Book Smart

April 2015, By Nicole Langelier.

I was lucky enough to go to a specialised art high school, where – although the academic courses were very good and I had some teachers who’s lessons I will never forget (I mean you Mr. Carver!) – we students (well, me) put more emphasis on our art over our traditional studies. I would spend hour after hour in the art studio painting, sculpting and drawing – those were the days!.

The term ‘Book Smart’ was something we often threw around, as in “I may not be book smart, but I’m life/street/art/people smart”.

In recent years – especially with the introduction of e-books, Kindle, iBook and other digital devices that ‘for some’ are more convenient than a traditional paper book – my desire to be ‘Book Smart’ has grown – both in the traditionl sense and from a design point of view – with a touch of nostalgia thrown in for good measure. This desire has grown to the extent that I want to be surrounded by them – wrapped in them even.

Nothing beats the touch and feel of a real book – the way they smell and the way they transform from a stiff, flat little rectangle to something swollen and dog-eared – each with their own character. What could be better than a library full of them – floor to ceiling stories of romance – tales of conquest – maps to the stars…. It’s just not the same on a tablet, and you certainly can’t decorate with or dedicate a room to Kindles.

Let’s honour the book, I say. The paperback, the hardcover, the leather bound – let’s dust them off and bring them back into the foreground. There is little that is more beautiful than a wall full of much-loved spines – touched and worn and patinated. Could there be anything more luxurious than a home library? A real home library where books wallpaper the room?

Not really I say, but if you do not have the luxury of a personal home library, you can still have the wallpaper. Library wallpaper. There are several companies these days that offer that old school charm of a traditional library, giving you the look and even the feel. You too can have that wall of spines – a true to life tromp l’oeil library. Many of these companies even offer a textured wallpaper so you can actually feel the ridges in the leather binding. The smell, however, can’t be replicated.

My favorite is from Fornasetti manufactured by Cole & Son (http://www.cole-and-son.com/en/collection-14/). It may not be as traditional as some, but it is a nod to the old and I think it’s fabulous.