现代家居图书馆之美 | 精选五大家居设计案例

Heron Cottage, Sudbourne, Suffolk

Lansdowne Crescent, London W11

Lansdowne Crescent, London W11

Overshot, Badger Lane, Oxford

Atherden Road, London E5

Atherden Road, London E5

Queensborough Mews, London W2

With the start of autumn and the prospect of winter on the horizon, the allure of a well-stocked bookshelf, a glass of red and a good chair to settle into is strong. Here, we’re sharing our favourite modern home libraries to hunker down in, selected from our sales listing.

The outbuildings at this one-time workers’ cottage in Suffolk include a library of enviable design. The current owners’ vast collection of classic novels and art books weigh on the many metres of shelf space and a desk in the middle of the space makes for easy perusing.

Inside, the pleasingly plain, stripped-back interiors make for a distraction-free reading environment (perhaps done on one of the many daybeds throughout the house?) creating a beautiful vision of a thoroughly modern, yet rustic way of living.

The library on the top level of this iconic, six-floor modernist house was designed with much love for reading. High above the rooftops of Notting Hill and with its timber-lined ceiling and walls, this library is a truly intimate space and is ideal for immersion in one of the rare architecture books collected by the architect’s wife and a celebrated architectural librarian, Jill Lever. The clean lines and the unique ribbed ceiling are impressive but not demanding – this space is suitable for both serious library research at the desk and more relaxed reading on the divan, facing the balcony with its dramatic view.

While being a fine example of British modernism, the reading space in this Grade II-listed detached family house transforms the architects’ fascination with concrete in favour of traditional wooden materials and functionalist principles. The library’s principal feature is its engagement with the garden surrounding the house, which occurs through the timber-framed sliding windows that allow the space to be bathed in ample natural light. Merged with the living room, as architects Samuel and Harding remind us, a library is not only a space where we reconnect with ourselves but also one that fosters community, allowing several generations in a family to explore ideas together and build bonds in a communal space.

This library/office is characterised by an unconventional combination of a modest floor area with strikingly high ceilings that are arranged in a steep monopitch in excess of four metres at its peak. The skylight continues to open even more space through the ceiling, which together with the tremendous proportions of the fitted bookshelves, brings a surreal element to this space and makes it perfect for moments of introspection and creative thinking. Another inspiring element of this space is the Art Deco fireplace, kept from the 1920s when the house was originally built, with its lime green ceramic tiles designed by Virgile & Partners.

Created by Joanna Macfadyen, known as a master of woodwork, this library demonstrates how a single bookcase creates a uniquely functional space for reading and relaxing. Linking the open-plan living and dining rooms, Macfadyen’s bespoke wooden bookcase merges into a mirrored wall opposite the east-facing balcony, easing the flow of sunlight and making the dining/reading area delightfully luminous.