There is a sweet room nestled between the family room and mudroom that we call the Library. The perimeter walls are a bit chopped up with a fireplace, 2 sets of French doors, a door leading to the back terrace and a pocket door to the mudroom.
Albeit small, this room is a working library. I have organized the books in topics including gardening, travel, art, history, animals, health and medicine, poetry and favorite novels. There are numerous photo albums of our early years with the children, long before digital cameras.
Unlike designer-staged shelves, ours are filled with cherished items. The painting below was done by my friend and artist, Jane Horn.
Each shelf has a remote controlled candle, which is a fun way to add ambiance to the room at night. Candles are from Costco .
The two reading chairs are covered in a bird print in grayish-blue ~~ Olana Bayleaf Waverly fabric. Between is a glass topped garden table. The walls are painted a lovely blue.
In one corner, we repurposed an 1820s English mahogany wash stand as a bar. The painting of the street scene below reminded me of our trip to Italy, where we had many dinners on the sidewalk. The artist, who has many of her pieces for sale online through Etsy, is Cecilia Rosslee.
I am a fan of gilded framed antique oil paintings, and two of my favorite hang above the bar. The artist is W.T. Fisher and they are from late 1800s.
Getting pictures of the fireplace was a bit difficult due to the light and too many reflections. The mantle has an inlaid wood pattern that is delicate and intricate.
The glazed deep garnet colored tiles are from Waterworks.
As always, I had my animal helpers nearby~~Sox, our beagle and Tippy, our rescue cat.
My favorite time of the year in this room is the winter. When there is a fire going, the room is so warm and cozy. It’s a wonderful space to sit and chat with a glass of wine or cup of coffee, or read a book. Do you have a small, special place in your home?
Great job Mary! Looks elegantly restful and complete. Everything is better with history behind it.
This has to be my favorite space of Bella Terra just because this is where the books are! LOL I have a small space in my own, my home office; as it’s the smallest space in our home and it’s where I spend a lot of my time. Our home library is still under “construction”, I just ordered two pieces of furniture that are coming before the end of next week. The bookshelves are still under construction too as they have been built but not painted and I haven’t purchased the ladder yet either (they are over 10 feet tall).
I love the library at Bella Terra and I believe every home should have a dedicated space for books! The art you chose is stunning and adds to the tranquility of the library and I love how you have the books organized in subjects because that is exactly what I intended to do also.
Bella Terra is so beautiful!! 🙂