Thursday, September 3, 2009

Oh for a Black Bibliotheque


I wrote here recently about my white library, which I truly love. I could almost go so far as to say it has Massively Improved my Life.

When we did the library we talked about joinery colour a lot. Magazines and interior decorators will tell you that white is 'crisp' and 'modern' and that timber finishes can be 'dated'. We ultimately decided on white because it went with the rest of the back of the house which is very modern.

But what about Black?

Black is a big deal in Melbourne. Other Australian cities often joke about Melbournians and our black clothes. Whilst we may not wear black all our lives, we all go through phases where we wear it a lot, and it is of course largely suited to the weather (except for those 45 degree celsius days and then it is not so great). I clearly remember my phase of wearing black skirt, black boots, black T-shirt with the words 'Destroy Disorientate Disorder' printed on it. That phase went for about, oh, 5 or so years.

Indeed, a tailored black suit worn to work is par for the course in Melbourne. Noone bats an eyelid. However when a friend of mine moved from Melbourne to Sydney for work and wore her best black suit on the first day, to a tee, everyone she saw that day said (Cue: sad expression) 'Oh do you have a funeral to go to?'.

So, bearing that in mind, I do wonder why we never even considered black for our library. I have been looking at my shelves and wonder- what if they were black?
It looks fantastic I think, particularly when set against some crisp white:










Images (1) Point Click Home (2) ,(5), (6) Living Etc (3) Cote Maison (4) Marie Claire Maison

9 comments:

Darrah said...

I'm so glad to hear you have a library. I've always wanted one, and am convincing my boyfriend to buy some bookcases as we speak!

Mise said...

I love your white library. The boxy shelves look so neat, and unless someone really wanted a winter den look with candles, I think white is more airy than black and shows books off better. Mind you, I have no library at all and wouldn't say no to a black one rather than my current scattered books.

A Super Dilettante said...

Black bookshelves are very nice. It would be a high contrast with the binding colours of the books. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a huge black booksheleves and a bright yellow chaise lounge sofa settee in front?

Anonymous said...

So Melbourne is to Australia what New York is to the US? I guess I'll fit right in with my all black wardrobe when/if I ever visit. As much as I love my white, I've always adored really dark colors for libraries. There's just something about books and dark rooms. I love it!

obviouslyanon said...

I have black bookcases and they look goooood! I favour Schoolhouse Industrial with lots of aged wood, black, touches of stainless/chrome and glorious white walls.

Laura Argelati said...

Lovely blog!
I will link you on my blog and I'd like to invite you to visite also my blog :D

Laura from Italy

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