A library is full of books, and that room is full of books . . . so mission accomplished.

I like that the bookshelves aren't staged

The bookcase second from the right looks off: it‘s tidy!

Gizmo, I think Bunny was tongue-in-cheek, or rather, appreciative of the exuberance.

How do you think they got the books in the top shelves? Installed the trim after the books were in?

bpath, you give me too much credit. :)

It's not my look overall, but I think it's lovely.

Untidy isn't fatal. My garage is witness to that.

What I'm seeing is a couple of nice, neat bookcases over to the right, but as you go around to the other side of the room, things are just thrown in, every which way. That's why I said it's an "I give up" -- like somebody just got tired of being a neatnik.

It looks well-used and well-loved. Nothing bad about that.

I don't mind the look at all but are you sure those are real books? The books look more blurry then the rest of the photo. Maybe it is wallpaper for the books or a photoshop.

It does rather look like someone began to arrange the books but then as Ida mentioned - just gave up. However there are many people who function beautifully in a room that many of us might think is totally haphazard - and can find what they want quickly. It's just the librarian in me that's curious what volumes are in that collection - perhaps there is an organization that we can't see.

It would drive me nuts in my own house, but I’d rather see a library where the books are messy and presumably used and enjoyed than the libraries with books that were purchased just for show. Or this:

I am amazed that people who have book shelves like that can seem to lay their hands on whatever it is they want. It’s like a mental card catalog. Academics seem to be the ones most likely to have piles everywhere.

I used to run a small corporate library for an investment banking company. The owner of the business kept buying books but never got rid of anything and never expanded. I would drop the old books behind the new books. No one ever missed them.

My library looks a lot like the first library. I'd bet a nickel there is a high degree of organization in that room, and the owner can find any book in two minutes! I know I can, but I only have shelves on two walls.

I like it! Maybe it's an in process shot or rather than 'I give up' it's more like 'close enough'.

I want those clear glass balls up there. Reminds me of MAGNAVERDE — he had a gazing ball on his dining table (the Chicago apt).

My guess is the organized shelves hold the owner's original books, probably organized by topic or some other logical method. The haphazard books on their sides are probably the library additions after the owner ran out of space. The messiest sections are the topics most interesting to the owner. A real reader lives in that home. Love it!

Do not mock my library! (which looks just like this but smaller).

When good libraries are well-loved and well-used : ) .

Actually, the only thing in that room I DON’T like is the chandelier with those crooked candles.

I hate horizontally stacked books - that is terribly inefficient and makes it much more difficult than necessary to access a book you want, if it happens to be at the bottom of a stack. There is no need for this.

I love the library in the original post. It looks like the books are read and the room is used. I dislike shelves that are “accessorized” with books and are mainly tchotchkes, even expensive, valuable ones. The best “decoration” for bookshelves is books.

I don’t mind it. It does look like they should probably not purchase anymore and reorganize a little but it looks like real bookcases. I’d rather see this than all or almost all decorative objects in shelves.

I like the library in the op. it looks lived-in and well-used and not just a staged place just for show.

I think it is absolutely marvelous and yes, ours is getting more like that every year. I like the entire space, but agree with Sueb about the chandelier.

I have to have tchotchkes on my bookshelves right along with the books. The books often carry memories-- bought it here, read it there-- and the mementos go hand in hand.

I hate horizontally stacked books . . . There is no need for this.

There is a need for horizontally stacked books when the length of a book exceeds the height of your shelves.

I have a few books -- maybe more than a few -- that exceed height of even the most generously spaced of my shelves.

I love those shelves and books. And I believe you can never own enough books.

Ditto what Nancy said about horizontal books. Even if I gathered the oversized books together, their height when positioned vertically requires rearranging shelf spacing. I have to remove 2 shelves. No way I'm willing to lose that much space. (I tried it.)

When I see so many books on their sides, my immediate reaction is "needs more shelves." Storing books horizontally isn't good for them, but depending on the shelves and the exact sizes of the books, you can sometimes store more of them that way.

There is something weird about the top shelf. Book prison. Otherwise, I'm so there, but on a bit smaller scale . . .

I don't love it, but I don't mind it either. Looks like the books are being used, and the user isn't very fussy - or maybe they're just busy?

Kind of reminds me of some of my bookshelves.

I'm on the side of liking it -my bookshelves are neater than that but then I have more bookcases than that so can make it neater.

The bookshelves are one thing. The lack of clean surfaces is another. Even the chair on the right has “stuff” on it. Come on, I have books, I need to pull them out, I need to set them somewhere, I need to sit down, I need to spread out papers and books!

My dream room! The books are doubled! Love that there is the requisite albeit folding, chessboard on the desk.

I love the library itself, but not the chandelier or the statue and other knick -knacks.

I'd ditch the chandelier with the tilted candles. I'd try to make more of the books upright- but as been mentioned, it's not always possible.

But as a book lover - this is more interesting than homes without books.

The table and stuff on it sure looks staged and pretentious...and yeah the books on the top shelf--how did they even get in there?

Horizontal book stacks in front of other vertical books make sense when you run out of space--it's easier to slide a stack over to see what is behind it that way, and if you don't make the stacks too high, you can even see what's behind without moving them. Not that I would know...

I have mine doubled with books horizontal on top. Don’t like doing that, I like to see them all lined up-but I don’t have enough space currently.

I didn't read the replies on purpose so I can post my feelings about the room first. I LOVE IT. It's someone's personal library stuffed with books they've read and still read when necessary.

They know where every single book is when they need one.

The person is a history/art history buff, no matter their formal education, they're well educated on their own.

It's a haven for someone who I want to meet!

I could happily exist in that room...but I'd need a few more lamps!

After some sleuthing I found a couple of places to begin the search finding about the room. Something to do tonight when I fall into the worm hole!

From an image search

Triplex victoires It has something to do with the picture. lol

Gizmo, I love your topics!

Sorry for the multi posts but I wanted to comment on the comments above. I think some of you are missing the point of the library. It was obviously designed by a professional with the help of the owner. I hope or else I'm making a fool of myself. lol

The average Joe, which is us, don't do libraries like that, even if we have a lot of books. Unless the books are in a back room so nobody can see the mess.

We like to put an accessory or two on the bookshelves, and keep them neat and organized. I devote my ceiling high shelf to special little treasures, the rest are all book, and some are stacked.

I'm hoping the person who owns that library is a scholar who does a lot of research. If not, the person is awfully pretentious. I used to work for a professor of architecture and his home library was exceptionally sloppy. Loved it.

Well, I think the Home Edit girls ought to get in there and arrange the books in rainbow color order. 😂

I love everything about this room and find zero pretentiousness in it. This is what my bookshelves devolved into when my children were younger. They are a bit tidier now, the children and the shelves.

I don't see anything wrong with it at all - it looks like a room with books that are well read and used. Nothing worse than a neat "tidy" book shelf with the dust covers color coordinated or some such. Books are messy otherwise they are unloved

It's one thing to stack oversized books horizontally, but I do not see oversized books in this photo. I do see a lot of regular sized books stacked horizontally, and this is definitely not necessary. It is just as easy to stack them properly.

I do have some oversized books that I have stacked horizontally, and so I am okay with that, but only for oversized books.

I used to work in a library, but only for six months. I was cataloguing a Slavic literature collection for UT Austin's Main Library.

Based on your second link, Oakley, it's a 1630s town house in the Place des Victoires, Paris, designed by London designer Hugh Henry from Mlinaric, Henry & Zervudachi. Interestingly, the London-based homeowner met Henry when David Mlinaric worked on her parents' houses.

From the ID's website,

https://mhzlondon.com/wp-content/uploads/mhz_magazines/magazine_199/House-Garden-January-2012-article.pdf

From the architect's website,

http://www.cs-lb.fr/victoires-triplex/

The other rooms look to be more decorated in a more restrained, simpler style. Lovely house.

What a gorgeous house.

Quite a Book Nook!

Libraries have always presented an air of mystery 😉 to me.

Okay got it now.

Is it me, or is the chair below the bust (on the right side) totally out of proportion?

Mary_lu ... ha! I didn’t notice that before.

It‘s like the 18” Stonehenge in Spinal Tap. 😄