Bookworm: Backwards Edition

It's no secret that I'm a bit of a book nerd. Sometimes I don't read the most intellectual books per se (Twilight will be a classic in 50 years, mark my words), but I do love to read when I have the time. I enjoy the use of books in design. I think that a library is important when I have a house of my own and I've been known to have opinions about book arrangement. I'm referring to the color coding idea for book arrangment which I'm morally opposed to. Dramatic? Rigid? Perhaps. Anyway, the latest book trend I've seen is turning the book spines inward so that the inside is visible. Take a look at some and then we can talk about it.

Luke Vahle was featured in this week's Decorati newsletter. The books here are turned spine inwards which works with the clean white color scheme of this desk. I like the use of stacking the books on either side like bookends.

Ms. Lauren of Pure Style Home did a similar bookcase display; hers with more interest and "objets". The top row really accents the little bust sculptures. The crates at the bottom break up the mass of books as well. Well done!

From The City Sage blog. Book spines turned inwards everywhere! I love how you can tell how old the book is by how yellowed the inside is.

From Country Living (via Dover Pl. blog), this shows that you don't need a neutral color scheme for this idea. Here, bright colors pop from the background of the books.

I decided to try it for myself on a small scale. Should I be embarrassed of my book selection? I'm not...

I thought I'd break up the monotony with two of my most gorgeous book spines off to the side. I kind of like the look of this but I'm still torn.

I have a really pretty cloth Pierre Deux journal that I included in the stack on the middle shelf. I understand the idea, and maybe when you're finished reading an embarrassing bestseller book you might want to turn it spine inwards.

What do you all think of this idea? I saw this done at the J. Crew in Westfarms mall in Farmington, CT (yeah!!), and in the store display it looked amazing! I wish I had a picture to show you. I'd love to do something interesting with my bookcases besides the mini displays I've created but I have so many design books that I love to show them off and admire them myself. I'm thinking of wallpapering the back of the bookcase or painting it a bright color.


Alicia B.