Members’ favourites: a curated showcase of home libraries by members of The List
A home library is more than just a place to store your books; it's a cosy and quiet retreat from the stresses of daily life. But what are the key aspects to consider when creating one?
The design of a home library often starts with shelving. Whether that be floating shelves, floor-to-ceiling or built-in, our advice would be to always go bigger than you think; book collections always tend to grow instead of shrink. Lighting also plays an important role in a library. Floor lamps or a small lamp on a side table can both provide the light you need to comfortably read your book of choice. It can also be a useful way of carving out a reading nook in a larger space if you don't have an entire room to dedicate to your books. Of course, no library is complete without a variety of seating options, whether that is in the form of a pair of armchairs or a luxuriously plush sofa. Whatever you decide on, make sure that it is nice and comfortable so that you can read for hours without feeling restless.
To help you get some inspiration for your house, we've pulled together a selection of our favourite home libraries. From spacious libraries equipped with ladders to humble reading nooks, we've rounded up our favourite designs by members of our online directory, The List by House & Garden.
Be sure to click the button below each description to see more examples of the designer's work, as well as their contact information on their profile on The List.
Or perhaps you're also a design professional and would like to learn more about becoming one of our members? The List offers everything from interior design to bespoke joinery, offering our readers the chance to connect with the right company to collaborate with on their next project. Click here to apply.
Christopher Horwood1/18Turner Pocock
Tasked with bringing this 18th-century Cotswold house back to life by its creative owner, Turner Pocock carefully balanced colour with art. A downstairs loo-cum-library features walls in emerald green polished plaster and a generously sized book collection.
2/18Brooke Copp-Barton
Brooke Copp-Barton of her eponymous design studio designed a floor-to-ceiling library in the attic conversion of a Victorian terrace, where the books create a warm and inviting backdrop to the main living area of the home.
Mark Anthony Fox3/18Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler
Emma Burns of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler has brought a distinguished Wimbledon flat back to life with layers of warm colour. In this room, the walls have been painted in ‘Baked Cherry’ by Little Greene and in the bookcase are a pair of late nineteenth-century stained glass roundels, which Emma had made into lightboxes.
4/18Adam Bray
Adam Bray lined the bookcases in this charming library with Beata Heuman’s marbled paper. The space also features an Italian 1950s lamp and a variety of comfortable reading furniture.
Simon Upton5/18Hubert Zandberg Interiors
The dining room in Hubert Zandberg's Berlin apartment features a library by Brazilian master designer Sergio Rodrigues. A wall of windows is carefully balanced by using a combination of horizontal blinds and vertical curtains.
Snook Photograph6/18Laura Stephens Interiors
This library by Laura Stephens Interiors was designed for a young family, with the brief for it to be beautiful but fun. The space also doubles as a playroom, so it has ample storage for both books and toys.
Dean Hearne7/18Nicola Harding & Co
Interior designer Nicola Harding has brought warmth and comfort to an Arts & Crafts house in Oxfordshire. The walls are broken up by built-in shelving, which house the owner’s collection of books, ceramics and artwork.
8/18Oakley Moore Interior Design
Kate Aslangul of Oakley Moore Interior Design decorated this light-flooded space on the second floor of a Parisian home, incorporating a library on the staircase. The result is both striking and practical.
Paul Massey9/18Lonika Chande
Interior designer Lonika Chande has enjoyed filling her west London house with colourful fabrics and carefully curated treasures that enhance its character and origins as a Victorian worker’s cottage. A small nook under the stairs creates a place to read a book.
Dean Hearne10/18Field Day Studio
In the neglected side of the sitting room, from their project in Putney Field Day Studio built a set of beautiful curving bookcases to enhance the lines of the walls, and made it into a library and listening space.
Anna Yanovski11/18Pia Interior Design
Pia Interior Design's client is an avid reader and subsequently owns an extensive collection of books of all shapes and sizes. As he is unlikely to read them again, Pia and her team chose to display the books in the library with their pages facing forward for a more cohesive look.
Jonathan Bond Photography12/18Samantha Todhunter Design
Samantha Todhunter Design believes that the addition of library walls is an instantly pleasing treatment in any room. This particular project combines rich colour and texture to cocoon the space, making it an inviting place to read.
13/18Laurence McIntosh
Now fully installed within a historic country house in Scotland, this beautifully curved library has been seamlessly integrated into its new setting. Working to a design by architects GLM, the team at Laurence McIntosh brought the vision to life with exceptional craftsmanship and a deep understanding of traditional joinery.
14/18Zanna Westgate Design
The library in this New England-style family home by Zanna Westgate Design includes an installation by The Ultimate Library. The library, which is one of two rooms in the house without a sea view, has a more vibrant and cosy feel drawn from the novel covers.
ANANIEV15/18AIYA bureau
Interior designer Aiya Lisova of AIYA bureau created the scheme for this spacious three-bedroom apartment in London. Designed for a family with three children, each room blends traditional with modern elements while still having the practical elements needed for family living.
16/18Kate Guinness Design
Kate Guinness and her team chose to paint this library in Ethereal Blue by Edward Bulmer and layered it with bolder red and pink accents, like the pretty window dressing and the lampshade.
17/18Lucinda Martin Interiors
Lucinda Martin Interiors, which specialises in the design of country houses, has transformed this beautiful library by harmoniously blending timeless elegance with contemporary touches. Her in-house workroom, adept at furnishings and curtain making, utilises sourced fabrics from a vast array of suppliers.
- Alexandra Young18/18
Alexandra Young
This pretty library by interior designer Alexandra Young includes a herringbone oak flooring, bespoke cabinetry painted in Edward Bulmer's Indigo with bronze detailing and lighting to match and a floor lamp from Porta Romana.
