Library of Colour

My clients are keen book readers with a huge collection stored in their garage. They wanted to bring some of their favourites through into the lounge. There was an empty wall where the clients envisaged their bookshelf with their favourite chair and light to create a feature and cosy corner. They have a passion for colour and this was an important part of the brief. We had to consider the mix of styles of furniture in the room and the stormy blue colours in a prominent painting.

They had previously searched unsuccessfully for a book shelf of the right scale, shape and colour and therefore a custom design was the best way forward.

Our first challenge was finding a style that would encapsulate and tie in with some art deco and also mid century styled furniture in the room. We quickly decided to work with MDF and paint lacquer finish as this gave us the most flexibility with our design and colour choice. Enabling us to create a custom piece of furniture which is unique to the clients.

They were excited to explore different styles with me. We investigated some curved ideas before deciding on a more boxy style, making it more practical to store books.

The height and scale of the space enabled us to create a striking piece of furniture. We added the fluting to the front facing panels as an extra detail which could lend itself to any era of style. This detail also adds some finesse to the piece.

The angled ceiling, light switches and power points all had to be taken into account for a final size. The clients enjoyed getting into the detail of the measurements to best organise the space for their books.

The final and most important element was the colour. We wanted the colour to tie in with the stormy blues of a nearby painting. The strong colour makes for a great feature as you come in and view the space from the entrance way. We looked at various tones and shades of blue until we found the one that appealed most to the clients and worked well with the mustard colour of the chair.

The clients are now enjoying their reading corner and love how it works with the rest of the room.