It's taken a while to update this, but the library project is complete! With books, toys, chess set, carpet, chairs, table and everything!
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
library complete!
It's taken a while to update this, but the library project is complete! With books, toys, chess set, carpet, chairs, table and everything!
library progress
A while back we started the quest to build a library - and we're very nearly done! Below is an update on the space we've been filling, and how progress has - very slowly - been going.
Next is the process of book-packing and categorizing and colour-coding... but that's a whole separate blog post.
the two opposite walls we're filling with shelves, floor to ceiling:
the shelves start arriving in pieces...
and the shelves are assembled and fitted:
Next is the process of book-packing and categorizing and colour-coding... but that's a whole separate blog post.
to be continued...
a trilogy in two parts
This is my rant for a pseudo-Monday morning... why do book stores never stock all three parts for any given trilogy?? There's nothing more annoying than reading through 500 pages of part one, 600 pages of part two, only to find no one is stocking part three! Argh!
In this light, I decided to buy all three parts of a trilogy at once. Smart, no? That way, each book is ready and waiting as soon as I am. Brilliant! Problem is - no one stocks all three! How hard can it truly be when ordering your stock to make sure you have all of them? And what made it worse, as the dreary assistants looked at me with disdain for making them come out from behind their counters, was that they had four different trilogies from the same author, but never more than two of each! Argh!
Eventually, they found a hidden copy of the missing third, but with a different dust-jacket from a different publisher. Not to be picky, but why buy all three at once, only to have your set still look like you scrounged around town to find the only available copy? Bleugh.
Anyway. I must have seemed like a pedantic fantasy-sci-fi-nut to be buying three books at once AND to want them to match, but is that really such a big ask? I ask you...
In this light, I decided to buy all three parts of a trilogy at once. Smart, no? That way, each book is ready and waiting as soon as I am. Brilliant! Problem is - no one stocks all three! How hard can it truly be when ordering your stock to make sure you have all of them? And what made it worse, as the dreary assistants looked at me with disdain for making them come out from behind their counters, was that they had four different trilogies from the same author, but never more than two of each! Argh!
Eventually, they found a hidden copy of the missing third, but with a different dust-jacket from a different publisher. Not to be picky, but why buy all three at once, only to have your set still look like you scrounged around town to find the only available copy? Bleugh.
Anyway. I must have seemed like a pedantic fantasy-sci-fi-nut to be buying three books at once AND to want them to match, but is that really such a big ask? I ask you...
more storage options
In my search for bookshelves I came across this. It's not especially pretty or fabulously designed, but it is an interesting idea in using space you hadn't thought of before to store your stuff if you're space-anorexic.
shelf life
After much deliberation and back and forwarding on what to do with the odd "cottage" area, we've decided to turn it in to a library. I'm going to cover the two main walls with book shelves, floor to ceiling. Great! Idea in the bag, but now what?
Having shelves put in is not nearly as easy as it seems. For one thing, you can't simply google "shelf people" or "shelf installation". What you'll get is a myriad of companies who specialize in shelving for large warehouses and storerooms etc. Yuk.
And for another, the options on styling and design are almost endless!
What I have googled though, are a range of images of other people's shelves that I like. And I'm not just talking shelves here - I'm talking *library* - I want the whole schkaboodle, rolling ladder included (just because I'm going to relegate the cr*ppy books to the top shelf doesn't mean I'll never want to reach them again). Through my search I've managed to narrow down what I want - simple, elegant, light, asymmetrical, but not crazy-go-out-and-join-the-circus shelving. Simple, yes?
On Tuesday last week I met with a woman from a kitchen installation company - they do shelves of course - hoping that she'd be able to solve all my problems with a magical wand swish and a sexy design. Boy was I mistaken. I hesitate to even post her "design" it was such a cacophony of angles, wood and boxes. Added to which she missed the brief completely. So tomorrow is round two, with the people who made up my study desk for me. I'm infinitely more optimistic, but we shall see.
What I found on my searches...
Be asymmetrical with your verticals, but try to keep your horizontals uniform. Your books can then afford to be a bit messy, but it won't end up looking like your old school library.
Use all the space you never thought you had (these are built in to the ceiling). Above and behind doors is always sneaky for those pressed with space.
Aspire to owning the ultimate library ever, even if you don't yet have the space, finances or books :)
And this one is just a fantastic way of filing your books, so that they create a feature in the room too. Maybe unpractical, but very pretty.
Now what furniture to put in...
Having shelves put in is not nearly as easy as it seems. For one thing, you can't simply google "shelf people" or "shelf installation". What you'll get is a myriad of companies who specialize in shelving for large warehouses and storerooms etc. Yuk.
And for another, the options on styling and design are almost endless!
What I have googled though, are a range of images of other people's shelves that I like. And I'm not just talking shelves here - I'm talking *library* - I want the whole schkaboodle, rolling ladder included (just because I'm going to relegate the cr*ppy books to the top shelf doesn't mean I'll never want to reach them again). Through my search I've managed to narrow down what I want - simple, elegant, light, asymmetrical, but not crazy-go-out-and-join-the-circus shelving. Simple, yes?
On Tuesday last week I met with a woman from a kitchen installation company - they do shelves of course - hoping that she'd be able to solve all my problems with a magical wand swish and a sexy design. Boy was I mistaken. I hesitate to even post her "design" it was such a cacophony of angles, wood and boxes. Added to which she missed the brief completely. So tomorrow is round two, with the people who made up my study desk for me. I'm infinitely more optimistic, but we shall see.
What I found on my searches...
Be asymmetrical with your verticals, but try to keep your horizontals uniform. Your books can then afford to be a bit messy, but it won't end up looking like your old school library.
Use all the space you never thought you had (these are built in to the ceiling). Above and behind doors is always sneaky for those pressed with space.
Aspire to owning the ultimate library ever, even if you don't yet have the space, finances or books :)
And this one is just a fantastic way of filing your books, so that they create a feature in the room too. Maybe unpractical, but very pretty.
Now what furniture to put in...
designers on design
A friend made a fabulous find at the recent Exclusive Books Summer sale - Designers on Design.
"A beautifully illustrated guide to today's cutting-edge furniture and product designers, it features interviews with each of the designers asking questions such as, "What product do you wish you had designed?", "What was your big break?", "What influences your work?" and "What's the greatest challenge you face in your work?"."
I didn't see the book at all, and was very disappointed. After searching no fewer than four different branches for the book, she arrived at work this morning with a copy for me - she'd found one all the way on the Eastrand! (guess they're not that into design over there ;) )
I'm super excited, and have been paging through it all day. It's a lovely collection of features on various contemporary designers who work on everything from vacuum cleaners to sofas - with the guy who did the iPod smack bang in between.
If you're into design, or furniture see if you can get your paws on it:
"A beautifully illustrated guide to today's cutting-edge furniture and product designers, it features interviews with each of the designers asking questions such as, "What product do you wish you had designed?", "What was your big break?", "What influences your work?" and "What's the greatest challenge you face in your work?"."
I didn't see the book at all, and was very disappointed. After searching no fewer than four different branches for the book, she arrived at work this morning with a copy for me - she'd found one all the way on the Eastrand! (guess they're not that into design over there ;) )
I'm super excited, and have been paging through it all day. It's a lovely collection of features on various contemporary designers who work on everything from vacuum cleaners to sofas - with the guy who did the iPod smack bang in between.
If you're into design, or furniture see if you can get your paws on it:
augusten burroughs
The first Burroughs I read was Running with Scissors after seeing it on noodle's blog. I've been hooked ever since. While the movie of the same name didn't do the book justice, his stories are fabulous! There's a dark, crazy humour to them that you can't help but laugh at.
This is a clip of him talking about his latest novel A Wolf at the Table. It's a memoir of his relationship with his father and is quite a dark departure from his previous books. It can be disturbing, but really is worth a read. His mention of his next book has me excited!
Burroughs is also the author of: Sellevision, Running with Scissors, Dry, Magical Thinking and Possible Side Effects.
This is a clip of him talking about his latest novel A Wolf at the Table. It's a memoir of his relationship with his father and is quite a dark departure from his previous books. It can be disturbing, but really is worth a read. His mention of his next book has me excited!
Burroughs is also the author of: Sellevision, Running with Scissors, Dry, Magical Thinking and Possible Side Effects.
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