Decorating With Books

I love to read. I eat it up. I buy hardback books at garage and estate sales for a dollar. I pore over discounted books at bookstores. I pick up books at the office. (We get scads of them for review.)

There’s a downside to all this, though. I do donate books to the library once I read them. But I’m the kind of guy who hates to part with a book. The catch? Where and how to store them.

Over the years, I’ve come up with approaches that are not only practical from a storage point of view but attractive from a decorating viewpoint.

One way I’ve put books to use is as a base for a coffee table. The trick is to come up with piles of books that are of exactly the same height. That’s important because the top they support must be level.

Instead of stacking the books all in a line, one atop the other, I like to skew the books at different angles as I build to give a more random look.

The top of the table can be glass or wood. I prefer glass because it allows you to see the dust jacket of the book atop each pile. (Choose an attractive cover for that position.)

I also prefer a glass top because glass tends to be heavier than wood and holds the books in place better.

A stack of books on a table is the perfect literary pedestal. Top the book pedestal with a special piece of glass or pottery.

Maybe you’ve got a bust of your favorite writer. Perfection.

If you’re going to place a potted plant on top of the book pedestal, make sure you use a saucer beneath the pot so that, when you water, liquid does not seep onto the books. Getting books wet is one sure way of reducing your book collection fast.

Many homes have a long hall that leads to bedrooms. These puppies can be difficult to decorate.

Usually the lighting is not wonderful, and the space is easy to neglect. It’s a great place for books.

However, you needn’t go to the expense of building in bookcases.

Instead, resort to a tried and true substitute - with a little variation.

Remember the board-andbrick bookcases you put together in your dorm room or first apartment?

Go ahead and experiment with a similar setup in the hall.

To get the most storage for the space, use books rather than bricks as the supports.

For a decorator look, paint the boards a color complementary to the colors in the hall or in the rooms that the hall opens onto.Instead of using bookends to support the books, use a small pile of - you got it - books on either end.