The Art of Bookshelf Wealth: A Timeless Expression of Luxury
Bookshelf wealth isn’t just a trend—it’s a refined art. Discover how to curate a luxury bookshelf that reflects sophistication, elegance, and personal heritage.
What Is Bookshelf Wealth? A Refined Perspective
Like its contemporary aesthetic, “Quiet Luxury”, “Bookshelf Wealth” is tied in with tradition and old money. It recalls a time when anyone who considered themselves enlightened would have access to curated book collections at all times. It was also an age which predated the novel and the idea of reading for mere entertainment. Books were kept for reference, knowledge and prestige, with personal libraries and the rooms that housed them being part of any well-bred family’s living environment. They were as central to their inheritance as ballrooms, hunting lodges and luxury yachts. Of course, written wisdom is nowadays well within the grasp of anyone with the desire to seek it out. Collecting, curating and displaying books is no longer the pursuit of the gilded few but a chance for most of us to express and convey our interests and passions.
Books tell stories, present ideas and change minds, but unlike TikTok or other social media platforms, they need to be interacted with physically and therefore must be presented in an engaging way. Individuals on TikTok (where else?) have been quick to promote Bookshelf Wealth interior design as the latest trend, but unlike many social media crazes, the hype has not spiralled into self-parody. This is because when you see a well-curated shelf or room of books, you are seeing not just a snapshot of an individual’s life. Rather, you are seeing hopes, dreams and opinions. You are seeing what moulded their minds, what keeps them engaged and what will spur them on long after internet trends have moved on.
Why High-End Interiors Embrace Bookshelf Wealth
From stately homes and luxury hotel lobbies to museums and academic libraries, books have always conveyed sophistication and cultural depth. Turning this into a personalised statement within the home is a task many interior designers have come to relish. Involving as it does the separation of a substantial square footage of the home for a singular purpose, luxury bookshelf styling has become a recognised feature in many high-end furnishing designs. The aim is to maintain and display books in a way that is informal and personal, yet also thoughtful and artistic. In a dedicated space of this type, the books form the first of three essential components. The other two are the bookshelves and the accessories. Let us take a look at these separately as we explore how to style a luxury bookshelf.
Expert Tips for Creating Elegant Bookshelf Décor
The physical shelves themselves must be works of art that are both practical and sympathetic to the surroundings. The best way to achieve this is to invest in built-in designs, and these can be made to fit the contours of the walls, which can also be enhanced with panelling for extra intimacy. A floor-to-ceiling wall of books will need a sliding ladder for access to those hard-to-reach literary gems tucked away on the upper levels. Wallpapering the backs of the shelves adds colour and texture, while in-shelf down lights ensure that browsing for books needn’t become a squinting exercise. Bookends and book stops come in all sorts of shapes and materials and can add real character, especially if they are thematically matched with the books. For instance, a pair of crystal lions could be used to demarcate a volume of books about Africa, while brass anchors could mark the location of nautically themed novels.
It is an inescapable and wholly acceptable fact that books will organically spill out and defy attempts at rigorous classification – that, after all, is the whole point of Bookshelf Wealth. Use coffee table books as a focal point in their own right. Their size, weight and bold lettering make them ideal for stacking horizontally outside the shelves. Unless you have the complete works of Shakespeare, Dickens or J K Rowling, avoid classifying by author as this will make your space look like a retail outlet. Instead, organise by theme, genre or even colour; you will be surprised at how this will enrich the browsing experience as old favourites find fresh context and new recommendations blend in.
Beyond the Books—Adding Luxurious Details
Thoughts on the browsing experience bring us to the subject of room accessories. Small and personal, grand and opulent, they can project your personality more instantly and sometimes more effectively than even the books that surround them. Start with seating that is comfortable, intimate and accessible. Love seats in window alcoves are ideal for lazy afternoons of daydreaming through a Jane Austen drama. Recliners and settees allow for guilt-free snoozing, and if you’re inclined to undertake serious research, an elegant writing desk is essential for your stacks of reference literature.
Lampstands and lampshades can be contemporary or hark back to the times of the great Victorian reading rooms. Lighting must be effective yet soft, and a few judiciously placed mirrors will help project light around the room. Artwork needn’t be just hung on the walls as you need it to give context to the books. Bring it closer by leaning pictures against the lower shelves and placing smaller prints on the upper ones. Mix them up with intimate family portraits and snaps from your travels and you have an instantly visual counterpart to your literary tastes. Other personal touches could be potted plants, handwritten notes, bespoke book plates and children’s craft pieces.
For a more refined look, the use of luxury materials in even the smallest detail is telling. Mahogany tables, marble shelves, leather-bound volumes are all touches that separate a curated sensory experience from a mere book collection.
A Trend/Philosophy That’s Here to Stay
Almost a decade and a half ago, Apple launched the iPad while, on the other side of the world, Marie Kondo penned “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying”. Since then, the world has embraced Kondo’s domestic minimalism as well as the ability to store thousands of books in a single device. So, were books and bookshelves tidied into oblivion together along with record collections and board games? Seemingly not, in fact Bookshelf Wealth is now a recognised facet of a certain interior design philosophy and is being breathlessly showcased on every available social media platform.
Bookshelf wealth is less about the amount and cash value of the books you own and more about how they are curated, displayed and integrated into your living space. It’s an aesthetic that takes time to build and is hard to fake because the intention is to offer an insight into your interests, desires and life experiences. Of course, as with anything touched by TikTok, certain trends and sub-trends have developed. Influencers of all stripes and persuasion post images of their latest bookshelf hacks and recommendations on how to create an elegant, lived-in home with books. As with all trends, this will eventually pass but the idea of creating an oasis of calm that is dedicated to reflection and self-improvement will always have traction.
Interior design with books shouldn’t be something to be regarded as esoteric or impractical; in fact, you probably have some of the basic elements within your reach right now. Books are constantly being gifted, handed down, inherited, borrowed and left behind by family, friends and colleagues. You can also get an instant vintage vibe by shopping for books at second-hand stores and charity shops. We would love to hear how you intend to curate and craft your chosen space together with any personal insights you might have on the subject.
