Books
A Mountain of Books
Sometimes I come across something so perfect that there is not much more to say than Wow. This is Book Mountain, a library in Spijkenisse, The Netherlands. It was designed by the Dutch firm MVRDV. On their website they talk about what the role of libraries is in our current world. Their design seeks to … Continue reading
A Tree Grows in West Hollywood
When I gave tours of the set of the TV show I worked on for years (at some point, I became the go-to tour leader), I pointed out the earthquake resistant cross-bracing that the designer had included. It was a great detail that subtlety reinforced the fact that our show was set in Los Angeles. … Continue reading
Chapel Conversion to Bookshop
So, it follows that with my general excitement in a good chapel-to-home conversion, I am equally happy to see pretty much any chapel conversion that maintains the original architecture (except maybe a nightclub, I have seen that done so poorly). I also realize that some chapels are just to large to convert to a home, … Continue reading
Books + Water
Finding the beauty in everyday things is a special kind of intelligence. Being able to show that beauty to the world (in a way that does not need to be explained) is a step beyond. Cara Barer is a photographer who had an “encounter” with a discarded yellow pages soaked with water and lying in … Continue reading
Towers of Books
The books are my friends – I think that has been made clear in this post and this one and even this one. However, I am not at all precious about the actual book. I am happy to send an outdated or unpopular book to another fate. I am even willing to sacrifice a book … Continue reading
The Books 2011
I decided to make Sundays my list/personal day here at Design Flourishes On my Life List #24 is to read 40 books a year, every year. Last year I just made it under the wire. There is some internal debate as to what constitutes a “book.” A long difficult book takes a lot more time … Continue reading
Carved From Pages
I love the books, always have. When I was growing up we had a lot of books in the house. I don’t have any form of electronic-book-reader-thingymabob. I do enjoy the feel of paper in my hands. I like giving thoughtful books as gifts, I like displaying them in my home, and I like passing them … Continue reading
Pages of Organized Chaos
One of the most fascinating Christmas decorations that my mother had in the late 70s, was a Mr and Mrs Claus set made from folded newspaper and painted red. I remember prying apart their layers to try to read what was written on the paper. We probably still have them, I might see them in … Continue reading
Iced Over
40 times since 1142 the Thames river in has frozen solid. Starting with the freeze in 1608 Londoners began throwing an impromptu fair on the river – The Frost Fair. The river was much wider and slower before the modern embankments, and the old London Bridge acted as a partial dam because the piers were … Continue reading
Enough Bookshelves
“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.” – Anna Quindlen I am forever running out of shelf space. I give away a box of books only to find days later that the shelves are overflowing again. It’s … Continue reading
