I’m down on my knees, begging you please not to do this to your bookshelf

TwitterFacebook

How many takes will it take to kill the backwards bookshelves trend? 

I don’t know. But that won’t stop me from tryin’.

#Backwardsbooks is a recently reemerged design trend where books are flipped to hide their colorful spines. The effect is neutral and monochromatic and, I guess, pleasing to the minimalistic Crate and Barrel elite. 

It’s also violently boring and offensive to traditional bookshelf design values — principles my living room was built on.

The backwards bookshelf fad first emerged sometime in 2009. At the time, it was believed to a reactionary movement against the growing and equally heinous “organize by color” bookshelf aesthetic.  Read more…

More about Watercooler, Books, Bookshelf, Culture, and Web Culture

View More I’m down on my knees, begging you please not to do this to your bookshelf

Earthquake-proof, book-filled home is a bookworm’s dream

TwitterFacebook

This wall-to-wall bookshelf has an additional neat trick — it’s made to withstand earthquakes.

The clever design from Japanese architects Shinsuke Fujii features a home with ample — and we mean ample — shelf space, covering one wall of the house.

But to keep its contents from falling off in the event of an earthquake, the shelf leans inwards at a slant.

Best of all, the lean means you won’t even need a ladder to reach its top. Simply climb it and stand on each rack to get what you need.

Image: SHINSUKE FUJII ARCHITECTS Read more…

More about Books, Design, Japan, Architecture, and Bookshelf

View More Earthquake-proof, book-filled home is a bookworm’s dream

This futuristic library is an architectural marvel, but its walls are lined with fake books

Tianjin Binhai Library just opened its doors in China, but many of its bookshelves are lined with fake books. The interior and exterior design is stunning, but the fast-track construction process led MVRDV, the architecture firm commissioned with the…

View More This futuristic library is an architectural marvel, but its walls are lined with fake books