Larger Home Libraries, page 5

Larger Home Libraries (page 5)

2041
architecturaldigest.com

"From the moment one enters the library of a Neoclassical-style Long Island, New York, summer house by Thomas Britt, the designer’s emphasis on scale (or rather, the skillful manipulation of it) is front and center—the space’s defining characteristic (see Architectural Digest, March 1998). The ceiling of the long and narrow room reaches double height, but the spiral stairs and the primary furnishings—Britt-designed low-slung sofas, six even lower Louis XV-style armchairs and a Burmese low table that hovers barely a foot from the plank floor—suggest a vastly more voluminous space. “Here, as in most of what I do, scale was immensely significant to the overall concept,” Britt says. The aesthetic, flavored with 18th- and 19th-century pieces that he zeroed in on during excursions around the world, is a decidedly architectural one: Set off in white and playing against brilliant yellow walls, elegant millwork traces the lines of the catwalk and the fireplace. 'French doors connect it to a courtyard,' says Britt. 'It’s a room for more than just books.'”

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2044
cotedetexas.blogspot.com
House & Garden Book of Style; Browning

The New York City library and salon of costume jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane. This is one of my favorite library spaces. The ornate millwork, the richly-hued walls, the exotic furnishings, the incredible collection of Orientalist paintings. The only drawback, in my opinion, is that he has had to sacrifice bookshelf space to have all these other fine aspects. But everything in life involves tradeoffs, doesn't it?