If you are a bookworm and love nothing more than cozying up with a good book on a Friday night, you know how important it is to showcase your word babies in a place you can enjoy. Having books surround you elicits a sense of calm and happiness few other material items can — books spark joy, bring contentment, and inspire curiosity. If you don’t have a room you can dedicate entirely to a cozy home library, don’t stress. There are plenty of spaces in your home in which you can create a library-like feel, like a home office, bedroom, or living room.
We found five beautiful home library ideas on Instagram that you can implement in your own home to begin enjoying the mystery and magic books can bring. They cover a range of design styles from modern to farmhouse to boho, each as impressive as the next.
Grand library designs
If you have the space and the built-ins, we recommend using every square inch for your book collection. This library featured by Laura Graziano is stunning and brings both formality and elegance in spades. We love the dark wood and Chesterfield paired with the lighter cabinets featuring hundreds of old, antique books. Add a gorgeous area rug and library bookcase ladder, and we could spend hours getting lost in the stories on these shelves.
Small cozy home library
Don’t have a ton of space for a library? Don’t worry. We adore this little reading nook by Word Child tucked into the corner of a room with books piled into cabinets, on shelves, and stacked on the floor (and natural light for days). It’s whimsical but still offers enough space to settle into a chair with a cup of tea and get reading. It’s colorful and bright, and you can’t help but smile at the boho-inspired feel. You can search for an antique bookcase in a store or estate sale, or find one online like this one from Target.
Holiday-inspired mini library
If you are really short on space but want to showcase some of your favorite books around the holidays, check out this Christmas Tree book stacking technique from Read Your Worries Away that would look adorable on a coffee table or dining room table during a holiday party. This would be ideal if you were giving books away as gifts or hosting a book club night where everyone could take and share a book of their choice. All a library needs is books, so don’t let space stand in your way!
Library-inspired home office
If you want to incorporate a library into your home office and don’t have built-ins, no problem. There are tons of amazing standing shelving units you can buy and fill with books and other necessary office items depending on your individual style. We love this look from Trisha Davis Designs on Instagram because of the use of color, pattern, and floor-to-ceiling shelving.
You could achieve a similar look by purchasing a shelving unit like this one from Home Square (which is a little more formal and traditional) or a more industrial look with this one from Wayfair.
Rustic bedroom library
We are enamored with this bedroom library from JD Bucla. Who wouldn’t want to go to bed surrounded by hundreds of their favorite authors? We love that it’s built as a backdrop to the bed itself. The neutral tones allow the antique and vintage vibe of the books to shine, and if you can pull off an all-wood ceiling, even better. We’re particularly fond of the #getoffyourphone hashtag in this bedroom library description!
All of these libraries allow you to bring your book collection into your existing home design and offer a range of project levels, from complex to easy to finish in a weekend. These ideas can all be implemented on a budget; you’ll just need to look around and do your homework on materials and installation (if it’s a built-in). You also want to keep in mind who will be using the space. If you have small kids, you may want to opt for a built-in over a freestanding bookcase for safety.
Other important elements in any home library are a comfy chair to curl up in, a side table to keep your notebook and coffee or tea on, and as much natural light as possible. If you don’t have a lot of windows, make sure you have adequate lighting via floor and table lamps, as well as overhead lighting, so you don’t strain your eyes unnecessarily. Once your library is complete, you just need to sit back, relax, and enjoy the wonder of a new book.
