Chebucto Regional Softball Club

@va2lam

Math books are my most colorful books and each subject has a full spectrum of colors.

But my books on ants are all either white green or black for some reason.

@crinolinerobot

That's not a method to store books you use. It's decorative.

If I put my books that way all of my husband's books would look WORSE since there are so many post-it notes and tabs sticking out. And any book I've taken to school (most of them) have my last name written on the spine in big black letters if it's a textbook so no one would take it.

I don't want to see that.

@NatureMC @eco_amandine

They need to be. Books are heavy and it might sound romantic to die being crushed by your book collection but it is NOT cute.

@UkeleleEric

I don't know if I agree that interior design isn't for everyone. Some of the best most inviting spaces have been designed and curated by people with no budget. It's like art, it's for everyone and money can't really make up for taste and creativity.

It's also WORK and takes time to make a space better, more functional, good looking, someone needs to care about it.

@mensrea

Do you mean the stack-able ones? I've found that with the book collection I have I really just need very tall shelves, and the cubes can't stack high enough. But there are also some cube systems that can go higher I think.

@NatureMC

You need twice as many bookshelves. I made a "book wall" to divide my living room since we ran out of walls. You might need to do that.

@jbenjamint

I love this!

It's just a little moment of joy when normally seeing a bunch of coats and ski gear in a pile would make me sad.

@geckzilla

Most closet shelves are not sturdy enough to hold books. I have considered the concept of having a "book closet" then I could put most of the books in there and close the door for a more minimalist feeling.

But I like to look at the shelf and scan the titles while I'm working. I would end up sitting in the damn closet so it wouldn't work.

At least for me the color sorting makes it easier to find the book I'm looking for. I know some people will do a subject shelf sorted by author, or alphabetically, or subtopic... But, if I'm looking at "discrete math books" I won't remember the title. I remember "it was in the light blue one" -- so color helps.

From across the room it looks less jumbled. You also notice how different subjects have different color pallets. Which is neat.

Also, alpha sorting will NOT stay sorted. Color will.

@mensrea

It can be hard to understand that getting rid of short shelves to make space for full-sized ones is worth it. Or that was hard for me. I kept thinking "but I need more shelves"

Not like this. This little thing is too tiny.

And here is my most controversial one:

Sort your books by SIZE first. The size dictates the shelf height and one tall book can waste a lot of space. (not controversial)

Next by subject. Have the same topic, or author, or genre on the same shelf. (not controversial)

Last, on each shelf sort them by color. It will make the shelf look less chaotic. People get mad about this since it's "looks over function" but if you have a subject shelf you'll be able to find your books.

Consider that if your shelves are not all packed when you want to buy another book no one can say "but where will you put it?"

You see? This is a good one.

With some digging I found some good "book advice"

1. Most ready-made book shelves are too dinky and small. If you have books you need floor to ceiling shelves. Replace short bookshelves.
2. Never fill the shelf all the way. This means you need more shelves AND bookends, but it makes everything look less congested and is worth it.
3. Get deep enough shelves so you can do the spines in a line like the library.
4. Your large format books need a home. A coffee table with two levels can help.

On thing that drives me nuts about interior design advice is it doesn't start from the non-negotiables often enough.

For example I don't think I'm that strange or remarkable for owning about 800 books. I know a lot of people with more. (I have SOME restraint) But if you look for design ideas for books it's not like "here is where you can put all those books" it's more like "get these fake books for this look" --or it's "design a home library." my brother in Christ WHERE.

Interior Designer: "Consider your color pallet"
Me: "OK I've got my color pallet right here and I'm considering it."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. Color pallet. I'm on it. Have one."
"Can I see it?"
"No."
"That's just a color wheel."
"AND?"

None of the kitchens in the "small kitchens design ideas" are as small as my kitchen.

My kitchen is pretty luxurious. It has a high ceiling and a sky light. Built-in original cabinets to the ceiling. It's also basically a short hall way with a sink, stove and fridge.

In a suburban home it'd be called a "kitchenette" or something like that.

Island? What is that?
"statement piece" brother we have no room for "statements" in this hall.

I know this sounds tame, but it was not. It was total chaos in there and I will need to think about this the next time I'm in my kayak.

I should say more about the "fish" ...

They had a "Long Island Sound" fish tank, it was huge with circulating water and it was full of the most wacky fishes I've ever seen.

I had NO IDEA there were goofballs like this in long island sound:

The tank was very active and the fish would LOOK AT YOU.

They also have an awesome collection of cave crystals in every color of the rainbow and some very nice fish.

Don't miss it! There were so many amazing (and very accurate) models. I thought at first "why do I need to see a model when I've seen a thousand photos of these ants?" But you get a whole new perspective.

Get to Greenwich by May or you'll miss it! You will miss "Hormiga Balrog"

Ants: Tiny Creatures, Big Lives - The Bruce Museum

(brucemuseum.org)