Book your space...

The American author Fran Lebowitz said, “Think before you speak. Read before you think”. Books stretch our minds but did you know that books can also serve as an interior-design style?

Whether your style is minimalist, rustic or cluttered, books can add texture to your home. The trick lies in displaying them. If you have many books, you can create a wall of books in a bespoke bookshelf that suits your needs. We no longer stack shelves from tall to small spines… mix them up and spruce your shelves up with ornaments or pictures and vertical piles next to horizontal books.

The legendary British interior designer Simon Temprell says for a “contemporary interior, consider arranging your books in blocks of colour for an abstract effect. Alternatively, turn your books around, putting the spines to the back, to create a textural effect. If you are looking for something sleek, cover your books with white craft paper and create a stylish antidote to the traditional library.”

In bedrooms, those in the know say that grouping books in the colour of their spines is the best way to display them in a space where you need a calming effect.

If you have a large selection of coffee-table books, consider an elevated shelf in a complementary colour to that of your books. Play with how the books are arranged – stacked books create awesome podiums to display art, sculptures and more. Start with the books, paying attention to the detail on the spine and then add small pieces of artwork and decorative objects making sure they are all at different heights. Odd numbers are always better than even.

Temprell says: “Create a traditional row of books that takes up one third of the shelf and then prop them up with a small stack of books lying flat, topped with a small ornament or plant. It is important to consider the spaces you leave empty just as much as the spaces you fill.”

Use a handful of books as a centrepiece on a sideboard, mantlepiece or window, in the colours of your scheme, or stack them in the corners of your coffee table as a basis for a vase or figurine.

In the kitchen, display your cookbooks along with your potted herbs and wooden boards, or teapots.

Alternatively, a random interior where books are read and loved gives a lived-in, authentic feel which is just as appealing.