Book Review: ‘Books Make a Home’ by Damian Thompson

The common opinion, a room without books is a lifeless empty shell, no matter what beautiful furnishings and décor are included within. This is precisely why a book such as Books Make a Home by The World of Interiors’ Chief Sub-editor Damian Thompson is so close to our heart. If you too love books and recognise the influence and decorative quality books can bring to an interior, then this is a book you really must buy. It’s an attractive book itself and can be placed nicely on a coffee table when not being read.

Books come in a myriad of different sizes, colors, subjects and even materials. Whether you have hundreds of books related to history and politics or a few dozen novels and poetry books, you’ll be able to gain inspiration for better placement and arrangement within your home. Thompson takes each room, one by one and examines the possible design changes you can make with books and how you can employ a host of techniques for stacking, shelving and closeting your collection of reading material. All this done in a way that utilizes space and also makes the room look much better, and with added personality.

The book is packed with inspirational photographs illustrating decorative solutions for each space and every size of collection. You’ll also find how to make use of existing storage features as well as the creation of new areas that you would not have imagined were possible. Additionally ‘Books Make a Home’ explores how books can be combined with decorative objects and personal effects to create fabulously eye-catching displays. There’s even a section which details how to look after each individual book so its appearance is kept to a high standard. The combination of written explanations and tips together with the beautiful photographic presentations makes this book a great help when it comes to establishing books as an essential part of a good décor scheme.