Bookshelves in Interior Design

30 of the Best Bookshelves

Books are such a wonderful way of personalizing your space. Who doesn't love to be surrounded with all this wonderful inspiration. I think rooms with bookshelves are some of my most memorable spaces. Everyone feels comfortable in these rooms and they are rooms where you want to linger. I have a girlfriend who has a monumental bookshelf in her dining room. I always love to sit at the table across from the bookshelf so I can peruse the shelves between the dinner conversation.

"Five years from now, you’re the same person except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read."
— John Wooden

I have categorized the following pictures of bookshelves into 7 sections:

1. Bookshelves in Living Rooms

Bookshelves in Living Rooms - Dominio

      
Bookshelves in Living Rooms - Poliform

Bookshelves in Living Rooms - Homes and Gardens

Bookshelves in Living Rooms - Domino Magazine 

Bookshelves in Living Rooms -BHG 

2. Bookshelves with Library Ladders

 
Bookshelves with Library Ladders - Interior Design Alberto Pinto

 
Bookshelves with Library Ladders - Interior Design Tom Scheerer

 
Bookshelves with Library Ladders - Diane von Furstenberg source unknown

Bookshelves with Library Ladders - Ikea

 
Pierre Chareau's Bookcase from La Maison de Verre by Dominique Vellay
Bookshelves with Library Ladders - photo via Apartment Therapy

Bookshelves with Library Ladders - Southern Accents

3. Bookshelves in Offices

 
Bookshelves in Offices - Interior Design Briger and Briger

 
Bookshelves in Offices / Bookshelves with  Library Ladders - Interior Design Alberto Pinto

 

 
Bookshelves in Offices - Domino

 
Bookshelves in Offices - Interior Design Mary McGee

4. Bookshelves in Dining Rooms

Bookshelves in Dining Rooms / Bookshelves with Library Ladders - Charles Page

 
Bookshelves in Dining Rooms - Elle Decor, Photography William Waldron, Interior Design Glickman & Teng

 
Bookshelves in Dining Rooms - Interior Design Antonia Hutt

5. Bookshelves in Kitchens

Bookshelves in Kitchens - Vitsoe

 
Bookshelves in Kitchens / Bookshelves with Library Ladders - Interior Design Cecconi Simone

Bookshelves in Kitchens - photo via Purple Area

6. Bookshelves in Bedrooms

 
Bookshelves in Bedrooms - Interior Design Source Unknown

 
Bookshelves in Bedrooms / Bookshelves with Library Ladders - Interior Design Source Unknown

 
Bookshelves in Bedrooms - photo via Girl Meets Glamour

7. Bookshelves in Stairs

 
Bookshelves in Stairs - source unknown

 
Bookshelves in Stairs - Design by Wilson and Associates Architects 

 
Bookshelves in Stairs - Design by Levitate Architects via Home Interiors 
 

These bookshelves line the stairs up the third floor of the Fallingwater house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Bookshelves in Stairs - picture via Flickr

What is your favourite room to display books in?  Please let me know by leaving a comment.

 

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design, architecture,
and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Movie Review

COCO Before Chanel is a new movie by Warner Bros just released in Vancouver. Coco Before Chanel stars Audrey Tautou, the French actress, who I love best in the movie Amelie. It was shot in Paris and Normandy. Many decades ago André Malraux predicted “From this century, in France, three names will remain: de Gaulle, Picasso, and Coco Chanel.” Not even the mythomaniac Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel could have anticipated how her legacy would persist triumphantly into the next millennium. I, for one, am going to be first in line at the box office for Coco Before Chanel. I will take my classic Coco Chanel handbag (which I bought in Paris when I was studying Interior Design) with me to the show.

In character as Coco Chanel, Audrey Tautou reclines in the designer’s private apartment on her famous voluptuous
suede sofa, above her Paris couture salon. Karl Lagerfeld made her classic Chanel suit specially for the film Coco Before Chanel.
Vanity Fair February 2009 Photo by Brigitte Lacombe
Coco Before Chanel - Movie Review


The Chanel logo is an overlapping double 'C' - one facing forward and the other facing backward, and comes
from the name Coco Chanel. "Coco" is the nickname frequently used for Chanel founder, Gabrielle Chanel.
Coco Before Chanel - Movie Review


Audrey Tautou stars as Coco Chanel in "Coco Before Chanel." Warner Bros. Photo
Coco Before Chanel - Movie Review

Classic Coco Chanel Handbag
Coco Before Chanel - Movie Review

Please let me know if you have seen the movie and what you think about it by leaving a comment.

 

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can enhance your world.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

Contemporary Designer Recliners

 
Orbit  Contemporary Designer Recliners

I am not usually a fan of recliners.  The traditional overstuffed giant recliners tend to be a white elephant in a room.  So needless to say  I was very happy  while researching seating for a media room to come across these contemporary well designed recliners by Darlings of Chelsea in the UK.  They describe this recliner as: "One of their best selling recliners which reclines, swings, swivels and orbits to your desire"....and it claims to be "seriously comfortable".

Dakota Contemporary Designer Swivel Recliners

The mechanism for these contemporary designer recliners operates by leaning back on the chair and using your body weight to hold back.

What do you think? 
Would you have one of these seriously fun contemporary designer recliners in your home?

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

LoftLife Magazine

For those of you who haven't checked out the magazine LoftLife Magazine - The Loft Style Guide to Life in the City, it is a must read. And I don't say that only because I am on their 'Board of Experts' - the Editors and Creative Directors at LoftLife Magazine are top notch. Their style and editorials are fresh, relevant and timely. Last fall Kyra Shapurji, Managing Editor and Linden Hass, Photo Editor of LoftLife Magazine paid me a visit at my office in Vancouver to firm up a feature they were doing on favourite shopping spots of mine and a few other Design Professionals in Vancouver (see Spring 2009 Travel/80 Victorious Vancouver: Canada's design & architecture capital.) Linden Hass shot a few pictures of me and the drawing below is what resulted.

LoftLife Magazine
Board of Experts

I love the illustrations for LoftLife Magazine done by the talented Graham Smith from San Diego. He illustrates the masthead and the Panel of Experts for LoftLife Magazine. This month LoftLife Magazine is going to be on national newsstands: Borders, Barnes and Noble, as well as Hudson News. So pick-up your copy and read their articles. In the current Summer 2009 issue of LoftLife Magazine I particularly like:

• LoftLife - Allure of Amsterdam: Dutch Design Beyond Droog. (I am lusting to visit Amsterdam)
• LoftLife - Paper or Plastic? (really gets you thinking and hopefully acting)
• LoftLife - Big Blank Wall: The mirrors on our minds. ( Love this round-up of mirrors)
  among others..........
  LoftLife Magazine also has a great Blog.
  
  Happy Reading!
  Please let me know if you have read a copy of LoftLife magazine and what you think of it by leaving a comment.
  
  

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

Valentino: The Last Emperor

Valentino: The Last Emperor "What do women want? They want to be beautiful!" is the motto that Valentino has based his life on. This is how provokingly simple reality is construed in the movie 'Valentino The Last Emperor'.

This weekend I went to see the movie Valentino: The Last Emperor for the second time. It has finally arrived in Vancouver. The first time I saw it I drove to Seattle because it wasn't out here yet. It is one of the few movies I have been to in my lifetime that everyone in the theatre clapped at the end. I was moved to tears as the great maestro Valentino took a bolt of his signature red fabric and started draping it over a live model, creating and sculpting the design for a new dress. He was truly the Master of Couture, a dying breed in the times we are living in. Valentino: The last Emperor is a documentary that was filmed over a two year period chronicling Valentino's life work. It is a must see, not only for the view into the life of a great Master of Couture but also for the great love story it is.

Valentino: The Last Emperor Valentino's 5 Pugs who go everywhere with him. This picture is taken on his private jet.
Please let me know if you have seen the movie and what you think about it by leaving a comment.

Official Web-site for Valentino: The Last Emperor
A 56 minute Interview by Charlie Rose March 2009
Valentino: The Last Emperor Movie Trailer: Valentino: The Last Emperor

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

Rammed Earth Walls

Rammed Earth Walls
 

I recently returned from a road trip through the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. The Okanagan Valley is the home to a budding Wine Industry. I was pleasantly surprised with our stop in Osoyoss to visit The Nk'Mip Winery and Resort. NK’MIP Winery Resort is a four-season aboriginal tourism resort destination that features deluxe accommodation and visitor experiences including an award-winning winery, gourmet dining, desert golf, a cultural centre and full-service spa.

It was a feast for my eyes to view the walls of the Cultural Center from the parking lot at Nk'Mip Winery. I was struck by the beauty of this facade that looked like a giant slab of the most sumptuous marble. On closer inspection and inquiry I was informed it was built with "Rammed Earth Walls".

Rammed Earth Walls at Nk'Mip Winery and Resort also known as pisé de terre or simply pisé

(above left) Notice how thick these walls of rammed earth are - approximately 20% thicker than standard concrete walls.
(above right) The rammed earth walls are formed in layers of approximately 6" thick , which gives the walls a beautiful horizontal variegation resembling quarried marble.

Rammed Earth, also known as pisé de terre or simply pisé, is a type of construction material. Pisé de terre (rammed earth) walls are an ancient building method that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek more sustainable building materials and more natural building methods. Traditionally, rammed earth walls  or pisé de terre walls buildings are common in arid regions where wood is in scarce supply.

The basic recipe for rammed earth walls starts and ends with plain old dirt.

RECIPE FOR RAMMED EARTH WALLS
- Soil about 5 litres Water
- Water about half a litre
- Cement 10 percent
- Pigment 1 percent (about 1 tablespoon)

The mixture for rammed earth walls is compacted in layers between forms. Each layer of the rammed earth walls is approximately 6 inches deep. As each form is filled, another form is placed above it, and the process begins again. This is continued until the desired height of the rammed earth walls is achieved. Forms can be stripped off as soon as the form above is begun, as the compressed rammed earth walls are self-supporting immediately. Most builders of rammed earth walls use pneumatic rammers to compact the earth within the forms.

Deep inset Window detail in Rammed Earth Walls Nk'Mip Winery. My Dad and me.

Some interesting facts about Rammed Earth Walls and Rammed Earth Walls Construction:

• Rammed earth walls are 20 percent thicker than most concrete walls so it is better insulating against heat and cold.
• Rammed earth walls improve Indoor Air Quality because of the simple finish of exposed rammed earth walls have no toxic finishes.
• Rammed earth walls are so solid that they boast superb acoustics and rank with the best in terms of fire resistance.
• Because rammed earth walls don't rely on wood the structure will never rot, nor will it be host to carpenter ants or termites.
• Rammed earth walls evolved in hot dry climates, where wood is too rare and precious to be used as a building material.
• Rammed earth walls have been the standard in house construction in Southern Europe and the Middle East since biblical times.
• None other than the Great Wall of China, or at least most of it was built of rammed earth wall construction.
• Does anyone know why it is called Rammed Earth Walls? 
  
  

 

Great Wall of China - Rammed Earth Walls construction

Rammed Earth Walls

Rammed Earth Walls Construction in Residential Bathroom with a Stump window made from base of tree that was growing on the house site.

Rammed Earth Walls

Iron oxide layers have been added to these rammed earth walls in sedimentary layers with inset of abalone.
Above 2 photos or rammed earth walls Terra Firma

 

Rammed Earth Walls

The Rammed Earth House Walls Book available at Amazon - details the construction of building homes with Rammed Earth Walls construction technique.

Additional Resources on Rammed Earth Walls Construction
Wikipedia Rammed Earth Walls Construction
Terra Firma Rammed Earth Walls Builder / Why Rammed Earth Walls in Construction?
Walls of Rammed Earth Rammed Earth Walls
DIY Rammed Earth Walls Construction
Nk'Mip Winery and Resort, Rammed Earth Walls Cultural Center
Rammed Earth Walls Construction Diagram
You Tube Rammed Earth Walls Video
Images Rammed Earth Walls

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

Mixed Media Painting Techniques, Frottage and Grattage

                                                                 Frottage 1 - 24" x 36" Mixed Media Painting: Pastel, Acrylic, Gesso on Glassine

For this summer's program of continuing education (last summer I studied Architecture in Italy), I have embarked on a course in 'Mixed Media Painting Techniques' at Emily Carr University of Art. The course teaches the process of image-making on built surfaces and works with a range of materials such as gesso, plaster, paint, ink, charcoal, and various papers. I am learning to explore 'expression and emotion' through layering, drawing, brushwork, Frottage and Grattage following in the footsteps of the greats in mixed media painting like: Max Ernst, Mark Rothko, and Paul Klee. I particularly like my teacher, Diana Kubicek's style of teaching. She teaches us to explore the various techniques fearlessly and says repeatedly there are "no mistakes"in painting. As a matter of fact "mistakes can be the building block of a great masterpiece". I like that! I have always been interested in drawing and sketching since my days in Design School, but find that I never have the time to take a brush to paper and do larger abstract paintings and works of art. So this course is a perfect opportunity to allow myself the freedom to explore different mixed media painting techniques. The last class we spent exploring the technique of Frottage (from French frotter, "to rub") a surrealist and "automatic" method of creative production. Frottage was developed by Max Ernst.

Frottage 2 - 18" x 24" Mixed Media Painting: Ink, Acrylic & Pastel on Paper

In frottage painting the artist takes a pencil or other drawing tool and makes a "rubbing" over a textured surface. The frottage drawing can be left as is or used as the basis for further refinement (which we are supposed to do for homework with the pieces we created in this class). While this technique is superficially similar to brass rubbing and other forms of rubbing intended to reproduce an existing subject, frottage painting differs in being aleatoric and occurring by chance. Frottage was developed by Max Ernst in 1925. Ernst was inspired by an ancient wooden floor where the grain of the planks had been accentuated by many years of scrubbing. The patterns of the graining suggested strange images to him. He captured these by laying sheets of paper on the floor and then rubbing over them with a soft pencil. In my Frottage Paintings 1, 2 and 4 the textured surface that I used to make the Frottage rubbing was a bamboo mat, string, and screen. In Frottage Painting 3, I did the rubbing over a Gessoed canvas that was prepared with the free form focus on the bark of a tree. As I was doing Frottage Painting 3, rubbing on the Gessoed canvas, it slowly evolved to resemble a Japanese mountain landscape with a waterfall collecting into a pool at the base of the mountain. Our teacher guided us in exploring this technique in creating our Frottage paintings which is based on Surrealist automatism*. *Automatism is a surrealist technique in painting, practiced without conscious aesthetic or moral self-censorship. Automatism has taken on many forms: the automatic painting and drawing initially (and still to this day) practiced by surrealists can be compared to similar, or perhaps parallel phenomena, such as the non-idiomatic improvisation of free jazz.

 

 

Frottage Painting 3 - 18" x 24" Pastel on tracing paper

Frottage Painting 4 - 12" x 18" Mixed Media Painting: Acrylic & Gesso on paper

In the first class we explored the technique of mixed media painting starting with a base of Gesso

 

Study 1 - 11" x 14" Mixed Media Painting Technique: Gesso, Acrylic and Watercolor on Card Stock

Gesso is an art supply used as surface preparation or primer for painting and sculpting. Gesso is believed to have been developed in Italy, since the word gesso is Italian for 'chalk'. Preparation varies according to intended use, but usually consists of mixing glue with plaster, chalk, or gypsum. (Gesso is the perfect base for starting a mixed media painting.)

Gesso resembles paint, but is thinner and dries hard. Gesso is applied with a brush and must dry before the surface can be painted. This technique of applying Gesso was first created for use in painting, in order to give the surface the right properties to receive paint. In Gothic and Renaissance panel painting, the technique of applying gesso over a panel of wood was used in order to give the paint something to adhere to. It created a slightly rough surface and prevented the paint from seeping into the wood. We were taught to apply the Gesso to our surface of our mixed media painting with a palette knife using broad strokes to building up the surface. Then various tools are used to create the textures. In Study 1 I used a metal clay sculpting tool with a comb like ridge to scrape across the wet Gesso. I then used the edge of my pallet knife to scrape in the diagonal ridges, then finished off with blotting areas with a sponge. I let the piece dry and then applied watercolor and acrylic in layers to the painting, while at the same time using a roller to take off the excess wet color on the surface so that the paint pigment settled into the crevices of the Gesso. I used the side of my palette knife to scrape off the raised portions of the diagonal lines to reveal the white Gesso below - a technique called Grattage*. Also the Gesso doesn't extend to the edge of the paper and gives it an interesting border. *Grattage is a surrealist technique in mixed media painting in which (usually dry) paint is scraped off the canvas. It was employed by Max Ernst and Joan Miró

Detail of Mixed Media Painting Technique: Study 1 above.

Study 2 - 10" x 10" Mixed Media Painting Technique: Masking Tape, Gesso and Watercolor on Glass

Study 3 - 7" x 10" Mixed Media Painting Technique: Gesso and Watercolor on Paper

 

Have you had any experience with Mixed Media Painting, Frottage or Grattage or other Mixed Media techniques?
Please let me know by leaving a Comment.

 

Another post you might be interested in: Abstract Art - Go Big or Go Home

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009