I read a quote lately about bookshelves being a living piece of art.  I love a perfectly styled tableau as much as the next designer, but as you can see from my last post, sometimes less is better.  Recently I've found myself feeling a little resistance towards the perfectly styled and leaning more towards wabi-sabi. I want things to be useful, practical & comfortable.

So when it come to bookshelves, I've been forgoing pretty stacked books, cute accessories, and artfully arranged art or photos.

I find stacked books are so inconvenient when you actually want to read those books, especially if there is a little bowl or vase on top.

Plus doesn't it seem so hard to keep clean and to dust?

So in the spirit of wabi-sabi here are some images showcasing bookshelves for books and not a living piece of art.

• Jennifer Boles in NY Times
• Home featured in Love Where You Live: At Home in The Country
• John Robshaw in Elle Decor
• Isabella Smith featured in Easy Living photo by Daniel Farmer
• Simon Jacobsen in AD 
• Krieger Architects Philadelphia Library

Which do you prefer?