Ex Libris

In honor of Banned Books Week, "an annual event celebrating the freedom to read" (September 21 - 27, 2014), I share some photos of libraries. I hope they encourage a bit of reading - banned books or not - and if, like me, you are a fan of public libraries, please note that the Richmond Public Library is accepting donations of canned goods through September 30. Donate canned goods, and the library will waive up to $10 of your late book fines.

"It 'makes vague reference to the classical Ionic order,' Katherine Newman says of the library in a postmodern Toronto house she designed with architectural designer/builder Peter Cebulak. The room’s finely carved capitals are complemented by a great number of noteworthy antiques, among them a circa 1790 satinwood worktable."

Photography by Tony Soluri.

"Stunning Home Libraries"

Architectural Digest (October 2011).

"With the folly idea in mind, the architects gave the residence a tea room, which is octagonal in shape and situated off the second-floor library."

Library in "De Luwte," a home in the Dutch town of Loenen, on the shore of the Vecht River.

Architecture: Michael Graves and Associates.

Interior design: Eric Kuster.

Photography: Daria Scagliola and Stijn Brakkee.

"Riverside Sanctuary" by Mildred F. Schmertz.

Architectural Digest (May 2008).

"A glass roof floods the library with light."
Library of Michael Graves's home - "The Warehouse" - the rundown Princeton, New Jersey, warehouse the architect bought in 1974 and renovated in stages.
Photography by John Bessler.
Text by Amy Elbert
"At Home with Architect Michael Graves" produced by JoAnn McVicker.
Traditional Home®

"The double-height library has built-in bookshelves constructed of ipe, which is termite-resistant. Its stair- and catwalk-balustrade design was inspired by that of the area’s old colonial cottages. Where the shelves meet the pickled-cypress ceiling, the architects concealed an air-conditioning system and uplighting."

Interior design by Port of Call.

Architecture: Lubrano Ciavarra Design.

Photography by Steven Brooke.

"Tropically Integrated" by Gerald Clarke.

Architectural Digest (December 2006).

"Christie transformed a bare room into a library, outfitted with Cuban mahogany shelves salvaged from a library in Nantes. His carpenter found more Cuban mahogany to build the barrel-vault ceiling. The classical busts crowning the shelves are copies made by Lorenzani in Paris."

Home of harpsichordist and conductor William Christie.

Photography by Simon Watson.

"A 16th-Century French Countryside Estate" by Melissa Biggs Bradley.

House Beautiful (October 2013).

" 'Because the library is small, it lent itself to a rich jewel-box treatment,' Whitson says. Woodwork is painted a deep, saturated color, Farrow & Ball's Hague Blue, and the ceiling is tented with a Michael S. Smith Indian block fabric, Jasper. Upholstered in a blue Schumacher silk velvet very close to the color of the walls, the tufted U-shaped sofa — which is all one piece — is where her two teenage children watch movies. 'We call it Big Blue,' she says."

Tennessee home of antiques dealer Jeannette Whitson.

Interior design by Jeannette Whitson.

Photography by Simon Watson.

"A New Nashville House With an Old Soul" by Barbara King.

House Beautiful (June 2013).

"The library in designer Garrow Kedigian's Manhattan apartment sheds fresh light on the classics he collects, both literary and decorative. A bergère in Pierre Frey's Dune partners with a mid-20th-century inlaid desk. Custom Stark rug with the designer's hallmark Greek key pattern."

Interior design by Garrow Kedigian.

Photography by Christopher Sturman.

"A Stylish Spin on a Traditional New York Apartment" by Douglas Brenner.

House Beautiful (December 2013).

" 'I wanted to have a library before that notion becomes extinct,' says Kedigian, 'but the shell had to feel contemporary and fun.' Solution? A vibrant custom palette in a Fine Paints of Europe Brilliant finish. Curtains of Clarence House Elettra flank a sofa in Scalamandré's Variegation herringbone. A Louis XV fauteuil (a gift from Kedigian's grandmother) retains its original blue velvet, and a neoclassical side chair is updated with Glant Liquid Leather."

Interior design by Garrow Kedigian.

Photography by Christopher Sturman.

"A Stylish Spin on a Traditional New York Apartment" by Douglas Brenner.

House Beautiful (December 2013).

"The library is Southern's 'nod to English decorating, with vintage floral chintz.' Walls covered in Zoffany Serenza. Woodwork painted in Farrow and Ball Modern Emulsion in Wimborne White."

1860 townhouse in London's South Kensington neighborhood.

Interior design by Rob Southern.

Photography by James Merrell.

"A Bold Makeover for a 19th-Century London Townhouse" by Barbara King.

House Beautiful (October 2013).

"In the library, the armchair is by George Smith, and the mirror above the limestone mantel is 18th-century French; the small canvas artworks are by Anna Raymond, and the collages reflected in the mirror are by Joe Tilson."

1920s London townhouse of hoteliers Tim and Kit Kemp.

Interior decoration by Kit Kemp.

Photography by Simon Upton.

"A Bold and Beautiful Townhouse" by Ingrid Abramovitch.

Elle Decor (April 2011).

" 'Red libraries are best!' says designer Alessandra Branca. Walls are upholstered in wool paisley. The sofa and ottoman are Branca designs."
Photography by Thibault Jeanson.
"Classic Library Design Ideas"
House Beautiful.

"Vivid lacquer paint in a custom mix sets off an eclectic display of books and antique porcelain. Custom sofa and slipper chairs in Clarence House fabrics. Custom armchair and ottoman in Pierre Frey fabric with Houlès fringe. Antique Oushak rug, Matt Camron Rugs and Tapestries."
Interior design by Beverly Field.
Architecture by Richardson Robertson III.
Project managed by Brad Kelly.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
Text by Nancy Perot.
"Glamorous Texas Home" produced by Carolyn Englefield.
Veranda.

"The library's high-gloss brown walls play up the grid pattern of the bookshelves, derived from a design by architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen. Pillows in Ixtapa by Jacques Bouvet et Cie make a handsome, well-worn chesterfield sofa look even more comfortable and inviting."

Photography by Simon Watson.

"Paint Your Home in High Gloss" by Carol Prisant.

House Beautiful (September 2010).

"In a Bethesda, Maryland, house designed by architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen, floor to ceiling windows filter light into the library and music room. Favoring a minimalist approach to the decor, Jacobsen used a simple wood carpet on the bleached-oak floors; he created the white-oak low table." (October 2006)

Photography by Robert C. Lautman.

"Libraries"

Architectural Digest.

"Architect Margaret Griffin, in collaboration with architect Elyse Grinstein, renovated a home on Los Angeles’s West Side, an area that has natural creeks and groves of indigenous trees. The star tree here is a 300-year-old sycamore that shades a small spring and lush slope in back. The snug library “started out with a full brick wall facing the tree,” explains the owner, but the brick was replaced by sheets of glass to bridge the room’s connection to the outdoors."

Photography by Arthur Matthew Gray.

"Stunning Home Libraries"

Architectural Digest (October 2011).

"Bookcases cleverly mask awkward angles. Early-20th-century French lamps overhang the vintage Eames chair in its original leather."
Interior design by Alexander Doherty.

Photography by Francesco Lagnese.
"A Soulful Manhattan Apartment with Rich, Moody Color" by Douglas Brenner.
House Beautiful (December 2012).