Bookish Beauties

I love old books, and the daughter-of-an-unofficial-interior-designer side of me especially loves old book covers.  The subtle way they stand on a bookshelf, quiet, but still warmly alluring.  Those muted colors, whether product of age or original design, seem to harmonize well even when mixed and matched on a shelf.  There might be glittery elements, embossed designs or shining author names, but the generally restrained use of bling, often on top of a single-color bookcloth, means that the overall effect is elegant, not uncouth or visually abrasive.

And you can find these beauties for free! Sometimes.

Here are lovely designs from a few of the freestyle books that I’ve found.

The Garden of a Commuter's Wife.  Although I haven't read this book, the repetition of slightly varied flowers makes me wonder if the design was inspired by the monotonous repetition of a daily commute. Seemingly the same, but with slight variations flavoring the day to day experience.

On this copy of War and Peace, the material that makes up the cover is not much more than cardboard, but the swirly symmetrical gold design caught my eye and I had to take it home.

The bookcloth on this partial set of works by the Bronte sisters has faded to green along the spines, but the front and back covers are still a rich dark blue.  The ornamented gold squares along the spines form a lovely grid, an ordered counterpoint to the intense whirlwinds of emotions described within the stories. I confess, I've only read Jane Eyre...

If the entire book cover is interesting it can be a difficult choice to when deciding whether to display the spines or the front cover.  This choice is sometimes dictated by space limitations alone.  I did come across this blog post titled 'How to Stack 7 books 7 different ways'  which gives examples of, well, obviously, different ways to stack books, but I'm sure there are more options out there. 

Freestyle book display suggestions welcome!