Using books as part of your interior scheme

Take cues from The Penguin Chap and style your home with books

Despite much of our reading matter being in a digital form these days, there’s something about the appeal of a book (and bookstores) that hasn’t waned. Whether that’s paperback novels, glossy inspirational art books or cloth-bound vintage tomes with gold lettering, there’s something solid and timeless about a book collection. It also gives you an interesting little snapshot into the homeowner’s personality when you browse the titles.

Bookseller Drew Kent – aka The Penguin Chap – has a 1930s home filled with vintage Penguin and Puffin books, where even the colour palette is inspired by their classic colours of orange and green. You can find out more about Drew’s home in our February issue – available in print (single issue),  digital or via subscription – but if you’re feeling inspired to give your shelf of books a makeover, take a look at the following ideas.

Built-in wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with classic vintage tomes create a stunning visual backdrop for this living room belonging to Inez Gudem. The buff, beige and burgundy shades of the spines have been chosen to complement the colour scheme, with the books arranged with a relaxed feel, mixing size and type.

‘I love libraries and the cosy feeling that old books always bring to a space,’ says Inez. ‘Although it required many more books than we initially thought we would need!’ The low-level seating is designed for relaxing too, with plump cushions propped up against the bookcase.

A stack of books is a great way to elevate a display and create height. Here Australian interior stylist Linda Gardener has placed a jug of leafy ivy on top of a stack of favourite cookbooks on the countertop of her industrial-style kitchen. Use this idea on a side table with a lamp, to create a tiered effect with a number of small houseplants, or with any decorative piece that you want to elevate.

A classic living-room look, coffee table books are described as such for a reason. Weighty hardbacks with glossy pages packed with inspiring photography, a coffee table collection should be chosen to casually dip in to rather than read cover to cover. This collection of empowering titles about black history and culture is from the home of Kemide Lawson. ‘Books are how I take deep dives into the things I care most about,’ she says. ‘I also find a lot of cover art beautful and enjoy having it on display.’

Our columnist Tamsyn Morgans has turned an unused fireplace in her home into a bookshelf feature. ‘I knew that getting an original cast-iron range cooker up and running again was probably going to be a huge amount of work and money, so instead I decided to repurpose it as a bookcase,’ she explains. ‘Over the years the colour of the books has evolved, but right now I love this rainbow vibe, and it makes me smile every morning when I come downstairs.’

If you have a special cherished collection, consider displaying some of the covers as you would artwork. Here classic children’s storybooks are arranged as a nostalgic vignette, together with traditional boardgames and toys. For a contemporary look, use favourite picture books to add colour to a child’s walls: prop on picture ledges within easy reach for little hands, swapping out the titles every so often.

Forget the library look and go industrial. Mesh shelving units at this writing desk create a stylish contrast to a row of red-hued vintage books, complemented by factory-inspired lighting with functional chic – including the Mo desk lamp from Pooky – and a vintage typewriter.

The rainbow look – ordering books by colour – is everywhere at the moment and its appeal lies in the irreverent and joyful burst of colour it brings to a room, as an antidote to a ‘stuffy’ library look. This cabinet of Observer books is part of a cherished collection along with a number of vintage cameras in the home of photographer Caroline Briggs. ‘I enjoy the feeling of initially falling in love with an object, like these tiny Observer books which I spent years collecting,’ she reveals. ‘I kept a list of all the titles and ticked them off as I found each one.’