. The pattern echoed the art deco architecture Tulsa is famous for.
It鈥檚 a technique that鈥檚 easily adapted in home decor: Instead of lining books up vertically, break them up with horizontal stacks. You can arrange them by size and colour, or keep them organized by topic. But use some of the horizontal stacks to display 鈥渁ccessories, photos or travel knickknacks,鈥� advised Liz Toombs, an interior decorator.
For a 鈥渟tylized look,鈥� Toombs buys old book collections at estate sales. 鈥淚f they have that worn patina, it鈥檚 more interesting,鈥� said Toombs, who keeps a set of old black-bound encyclopedias in her office at Polka Dots & Rosebuds in Lexington, Kentucky. Sometimes she turns a book on a shelf around so that the pages, not the spine, face out, to add 鈥渁 little funky spin to it.鈥�
Meridith Baer buys old books by the bin for her work at Meridith Baer Home, a home-staging company. She covers the books individually in solid-colour butcher or craft paper 鈥� or sometimes even old architectural house-plans 鈥� then arranges them in various ways. If there鈥檚 an art book she loves, 鈥淚 leave it on the coffee table open to that page.鈥�
Solomon, the Texas designer, also likes displaying individual art books. 鈥淲e have every art book that ever was,鈥� said Solomon. 鈥淢y wife will pick her favourite artist of the month, put that book out on display, create a dinner and have friends over for Picasso night.鈥�
And don鈥檛 be afraid to judge a book by its cover.
鈥淏ook covers are some of the best art ever done,鈥� said Solomon. You can even digitally scan a book cover and have it printed in a variety of materials 鈥� aluminum or canvas for example 鈥� in any size to hang on a wall.
Ron Marvin, a New York-based interior designer, uses stacks of books to create 鈥渓ittle moments.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檒l stack four or five books on a cocktail table and put a vase on top,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have an antique chair I didn鈥檛 want anybody sitting in. I put a stack of books in the chair and on top of that a glass bowl and it looks like a little sculpture. It鈥檚 a moment.
鈥淏ut it also says, 鈥楶lease don鈥檛 sit here.鈥� 鈥�
In his office, he stacks his collection of design books horizontally by colour and size, largest to smallest, creating little pyramids.
On Pinterest and other sites, you can find photos of furniture made from books 鈥� including a much-posted picture of a bed that doesn鈥檛 look very comfortable (imagine sleeping on a mattress of books!).
But Marvin has made more practical furniture from stacks of books, including a nightstand next to a bed and a side table next to a low chair.
John Salvest used a solid wall of 4,000 paperback romance novels to spell out the word 鈥渇orever鈥� in an art installation.
Red-spined books formed the letters on a backdrop of white-spined books.
The installation was a notable part of State of the Art, a major contemporary art show that just completed its run at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Salvest said there was an 鈥渦nderlying sadness鈥� in finding hundreds of discarded books in thrift shops.
He chose the word 鈥渇orever鈥� because it often popped up in titles, presumably a reference to love or the absence of love. But in the age of the e-book, a wall of books that spells out 鈥渇orever鈥� can also signal that for some readers, books remain an important part of the culture.
