I think what I'm really liking in the photo above and this photo is the inset bookcase in the wall (not in cabinetry). I am really trying to avoid a cabinet feel from kitchen to butler's pantry to library. This might need some thinking through around the kitchen window, although a deeper-silled, slightly longer window might look awesome with a desk in front. The tone of the inset wood could be very dark (like the photo below) or white to make things pop if we decided to go dark with everything else. Note the modern break between top shelving and the body of the shelving and the display shelf on one wall. While this may not be practical given our ceiling height, it does add a contemporary feel to the shelving. It might work on a smaller scale.
[RS: I know you are really liking this look. I must confess that I'm not. I can't quite put my finger on why, except that it feels like someone who was too cheap to spring for the finish woodwork on the outside of the shelving. At the end of the day, I'm just not a huge fan of drywall, so beautiful woodwork internally with a drywall exterior just calls out the disparity in my preference of finishes to me. I would prefer very clean lines on exterior woodwork, if the goal is to make the feel a bit more contemporary than the classic library, rather than insetting into the wall. Not trying to be argumentative here--just honest about my reaction so we can figure out how to move onward.]
