I have always loved book . My Uncle Michael would ( and still does ) gift me with illustrated wonders such as Kit Williams ’ “ Masquerade ” for birthdays and Christmasses : this begin my lovemaking function with monochrome photographic print and colorful photographic collection plate sandwiched between hard binding . By the time I leave behind home for university I already had quite a accumulation , cover scientific discipline , excogitation , nature and literary classics .
Despite the march of engineering , al-Qur’an still awake a sense of childlike wonderment in me . When I pick up a new book I never cease to marvel at the time , consignment and gift that ’s run low into bring the razor - edged pages into being . In their own way , book are works of art . I can not bear to part with them , nor can I jib rescuing unloved books from 2d - hand workshop , which is why I have so many of them .
Over the last few yearscollecting ledger has become an fixation . I wo n’t pretend to you that I ’m very good at read the books I roll up , in fact I ’m hopeless at finding the time , but I keep collect in the vain hope that one day I might break off a leg or be otherwise confined to the sign of the zodiac for long enough to enjoy a free burning period of reading tomfoolery .
In April 2015 I had an chance to buy a small cottage funding on to The Watch House . This presented me with a once - in - a - life-time chance to extend my home , creating young bedrooms and a bathroom on the first level . I already had two living rooms and a dining room , so what was I to do with the additional ground flooring blank ? Looking around at the stacks of script clutter every surface , it did n’t take long to make the finish that a library would not only be a courtly addition to my humble fisherman ’s bungalow , but also a practical one .
After a natal day repast at the Ham Yard Hotel in London I stumbled upon the resident ’s library , designed by Kit Kemp . Although my subroutine library was n’t going to valuate up to the splendid shell of this airy room , I was instantly inspired by the balance , light and layout of the space . I too had a generous cardinal lamp chimney breast and prominent window , and I desire storage as well as shelving . The library at Ham Yard was to provide the blue print for my room , giving me every excuse to keep returning there for a cocktail or two whilst finalize my plan .
I refer to my library as “ botanical ” , which is a autonomy as it is strictly a horticultural library . However there is more to the botanical construct than just ledger . As the library has taken shape I have incorporated as many mention to plants and botany as I maybe can . I have given myself the labor of source vintage drinking glass terrarium , microscopes and old-fashioned ice domes to add a cosmetic flourish and break up the serried rank of book .
The depository library links seamlessly to a garden room ( neither a indoor garden nor a nursery … and by all odds not an orangery ) on one side , making the horticultural theme even more appropriate .
By late November 2017 , the depository library is adorn , the books are in place and I finally have blinds at the window . The ceiling is painted the palest heather - Charles Grey ( Farrow and Ball ‘ Calluna ’ ) and the carpentry is a deeper shade from Paint and Paper Library , nominate ‘ Erica ’ . It seem to be a plentiful lilac by day and a mid - grey by nighttime . The blinds and window seat cushions were made for me locally from a utter , slubby linen which I found online for a bargain price . The people of color is ‘ Eggplant ’ , but it resembles no Solanum melongena I have every seen .
I am lose a open fireplace . The surround of my dream is fashioned from green snaky marble and in my dreams is where it will probably remain for the foreseeable future . One of the narrower bays in the bookshelf has become a legal community , stocked with a spacious pick of spirits , including a dozen or so gins . It ’s the section of the library I tend to gravitate towards after a severe day at the post .
Some design - conscious friends ( they get it on who they are ) paint a picture I arrange my library grant to the colour of the rule book ’ spines . This is idiotic on two counts : first I could never call back the posture of a book base on its colouring , and second because the majority of books about plant and peak are light-green under their dust cap . I have generally organise them by subject – for model practical gardening , cyclopedia , wildlife gardening and landscape painting architecture – so that Word of God on a standardized topic are grouped together .
I am very cognisant that a library is an enormous luxury , both in terms of blank space and disbursement , so I spend as much time as possible in it , when I am not out of doors in the garden . Thanks to an enormous Grant Wood burning stove it is ardent and cosy in winter . Large , sash windows and a north - westerly facial expression imply it ’s cool and comfortable in summer . Financially , my botanical program library has almost break me . Do I regret it ? Not one fleck .
Share this with others:
Like this:
Posted by The Frustrated Gardener
