Sharing your shelf is, in a way, sharing yourself. Every element —from the titles you choose to the way you organize them— says something about your personality and your interests.
Who wouldn't want to cozy up in a library filled with dusty books and lush plants? But these images typically present bookcases just as a decorative element, superfluous to the actual design of the space. Like many things, when architects take on the design of bookcases they can become so much more: recessed and hidden, cantilevered, patterned, embedded...the list goes on!
We've rounded up some of the finest examples of bookcases that combine practicality with ingenuity
Maria Carolina / Sub Estúdio + Pedro Ivo Freire + Flávia Torres
Casa DL / URBAstudios
CZ7 Loft / 5ft2 Studio
Greville Road Studio / Syte Architects
Eaves House / mA-style architects
The Long Brick House / Foldes Architects
Bookshelf House / Shinsuke Fujii Architects
Lincoln Roof Extension / Notan Office
Photographer’s Loft / Desai Chia Architecture
Architect's Workshop / Ruetemple
Casa Ortega / Estudio A0
CRID San Miguel Capiata / OCA
Casa da Escrita / Joao Mendes Ribeiro
CY Residence / Kedem Shinar Design & Architecture
Casa Bacopari / Una Arquitetos
SlrSrf / Open Source Architecture
Estudio Mike / Daniel Moreno Flores + Margarida Marques
Casa Varanda / Modo Designs
Apartamento Terracota / AR Arquitetos
Little House Big City / Office of Architecture
Apartamento Sacadura Cabral / Morim Santos Silva Arquitectos
House in Takatsuki / FujiwaraMuro Architects
Flinders Lane Apartment / Clare Cousins Architects
Casa em Estoril / TARGA atelier
Apartamento Santos Dumont / Ateliê de Arquitetura
Chameleon Villa / Word of Mouth House
Paulista Apartment / Triptyque
Casa Lopera / David Ruiz Molina
Flat Renovation for a Photographer / Alia Bengana
House 1101 / H-arquitectes
TRN / JRKVC
Earth Box / Equipo de Arquitectura
House Savukvartsi / Honkarakenne
Casa no Jardim Paulistano / GrupoSP
Loft Space in Camben / Craft Space
Haffenden House / PARA
House for Booklovers and Cats / BFDO Architects
Kobiler House / Architextit- Einat Erez-Kobiler
Harcombe / forresterarchitects
Casa GMG / Pedro Gadanho
Casa Sumaré / Isay Weinfeld
Loft no Itaim / FGMF Arquitetos
Apartamento Pamplona / Zoom Urbanismo Arquitetura e Design
Apartamento Riachuelo / 0E1 Arquitetos
Sursock Apartment / platau
Lishin Elementary School Library / TALI DESIGN
Apartment at Luciano Cordeiro / Aurora Arquitectos
Espace St-Denis / Anne Sophie Goneau
Casa no Morro do Querosene / StudioGP
ZTUDIO / mfrmgr
BHMM House / Estudio JI Arquitectos
Casa Tetris / Studio MK27
Shelf-Pod / Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio
GAD 511 / Patrícia Martinez Arquitetura
Own House / Metaforma
Casa Librería / Shinichi Ogawa & Associates
Casa Juranda / Apiacas Arquitetos
Cotia Library Garden / IPEA
Bookshelf House / Andrea Mosca Creative Studio
Tower House / Austin Maynard Architects
Casa Scout / BAAG
Apartamento POSSAMAI / Sbardelotto Arquitetura + Atelier Aberto Arquitetura
HOUSE 3/6 in Dongducheon / Y GROUP
Note: This article was originally published on August 20, 2018, and updated on June 24, 2020.