i, personally might do a little something different with the bookshelves and mantle, but this seems a comfortable room, though some would think it's cluttered. that's what we all really want, comfort. such a subjective idea, though, comfort.
http://smallnotebook.org/
Overall Rating: votes
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Posted 9 months ago #
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I don't think owning a lot of books as clutter, necessarily. I truely think that a collection of books can become like art when displayed well. I must add that if the books are kept just for the sake of having books but are unread or referred to, or messy stacks of books on the floor, spilling onto the next stack, piles of books on stairs, under tables and given priority over everything else while covered in a thick layer of dust Is Clutter. I know that is not you, Irish.
I love changing my surroundings; it's feels fresh and uplifting. Go for it :)
Posted 9 months ago # -
I have chosen to keep a LOT of my books- and in a main room of the house plus another room- but I try to weed them out periodically and I have a strict policy to use the library as much as possible. Sometimes I sense a movement here against paper media, which is probably the right/happiest choice for many people, but I truly enjoy having my (tidy, organized by author) books around me. It is a comfort and also has just been a happy part of my life. I do have a few books on the iPad, but mostly only used for travel or books only available in that format, or open domain books which I do not necessarily want to buy in paper form.
FYI I found smallnotebook.org a few months ago, and have enjoyed its contents- recommended.
Posted 9 months ago # -
I don't think "uncluttered" has to necessarily mean stark or minimalist - for me it's living with enough but not too much. Surrounding myself with things I use and cherish and don't feel like a burden. Some prefer to have an almost empty room and others like to surround themselves with more things - to each there own. As long as your stuff doesn't way you down.
Of course like in that room a tidy stuff always feels more uncluttered and the less you have the less you have to tidy up.Posted 9 months ago # -
that room is way too full of stuff for me!
too much furniture, too many books.
i'd empty out at least half of it.Posted 9 months ago # -
Considering our books are not so nearly beautifully stored (our bookshelves are metal things suitable for the garage), I could live with that arrangement. It might make it easier for me to see which books still need to be read (hahaha - I could do that with my current arrangement if I expended the energy on them).
Posted 9 months ago # -
"Books do furnish a room." ~ Anthony Powell
Small Notebooks is a wonderful blog, and the archives are a treasure trove of commonsense ideas for simplifying and enjoying life.
Posted 9 months ago # -
I'm with bandicoot on this one - I would love to live in that beautiful room, but with half the stuff.
I'm a complete bookworm, and used to live with 1000+ books. They are nearly all gone, and I don't miss them a bit. I've sent them on their way to be loved by others, and I use our wonderful public library all the time, still reading 100 books a year, not counting those for work.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Okay, that many books looks a tiny bit overwhelming, but really not bad to me. But I'd have lasted less than 20 minutes in that room before I straightened up all the ones that were leaning at an angle!
Posted 9 months ago # -
For me, its too much (mainly cause my bedroom is almost identical - the long wall, all books!) But then I wouldn't like empty book shelves or bare walls, so I'm still grappling with what my happy medium would be. I like the idea of curtains or the like, so when I wanted calm flat, I could cover all the different colours of the books. But that'll have to wait for my own place!
Posted 9 months ago # -
Yesterday a friend came to 'style' my bookshelves. Today I feel as if there is too much style and not enough books! Granted some of my pretty things are incorporated on the shelves but I think it makes them too noisy or loud if you get my drift. Anyway, easily remedied. I will just remove a few things (overall I am pleased with the result), and enjoy.
I just made some huge changes to my living space and for so long my books were in another room. Now they are in my living room where I spend most of my time and I love that they are so close to me. I enjoy coming home and seeing them first thing.
If I may wade in on e-readers: I have a Nook Color. I resisted for a long time because I have a tendency to think in terms of black and white and thought that it would be the end of physical books for me. But, of course, not so. I succumbed because of all the free classics that are available and one never knows when one might want to read the opening paragraphs of Bleak House.
Anyway, in the past few weeks I have been on a book-buying binge and proud of it. I like to think I am stocking up for the long winter ahead.
irishbell: Thanks for the heads up on the small notebook blog.
Posted 9 months ago # -
i like the room for the warmth of it, the colors, the textures, it looks comfy to me. and while it's someones idea of uncluttered, it's not everyone's.
i'd love a full wall of built in book shelves. I would have a few selected pieces other than just books, though.
like JJ, i like to change my home around every once in awhile, just like my gardens. i'd have a blast with those built ins!
i have a hard time with constant sameness, if that makes sense.Posted 9 months ago # -
irishbell, I'm actually really glad you brought this up! A lot of the time it seems like the idea of uncluttering is used almost interchangeably with all kinds of terms which (to me) relate to other concepts, like 'minimalist decor' 'minimalist/oriental philosophy-inspired lifestyle', 'environmentally-friendly/carbon footprint reducing lifestyles', even frugality! The latter one seems especially incongruous to me as a number of uncluttering principles are pretty contradictory to principles of frugal living (others mesh well, but some pretty basic ones don't).
I've personally come to view uncluttering more as a housekeeping practice: nothing less, nothing more. When you introduce all that other stuff, I feel it just detracts and confuses. Either it makes it into something more important than it is, giving it a a loftier place than it deserves in people's lives (some speak of it as almost a kind of moral imperative!), or alternately it undermines it as yet another fad in the little niche world of online deco writing, just like the aforementioned minimalism, or the assorted productivity geeks, etc. I'm concerned that when people see all the tons of IKEA-style interiors, some are like, no way, that's so not me, not when it took me years to acquire all my lovely antique furniture or original artwork or whatever, and they give up, which is sad because loads of people could find their daily lives improved by following a few decluttering principles (and their homes would look better as well, whichever decorating style they favor!).
The way I see it, decluttering IS for everyone, because it is just a housekeeping practice. It can adapt in all kinds of ways to all kinds of lifestyles (and decorating styles). But if it's defined as interchangeable with all sorts of quasi-philosophical buzzwords, then it loses that broad appeal without of course gaining any more gravitas :-)
Posted 9 months ago # -
Perfectly stated, Mili.
Posted 9 months ago # -
My definition of uncluttered is that everything you have has a home and it's in its home when not in use. To me, it isn't decorating, because, for example if you love knicknacks and have them displayed to your taste, then they're not clutter. Uncluttered is having what you want, love, and use, and keeping it organized.
Posted 9 months ago # -
I love the idea that when all the horizontal surfaces are clear, the room looks less cluttered, even if there is lots of stuff in the room. It reminds me of how making your bed makes your bedroom look so much more neat, because the biggest thing in the room looks tidy. And since most of the clutter in my house is the piles I leave on all horizontal surfaces, I need this reminder.
I also like that blog. Thanks!Posted 9 months ago # -
If the clothes that you wear regularly are dumped all over the places - that's a mess.
If the clothes are well-organized by season, colour, and type and stored carefully, but you never wear them - that's a waste.
For me clutter implies both waste and mess.
The problem with waste and mess is that in order to get rid of waste, things have to have been already organized so that we could tell easily what is being used or not. But mess means things are not organized or they cannot be easily organized, so we are constantly looking for things when we need to use them. Unused good actually hide well-used good from our attention so that we cannot easily locate the necessary good.
Mess creates waste; waste creates mess.
The way out is quite tricky, but it is not as simple as reducing the quanityt of things.
Bob
Posted 9 months ago # -
I like this room (reminds me of mine) except for two things.
Hate the portrait hung on the mirror. One or the other, please, preferably the mirror - but, in that kind of room, the mirror should be framed.
Hate all the upholstery, don't think it's playing well with the wallpaper and rug.
I especially DO like that the vitrines on the long wall have tall legs, so you can see the horizon of floor & wall. We did the same thing and it really does make a difference to the feeling of space when you're in a room.
And of course, that the large planes (table surfaces) are all clear. We do not consistently achieve this chez nous, but it's a goal. :-)
Posted 9 months ago # -
One reason that room passes the sniff test for many uncluttered folks is that the surfaces are not cluttered. Most all is on shelves along the wall.
LIke some others, there is still too much stuff in there for me!What a house those folks bought! All 1970's and stuff! It is a classic--waiting to be updated. I am sure that the previous owners were very proud of it!
Posted 9 months ago # -
genny, I wasn't sure what you were talking about until I reclicked the link. Oho! She has updated her blog. It will be fun to watch how this remodeling unfolds.
Meanwhile, for the original link to the book-lined room in Italy:
http://smallnotebook.org/2011/08/03/how-to-achieve-uncluttered-without-going-bare-cold-or-minimal/
Posted 9 months ago #
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