“When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
~ Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
When I started planning Snowberry’s renovation the living room had me stumped.
Who still uses a formal living room?
Ok, who uses it more than twice a year?
I rest my case.
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The house has a large great room, and I knew that’s where we’d spend most of our time.
There was no formal dining room though, could the living room be used for that?
Not really, it’s too large.
Although visions of family and friends gathered around a long table in front of the fire danced through my mind.
Update: I temporary made my dream come true by hosting an engagement dinner in the library.
You can read about how I transformed the library into a dining room here.
Meanwhile, back to reality …
I considered a home office, but the space is too large for that too.
Or a home gym … again, too large, unless I sold gym memberships to the neighbors.
The living room is in the center of the house.
A straight shot through from the front door through the foyer.
A pony wall with a bizarre dentist office style magazine rack separated the room from the main hallway.
Thank goodness I have a photo because it’s hard to explain.
Note to aspiring renovators – photograph everything before demo.
E V E R Y T H I N G.
No corner, no detail is too small or insignificant.
You’ll need want those photos later.
Trust me.
Speaking of demo.
The living room chimney had to come down.
‘One earthquake away from bringing down the house’ is how my contractor put it.
Me and my niece surveying the damage.
It all comes down so fast.
Then begins the long, arduous process of putting it back together.
Back to the original question, what to do with this room?
It’s a good sized, rectangular room with a fireplace.
But, there’s not much natural light.
It’s a little dark and moody.
One day while scrolling Pinterest I got a brilliant idea.
A library.
Why not a library?
Does that seem silly?
We’re not living in a manor house.
I mean, a library?!
Who do I think I am?
Let me tell you.
A lover and collector of books.
Lots of books.
Big books, small books, classic books, trashy books.
What does a book lover need more than anything else?
Aside from a comfy sofa and lots of free time.
Shelves.
Many shelves.
Books + shelves + comfy sofa + fireplace …. can only add up to one thing.
A library.
So enough talking, let’s look at Snowberry’s library.
Before it was furnished.
My favorite room in the house.
It took a while to get my act together to order furniture.
I was overwhelmed with unpacking and sorting out the rest of the house.
Last fall, furniture began to trickle in and the final pieces arrived a few months ago.
Here it is, the finished (furnished) library …
And there you have it.
Snowberry’s living room transformed into a home library.
If you need me, I’ll be right here.
Last spring I decided to add French doors to both library entrances.
Blue velvet sofas and little white dogs don’t mix.
Need I say more?
The door project was completed six weeks ago.
But I think that’s more than enough for one day.
I’ll share all the room details and sources … materials, finishes, furnishings, new doors, etc. … in a follow up post.
If you have any questions, be sure to let me know.
And stay tuned.
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Want to see more Snowberry room reveals?
Main Bedroom Closet Organization
We finished the library just in time for fall … cozy-up season.
Speaking of cozy, next week I’m joining some blogger friends to talk about cozy home décor.
As always, I appreciate your visit and welcome your thoughts in the comments below.
Cheers from Snowberry!
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