Lisa Martensen Interior. Photograph by Stephen Karlisch. Via DMagazine.com
Having just seen a new post over on Apartment Therapy about the change of storage space in our homes, I thought I’d add my feelings on the subject.
To summarise, Apartment Therapy asks the question Will E-Books Change How Our Homes Look? In essence, with people supposedly buying more e-books than physical copies, will the bookcase become obsolete or take on a new function? Our homes could start to look very different.
I do not own a book case. I own a large three-unit 1980s Habitat display case – you know, the sort that you’re ‘meant’ to display wine glasses in. It has 12 deep shelves across the three units and 12 drawers underneath. I use this as a bookcase…and to display wine glasses, amongst other things. I can see bookcases becoming the multi-functional storage spaces that Apartment Therapy describes.
My tatty Bookcase (needs updating)
I am a lover of real books – I love the look, feel and even smell of them. I am, however, buying less physical books these days. Moving house enough times in the last ten years has made me realise just how space-consuming books are. Our bookshelves are double-stacked and boxing/un-boxing them over and over has become a tedious task.
My fiancée too loves real books and has a small collection of rare antique books and a number signed by authors and illustrators. Starting his career in an independent bookshop has given him a life-long interest in these age-old paper objects. He is, however, also a fan of e-books and does not mind scrolling down a screen to read his favourite stories. He rarely buys physical books anymore.
I don’t believe e-books will ever completely replace physical books, but I do think the paper copies we own will take on a new meaning in our interiors. They may become display pieces in themselves in a more profound way than we’ve experienced up until now. I also agree that books will probably find themselves displayed alongside other objects. Mine share their shelves, with wine bottles, a stereo, an old cigar case and photo frames. I do not believe that we’ll only have coffee-table books on our shelves but it is very possible we’ll start to become more selective in the aethestics of the books we choose to have physical copies of. What do you think?
Kansai Bookscase via Athropologie
Image Source: Anthropologie 
