12 Home Library Ideas For The Bookworm Homeowner

Whether you're a bookworm looking to showcase your collection or seeking a cozy reading nook, elevate your home with these 12 home library ideas. From clever shelving solutions to cozy reading nooks, transform any space into a book lover's sanctuary.

Key Features Of A Home Library

• Built-in bookcase
• Bookshelves
• Book collection
• Reading nook
• Seating area
• Fireplace
• Ambient lighting
• Comfortable furniture
• Side table(s)

Home Library Design Ideas

In a world where the internet has a monopoly over our media, home libraries can be harder to come across. If you’re considering adding one to your home, here are 12 home library ideas:

1. Add Floor-To-Ceiling Bookshelves

Having a home library is slowly becoming an antiquated concept. However, like many interior design options, there are so many ways to modernize it. Adding built-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves not only gives your library a more modern look but also can make your room feel much more spacious and roomy. In addition, this design feature makes your books more visible and accessible than shorter, more compact bookshelves.

Having bookshelves that span from your floor to ceiling can leave a lot of empty space if you don't have enough books to fill it entirely. Having this much space leaves the opportunity for a homeowner to add personal touches like cabinets, picture frames or other personal items that can add to the ambiance of your home library.

2. Create A Cozy Atmosphere

Courtesy of Sarah Barnard Design + Steven Dewall

When you enter your home library, you ideally want it to feel like a cozy safe haven to relax and read a book. However, coziness is a subjective feeling, which is why personalizing your library’s atmosphere is vital.

There’s a reason that Old World home libraries immediately come to mind when most people consider creating their own. It’s not just that they’ve been the most popular. It’s also the fact that there’s something innately comforting about the natural hues and materials used.

If this style isn’t for you, there are dozens of architectural styles to choose from. Rustic, bohemian, modern or coastal are a few themes that can be used in any home library.

Furniture plays a huge role in creating a welcoming space because it lends itself to physical comfort. However, there are other tricks that you can use to make your home library warmer and more intimate.

3. Incorporate A Seating Area

Courtesy of Sarah Barnard Design + Chas Metivier

Adding the proper and most comfortable seating can elevate the atmosphere of your home library. While bookshelves and novels may be the primary focal point of the room, what would a library be without a place to crack open a book? While living rooms typically have traditional seating such as couches and sofas, your home library is the ideal place to have more unique and personalized seating.

You can create your own reading nook with comfortable furniture, while also being creative with your design choices. You can add more standard seating like a futon or armchair, yet you can also utilize more playful pieces like a bean bag or comfortable ottomans. Make it your own!

4. Switch Up How You Organize Your Books

Try to consider different ways to flaunt your collection of books. To maintain organization, you can always organize your books by genre, alphabetical order or subject. However, although you may know where to find the book you’re looking for, there are more creative ways to display your book collection.

Try to play around with the aesthetics of your library by arranging your books in an unconventional way. One of the most attention-grabbing methods is color coding. Grouping your books by color begs the attention of many.

Horizontal stacking can also disrupt the monotony of large quantities of books arranged in the same way. This design idea, although minor, elevates your book display.

Experiment with different heights, sizes and widths of books. Try to stack books by height or grouping books/series’ together that share a similar height. Alternatively, you could also store bigger books toward the bottom of your bookcase, adding more balance to th     e space.

5. Layer Textile Decor Into Your Display

Decorating can be one of the most exciting parts of constructing a home library. You can find creative ways for it to match or contrast the interior design of the rest of your home.

When choosing your seating, consider different textures, fabrics and patterns. Since comfort is a must in any home library, utilize furniture such as large comfortable chairs or loveseats with unique upholstery or fabrics. A more rustic-looking home library would be complemented by wooden accents, muted colors and leather seating, while a more modernized library might benefit from brighter colors and softer textures.

6. Paint With Moody Colors

More often than not, people tend to shy away from darker colors, as it’s commonly believed that lighter colors can brighten up a room and make it feel more welcoming. Contrary to popular belief, darker colors can make a room feel more comfortable and tight-knit. Painting a home library with darker colors is a bold choice, but creates a warm sanctuary perfectly fit for homeowners to get lost in a book.

For some, painting the entirety of a home library may be intimidating, especially if it doesn’t match the rest of their home. In instances like this, consider painting an accent wall or utilizing a darker wallpaper. Darker, more saturated colors can actually add depth and dimension to a room, while lighter colors can make them appear more flat and sometimes mundane. Sporadically adding darker tones can completely change the feel of your home library.

7. Light Up Your Book Collection

Different types of lighting can add both comfort and utility to any room. When designing your library, you want to layer your lighting to not only ensure that you can see but also furnish the room with a more inviting glow. When layering, there are three different types of lighting you can use to enhance the coziness of your room: general, task and accent lighting.

General lighting, typically regarded as the most common lighting method, is used to illuminate an entire room evenly. This is usually achieved through track lights and recess lights, but general lighting can be harsh and overpowering. For a home library, task and accent lighting can help set a better ambiance. Accent lighting is a concentrated light that draws your attention to specific objects in a room. This kind of lighting can be used to guide attention to the books in your library or artwork on your wall. Task lighting is somewhat of a happy medium between accent and general lighting. It illuminates a certain area of the room, without highlighting small objects in particular.

8. Bring In Artwork

Adding artwork to any room of a home is a great reflection of the homeowner's taste and can make it feel more personal. Artwork can be a creative way to show off your interior design preferences. Artwork can add a pop of color or complement the existing colors and design techniques in your home library.

Sometimes, adding artwork to your space can be the finishing touch when designing a room or home. It can be the focal point of a room or just an embellishment. Other times, artwork can be where people start when designing a room. If you’re struggling to cultivate a color palette or theme for your space, a specific piece of art can be a great place to start this process.

9. Scale Two Stories

Scaling a bookshelf to exhibit a grand library wall offers several benefits. This unique alteration to a standard bookshelf can maximize vertical space, ultimately making efficient use of the available room. It also allows for the display of an extensive book collection, turning it into a stunning focal point. A two-story bookshelf encourages exploration and invites you to interact with your books in a unique way. Lastly, it provides an opportunity to incorporate beautiful design elements, enhancing the overall aesthetics of your home.

10. Try Modular Shelving

Modular shelving can be a great option for those looking for more flexible storage and shelving options. This form of shelving typically has a more modern, minimalist design and is very easy to rearrange, construct and deconstruct, enabling the homeowner to optimize their space as much as they want.

Modular shelving can obviously be used to shelve books and can also be utilized for any additional storage you may need. If you don't have any storage that needs shelving, modular shelving is endlessly customizable and can be rearranged based on your needs or design methods. Due to its durability, these shelves will be able to last a long time and also grow with you and your home. If in the future you hope to redecorate or spruce up your home, there won’t be a need to buy a new shelving system.

11. Double Your Home Library As A Home Office

A library is the ideal space to also use as an office space. Sometimes, a library could be one of the only rooms where homeowners can find peace and quiet in their house, so you might as well take advantage of this! The combination of ambient lighting, moody colors and carefully selected decor can make for a great place to focus and get work done. This room can be personalized to feel like your own sanctuary and may already be a space where homeowners can have time to themselves, making it the perfect environment to use as an office.

12. Make It Multipurpose

Home libraries don’t need to be enclosed spaces, especially during a time in which open-concept homes are more popular than ever. With this floorplan, homeowners can add standard elements of a home library into other rooms, like their living room or home office. Make preexisting rooms in your home function as a library by adding a bookshelf, or even a reading nook, to make this room multipurposed.

How To Build A Home Library Design

Renovations like these can be overwhelming; here are eight steps to achieve your very own home library:

1. Find the right location: Choose a room that’s big enough to store your books that also has room for a seating area or reading nook.
2. Create a renovation budget: Consult with contractors and designers to gauge how much this renovation will cost you, and create your budget accordingly.
3. Gather your book collection: Collect the books you wish to showcase in your home library.
4. Build shelving: Being the focal point of your home library, your books need a home. Create a shelving system that displays your books and hopefully has room for storage or decorations.
5. Organize and display books: Show off your collection of books however you see fit. Consider playing around with methods of stacking or color coding.
6. Add lighting: Make your library even more cozy by adding ambient lighting.
7. Stage a seating area: Roughly map out where you would like your seating area to be placed.
8. Decorate: Finally, add your own flair to your library. Make it your own and be creative.

The Bottom Line: Make Your In-House Library A Peaceful Escape

Home libraries are a beautiful addition to any home. Intended to feel like your at-home safe haven, there are endless opportunities to make your home library personalized to suit the interior design of your home while serving as a place to relax and decompress over a book. Elements like lighting, color schemes and textiles can greatly impact the ambiance of this room. By implementing these ideas, you'll have a cozy home library that will be a source of comfort for years to come.

Home libraries can influence the value of your home. Looking to create your own? Apply for a cash-out refinance with Rocket Mortgage^® today.