Decorating with Books (House Beautiful) [Hardcover]

Marie Proeller Hueston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2006 | Series: House Beautiful

From House Beautiful comes a worthy addition to any decorator's library--a stylish guide on making books a part of your home décor.

 

Opening the pages of a book can instantly carry you off to another world. But did you realize that, open or closed, books can also make your real world--your home--more fabulous? As legendary designer Billy Baldwin pointed out, they're “the best decoration,” capable of bringing incredible warmth, color, and character to a room. From grand bookcases in home libraries to casual stacks artfully arrayed on chairs, House Beautiful presents countless eye-catching ideas for displaying and arranging your hardcovers, paperbacks, encyclopedias, and even valuable first editions. Useful tips shed light on how to organize a large collection; situate bookcases in the room for the best effect; and make the most of books' appealing visual and tactile qualities. From traditional interpretations to contemporary visions--such as putting a book on a pedestal as an objet d'art--these concepts write a new page in design.
A Selection of the Homestyle Book Club.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Typically, books are valued for what's written inside them. But as a collection, they also tell us a lot about their owner, which is why Hueston, an author and contributing editor at Country Living magazine, believes they are so effective as decoration. Here, she demonstrates how a display or library of books can enhance the look of almost every room in your home. Using copious photographs to illustrate her sparse text, she captures the aesthetic appeal of books and how they add color and texture to a space. With a broad sensibility that expands far beyond traditional configurations, Hueston encourages readers to keep books "stacked on an ottoman, piled on the floor, lined up on a bench, or ... draped over a ladder," in addition to keeping books "confined to shelves and tabletops." Judging books by their covers, as it were-as objet d'art, without regard to content-Hueston includes tips for displaying, organizing and caring for book collections of any size, which should give any book owner more than one new way to enjoy their favorite titles.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

For those who adore books and all forms of the printed word, the very idea of decorating with them might seem to akin to sacrilege. Yet, after a few paragraphs, House Beautiful magazine contributor Hueston persuades with a few chosen quotes--like Jorge Luis Borges' "I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." The ways in which books can become a vibrant design theme are multiple--stacked on ottomans, piled on floors, lined up on benches, and draped over ladders. Each chapter delves into specific ideas: libraries, throughout the house, as focal points, as architecture, and practical matters like shelving, lighting, and caring for books. And each features a few pages called "a closer look," a few-page pictorial examination of specific design details in a room or two, pointing out, for instance, a London antique armoire-credenza perched on a black plinth. Remember that in the most physical of senses books are three-dimensional objects possessing a variety of colors, sizes, and textures. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Hearst (June 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588164934
• ISBN-13: 978-1588164933
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.7 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Books

More About the Author

The former Arts & Antiques Editor for Country Living magazine, Marie Proeller Hueston writes frequently about decorating, collecting, and lifestyle trends. Country Living Weddings, Country Living Cottage Style, and House Beautiful Decorating with Books are just a few of the titles she's written for Hearst Books in the past decade. In 2010, she published her first picture book, The All-American Jump and Jive Jig (Sterling), under the name M.P. Hueston. A Christmas picture book will follow from Sterling in 2013. Hueston is also a collector of antique and vintage children's books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, son, and daughter.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for Booklovers August 29, 2008

By Barbara A. Lee

Format:Hardcover

For anyone trying to solve the problem of living with books, Ms. Hueston provides no help. She arranges books by size and color, for what she perceives as visual interest. One of her displays even uses trompe de l'oeil wallpaper to create the illusion of a library! Many of the rooms shown are in architects' houses, "seaside" homes and European castles. Most of the results are cluttered: every surface in every room (including surfaces created by stacks of books) is covered with vases, ceramics, sculptures, candles, flowerpots, fringed shawls and what she calls "cherished possessions." In addition, many of the bookshelves are encumbered with framed prints or hangings that hide the books. Unless you share her flamboyant taste (including an inordinate fondness for the color red) and have a budget to match, look elsewhere.

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars what to do with all those books March 2, 2007

By Shemogue

Format:Hardcover

When you have 6000 books and counting, it is a continuing challenge to find ways of storing, shelving and displaying them without looking like you've taken up residence in a public library.

"Decorating With Books" is not my favourite book on this subject. (I preferred "At Home With Books" by Ellis, Seebohm and Sykes for the sheer volume - no pun intended -- of books shown in the illustrations). Nevertheless, "Decorating With Books" is a very practical choice for many book owners and is chock full of interesting ideas for incorporating your collection into your décor.

Who knew that a stack of books could double as a bedside table as well as bedtime reading, or that leaving piles of books on the tables and on the floor would function as design elements?

Works for me!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Books Looking Good, not Looking for Books December 24, 2006

By W. Harwood VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This is a specialized guide with lots of useful hints, photos, ideas, and sources for further help, like contractors and desginers, if your goal is to integrate your books into your home decor. On the other hand, if you want to put your books in a rational, logical order, like LC or Dewey, as I do, so I can find them easily, it is not that useful. But the photos are great show a side of book collecting that definitely has a strong appeal to some collectors.