I voted for since no reason why not if you can make use of colours in that way. However, if I didn't do it in my home it will be owing to the fact that I like to have them grouped in categories.

I love books but buys ones I want for real, not for decorative purposes and only keep ones I like on my shelves.

In one bookcase I have historical and heritage books and in the other bookcase I have recipe and other misc. books. So, the colour scheme for me wouldn't work.

Books say a lot about a person. I have hardback copies of books by authors such as Jeffry Archer, Robert Ludlum, Helen MacInnes, Alastair MacLean, Arthur Hailey and others. Read every one.

On the other hand, displaying books you haven't read -- simply to decorate-- seems pretentious. If you want to give the impression you read a lot, then actually read. And what do you do if a guest asks questions about a book you haven't read?

Yes, first of all I love reading and it's a way of showing others some of your favorite books. Second, it offers character and color! Just take a look at my shelfie!

I unlike some people out there am fascinated by books. I LOVE that you can emerse yourself in another world by even just touching a book. I said for because I LOVE books. to see to touch, but especally to read :)

In case of fire I would save 1) my human and animal family 2) my books. The rest can burn.

Another thread on this topic? Must be a Houzz article coming up.

Hal, I basically asked that question in the comments section on the debate. I voted against because I don't consider them decor, they're a necessity.

If you are a voracious reader the odds that your current crop of reading materials fits a decorating scheme is pretty much zero, and you will want your books organized for reading not display. If you aren't a reader then decorating with books is pretentious at best.

I voted for the use although it should be used minimally. A small wall for instance.

This is a tough call..actually. The pictures of all the orange, blue, yellow books looks tacky (to me.) But it is true that if you have books you haven't seen nor yet read, it would be similar to going to the library and picking out a book without reading the title and checking it out to read. Like a treasure hunt. I have tons of CDs as love music. I have had lots of eye surgeries and getting better but read a lot on Kindle. I think one truly has to use their sense of comfort and quit decorating based on other's opinions. If it makes you happy ...do it. If it feels phony...don't do it. Why does this need a discussion in the first place?? Just sayin'.

rhodes50, well, you could invest in lots (and lots) of colored book covers. But, then you'd have to label them..... And here I thought I'd found you the perfect decorating solution. I did try, my apologies.

There's a fashion for disguising things as something else these days. Bedrooms have to look like sitting rooms with armchairs. Kitchens are not supposed to have any cooking appliances exposed. Formal living rooms just for show, with no sign whatever of the occupants interests.

When will design get real again?

Nah, don't like it, especially when it's done by colour, seems like they are trying too hard.

I voted with the no side for reasons well expressed in this article -- merely "decorating" with books that are not entwined with one's own story seems fakery. That said, one better be able to incorporate books, and lots of them, into one's decor! A well curated library is in itself a work of art. With another commenter I can say that I have bookcases in every room of our home, including this 12' section in a very wide and long foyer, a space that was a key selling point for this particular home. I've been considering a move and was recently looking at wonderful older homes, much to my dismay few have any long extended walls that can incorporate our books/bookcases. If there are designers here who build things I would love to discuss the problem of the lack of availability of inexpensive, attractive, and sturdy bookcases, almost all of which on the market are far oversized for books. One does not need 12" deep shelves, which can eat up tremendous floor space. These cases were from a closed Borders bookstore, and are well designed for maximum storage... plus I love the cheeky and interchangeable signs. My politics section is currently headed with a sign reading "juvenile fiction"!

Both have points but i would have to go against...simply on the point of wasteful purchases because neither are really disputing the use of books but the reasons behind the use.

You can mirror your ceilings, hang zebra print drapes, and paint your bathroom fuschia and I'll call it your taste and enjoy.
Arrange your books by color and Imma gonna judge.
No. Just no.

If someone needs blocks of color on a shelf, I'd like to suggest that they use canvases or blocks of wood .......you could spray paint empty cereal boxes or something similar......but, please, don't snatch up that lovely copy of the out of print children's book that I've been looking for for two decades simply because it's cover fills out the teal section of your color blocked shelves that are full of other books that you have absolutely no intention of EVER ACTUALLY READING.

Arranging books by colour seems sacrilegious to me. Like buying art by the yard to match your couch. I love walking into homes with books everywhere - it's alive. A place with colour coordinated books seems dead to me. Just saying'.

I have a hard enough time finding room for all my books let alone having to consider color, style, etc. I sort by subject first and size second...

Most of interior design is fake, sorry. I doubt If any of them use all of the homeowner's possessions or are getting 100% input and agreement from their clients on every item used in their designs. From all the images I see, by far most of them look too untouchable and staged.

I can't imagine having someone come into my home to change everything unless they use only what I own and cherish, especially books and artwork. These items reveal to my guests who I am without me saying a word. If designers were to add nonsense books, table arrangements, or wallhangings that hold no value to me, just to make their design look like they wanted, these items would be gone before the designer pulled out of the driveway and my money would be wasted. They don't live in the house, I do. When interior designers understand this, I might consider consulting one down the road. Right now, they don't seem to want our trust, if they insist upon doing things like this.

Years ago I was aghast when AIGA began publishing a smaller format annual because I had just built shelves to house that specific size. I am horrified by color groupings of books. It just seems to be disrespectful of the books and to the authors, designers and subjects. The thought of fire terrifies me because of the books I have collected that could never be replaced. In case of fire it is: dogs first, laptop on my way out, and I may expire trying to carry out as many books as possible. Most of the paintings are mine and I can do new ones.

This is a funny question to me. I'm a reader from a family of readers. I grew up in a house with a big bookcase covering one wall of the living room. Whenever we asked my dad any question for information, he'd point to the bookshelf and say, "There are the encyclopedias" or "You know where the dictionary is". I love books as sources of knowledge, inspiration, education, history, enjoyment, and the expression of ideas. However, I voted 'Yes'. I can't bring myself to 'disapprove' of people treating books as objects of beauty or interest, because I know that part of the urge to put my books display is aesthetic and sentimental, as well as representing a respect for reading and learning. People display vases without ever intending to put flowers in them. People display crystal punch bowls and never fill them with punch. People display antique tools without once using them. I don't see why people can't have books and treat them as decorative objects in a similar way. Which is more pretentious: to display books you have no intention of reading because you think it goes with your decor? Or to claim that only people who appreciate books properly should be allowed to decorate their homes with them?

I can learn a great deal about a person or family just by glancing at the books they display. I don't care so much what books they have as whether their display is thoughtful and a genuine reflection of THEM. If not, they usually turn out to be superficial in other ways as well. Although I personally, as a true book person, would never have books arranged just by color, even that, if done well, can tell me that this person is passionate about aesthetics and style, much needed in our world. But if your books look like an after thought, well, I lower my expectations accordingly.

A comment unrelated to my post just above: Hal may have read every one of his books, for which kudos unlimited, but very few people who are book lovers fail to accumulate books they have only started, intend to read, think they might consult some day, or just want to possess. I read a lot, collect rare first editions, and have books all over my house, but I have other lives as well and sometimes just have to enjoy the fact that a particular book is there waiting for me to pick up "someday." Yes, I know, but there are even books about this "Gentle Madness" as one such book calls it.

This one was tricky, because I absolutely agree with both sides. My wife and I decorate often using old hardcover books I have picked up at used book stores and garage sales. While I love the look of the old books, I also realize that having someone peruse them could be awkward. I know for a fact that I have a few really old books that I wouldn't read, or have read and find offensive at best! (The Origin of Races being the first in my head to make me cringe...) I think books make great accent pieces and added decor to a room, but walls of them for the sake of having walls of them does seem a bit useless. Get a few, use them tastefully, and enjoy the look!

I based my answer on the picture, which was to arrange the books by color, way too confusing! And here's another one, have you seen the latest in "shelter mags" as they're called, books are reversed?! (only the page sides are shown) What the heck is that all about? Grrr : D

I simply like the looks of books arranged by subject, author, etc., with no mind to color or size. I think the randomness of the colors and sizes in such an arrangement looks much better than the artificial contrivance of covering books in plain white jackets or arranging them by color or size. The looks of a well-tended and used personal library is so much more attractive and makes for a homey room.

I voted for because decorating is a form of self-expression in and of itself. As much as I agree that books are a window to one's personality, so is an individual's choice of décor. Personally, if I wanted a wall of colour blocked books, I would be pretty upset if my decorator said I couldn't have that. It is a form of art - sort of. It's not my choice, I love to have books I've read, hope to read, or greatly admire adorn my shelves . . . but I don't like many other things like abstract art, opera, polka dots or diamond shaped backsplash . . . it's all a very personal choice in my humble opinion, how can anyone say it's 'wrong'?

I am a "true book person" and also an artist. I enjoy the look of books as much as reading them. In my home, we read mostly fiction. Literary arts. Why not display them artfully?

Books are a wonderful extension of the person—whether aspirational or a reflection of personal experience, they intrigue me. I have never agreed with one of my first Interior Design instructors (as famous guy, actually) that "books are personal and therefore have no place in the public areas of the home". To me, that divides the home in an unattractive (to me) split between a soulless public space and richly deep personal space. One can achieve beauty in either, but beauty that reflects a life well lived is so much more interesting.

So for decorating with books! I like using books that relate to my client. I think books add a touch if personalization to a home rather than filling all shelves with decor pieces.

Books are for reading first and foremost! But I do like the idea of replacing well worn paper backs with hardbacks to give a bookshelf a more substantial feel.

Further to the point of shaping design around the people who will make their lives inside the home, on one project I spent nearly a month cataloguing art, collectibles, rugs, photos (even prized drawings from the owner's early fashion design days), travelling to their various homes and designing a new place with the collection in mind. The result was a very new space that felt like home from day one, and opportunity to spread housewarming gifts throughout the new home and into other homes so that in every place they have reminders of favourite moments. This couple features books and prized LPs in the media room.

Books, just like everything else people decorate with, are communicating something about the person, in the above case, a passion for color more than for reading, but it looks cluttered to my eyes and that is why I do not collect books.

Mostly, when I used to, I ended up with cluttered bookshelves and hated even glancing at them and also knew that, mathematically, I would never read them again, so I got rid of them. Libraries take them and you can always read them again if you want.

No, I would not decorate with them, but I do like coffee table books - with things like photography. Those I looked at over and over again for years, but my relative got sick and I needed a place for a hospital bed and ended up getting rid of the coffee table, and the books went with it. I hate clutter too much to care.

My question with books covered with neutral or colored paper-- or worse, with the spines turned in-- is how does the book owner/lover ever find the title he/she is looking for? I'm always looking at my bookshelves to find a reference book or perhaps just a book I want to consult or read again. Adding covers to make them look photogenic, or turning the spines in so you only see the edges of the pages, is crazy and defeats the purpose of a book-- to be a repository for knowledge that can be easily consulted!

bethperson, I think the purpose of the books changes to art at that point and I have seen some fascinating art installations, which were accomplished like that on sites like This is Colossal, and buying books and covering all of them in an interesting paper can be cheaper than buying a seriously big work of art.

Books I know I won't re-read or use for reference again I like to pass on to friends or put in my neighbor's Little Free Library. The books I keep are favorites and I have a ton of design books. A lot of them are oversized, so they are arranged in a way that first puts them where they can fit. Second haphazardly by topic (landscape architecture, city planning, interiors, architecture, art, FLW had a whole section ... ) third a bit by what looks nice together, but as I pull some out to use them and try to put them back, add new ones, whatever, it's all gone downhill. I know where most of them are and that's all that matters to me as I am not running a Dewey Decimal operation over here. I have no problem with people organizing by color if it makes them happy. No judgement from me.

I voted 'no'. I'm not a fan of the idea of purchasing books based solely on the color of their covers - for any reason - and I would never personally group my books by color. With that said, I am a fan of displaying books and stuff together and I suppose there are many ways that can be done attractively....

I intend to read the book story when I have time. My immediate thought is that books are a necessity and a treat. While I like the view of them to be as attractive as possible, I do not consider their major purpose as being that of decoration.

Thank you for the article. I do look forward to reading it later.

To me books are fine for décor but only as long as they are also 'useful' books that I use, or that I at least used in the past, and that I still love. I don't like the first Poll idea at all of using groupings of colored books for décor , it doesn't appeal to me at all looks contrived -books should be read & loved in I.M.O. I have mostly cook books and group them according to cuisine such as: Indian, Italian, Louisiana style, BBQ, baking, etc.

Quite frankly, it horrifies me.

In my opinion, people who use books as decorative objects don't really like books very much.

To me, books are decorative, and I am a major bookworm. A few years ago we built a huge bookshelf over a whole wall in the family/dining room, and I arranged some of my books by color. Why not? They look great, and I enjoy reading them.

Yes, I love having a library of favorites and reference books at home. I have so many, I need to find a decorator who buys books to use in their decor business....I have many 1st editions and Large Print hardcovers in Fine, Near Fine and Very Good condition. Maybe Houzz could do a follow-up article on that.

Books convey meaning, so long as they represent the client and are not simply "decor." One of my first design learning experiences was with an Iranian designer who felt that books--or anything personal--had no place in the public rooms of a house. I disagreed then, and do now. Home decor should be a genuine reflection of thse who live there...if books are meaningful to the residents, then they belong. If not, there are plenty of other options. IMO, decor must be genuine to work.