With more people downloading electronic books onto computers and handheld plastic thingamajigs, you might suspect the home library is doomed to become as quaint as a parlor of dusty old doilies. But drag that notion into the trash icon at the bottom of your screen, please, because a library can be must-see rather than musty. Just ask Ray Booth, who redesigned a home in Charlotte, North Carolina, that has a library so inviting you would be as eager to keep company there with the neighbors as you would with the novels of Joan Didion or John Grisham.
"We wanted to give these owners a classic, rich and warm library," says Booth. "We chose browns, terra-cotta and gold to evoke a sense of warmth, and we used wormy paneled walls. There's even a chair the color of bookbinding leather. We tried to design the quintessential library and make it welcoming." The designer ran a mohair drapery across French doors on one side of the room: "The point was not to cut the light but, rather, to wrap you up emotionally." The effect is layered-perfect for cocooning. As they say at the library, check it out.
INTERIOR DESIGN BY RAY BOOTH
ARCHITECTURE BY BOBBY MCALPINE AND SCOTT TORODE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER VITALE
TEXT BY LINDA SHERBERT
