Thursday, June 5, 2008

Wishlist #one: Bookcases

I have big dreams. Big dreams of my dream house. Dreamy dreams about my dream house of dreams. Since that's a pretty big dream, I often settle for having small dreams, too. Things I want include storage units, aesthetically pleasing decorative objects, and better, sleeker appliances/electronics. I guess when you add all that up, it turns into just another big fat dream. Whatever! Here's a book storage wishlist.

1. Bruno Rainaldi Sapen Bookcase, Design Within Reach. $220 small, $330 large.


I saw this in a post on OurBedrooms, a Livejournal community, and it looked so amazing that I knew I had to have it. One day my vertebral book heaven will come. When you fill it up completely, the shelf seems to be invisible, and it looks like you just stacked all your books (up to 70) all neat and tidy on your own. Very impressive. I definitely prefer this over my current bedroom bookcase situation: a white two-shelfer as old as I am, in an ugly white plastic-feeling adfljlkj I need to stop describing it because it sounds as awful as it is.


2. Brave Space Tetrad Bamboo Set. $1,000 for 5-piece set; $2,000 for 10-piece set.

This one is completely unrealistic for me, but everyone loves Tetris. And, most people like books (maybe the two exceptions are struggling Kindergarteners and the boy from my high school who listed his favorite books as "I don't like to read" on Facebook). So what better idea than to combine them? The z-shaped ones seem a little impractical to me, but I bet books look awesome in them. You can stack the individual shapes however you like!


3. Ikea Linnarp Glass Door Bookcase. $100 per 2-piece set. Black, red, or pine.


Ikea - affordable, chic sellers of home furnishings and hot dogs. I like this style for many reasons other than the price: it keeps your books dust free while also hiding them slightly (books are still visible) from the sight of critical dinner guests. Also, I just find this incredibly classy - I picture a sophisticated British surgeon opening the Linnarp bookcase in a white sitting room, looking over his wire-rimmed glasses to find Gray's Anatomy, shutting the door with a gallant click, and raising his finger, ready to explain the workings of the liver. Yummy.

4. Nils Holger Moormann Bookinist book chair. 2.187€ (about $3,407 and yes I used the European currency notation used in France and Germany. I think.)

I wanted to slap on a completely tacky bookcase as the final item in my list, but Google kind of failed me people are probably too embarrassed to post such things on the Internet, and everything I found while searching for "tacky bookcase" was utterly awesome. This thing looks horribly uncomfortable, but it has a wheel for reclining (label: "Not for highway use" - those Germans crack me up) and a place to store your Moleskine! So freaking European. I love it.

Thanks to:
- Design*Sponge book storage roundup (Sapien, Tetrad)
- BoingBoing archives (Bookinist)

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ooh! i like the bamboo tetris bookshelf the best! you should get that one! bamboo is considered a very environmentally responsible material because it regrows so quickly, in contrast with trees, that take hella years to have enough for half a bookshelf.

i like the book case chair too! lets make that out of bamboo, too! yay!

p.s. wanna know about my dream house? it involves carpet made of plastic bottles (As in water bottles), a "hardwood" bamboo floor, and that tetric book case accross from a recycled cotton couch. lol, talk about 'spensive!

Back Garage said...

I like the Sapen bookcase from DWR, but here's a hot tip: the Cadman Spine bookcase from the West Elm catalog is just as nice and $169 to DWR's $330! Love the blog, just stumbled upon it this morning. :-)