The Library Stack

Back to My Local Library Stack!

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Well after sharing my visit to the Austin Central Library in the post Peaceful Oasis at the Austin Central Library; and a weekend spent in Fort Collins, CO with a visit to an incredible kitchen store with a wonderful collection of home decor books, I was in the mood for a library stack that I can have at my home!

And that stack would be filled with books from the 700s section!

So on the way back from Fort Collins on Monday, I reserved a couple books (and I use the word “couple” lightly…) that I saw at the kitchen store while we wandered around College Avenue in Fort Collins.

But I couldn’t wait and on Tuesday, I headed to my library to browse their new releases in the 700s and anything else I might find. Little did I know, and I only checked on a whim, a bunch of books that I had reserved were waiting in the “Holds” section for me.

So here was the stack I brought home on Tuesday (a combo of my Holds and my browsings):

And then on Wednesday I received an e-mail from the library that MORE books I had on hold had come in. I already needed to run errands in that area (with the crazy price of gas I’ve been grouping all my errands) so I stopped at the library and increased my stack!

Here is the stack with the additional books, minus one book I finished on Tuesday:

I set up a system to place books I am done with under a chair in my home library so I know what needs to be returned for whenever I am running errands near the library again:

I know, I know, it’s a very fancy system.

I am working my way through the stack with my tea each morning:

One of the books I’ve really enjoyed so far is British Designers at Home by Jenny Rose-Innes (2020):

I’ve read/browsed a lot of interior design/home decorating books, and many that feature the homes of interior designers, but this one was different. I am not sure if it is the British approach to decorating but the interiors actually looked like real people lived in them!

Yes there were some expensive antiques and I am sure some pricey paintings, etc. but many of the interiors looked like you just wanted to curl up in a corner with a good book and some tea. This is my kind of decorating!

Although I love all the Farmhouse, Scandinavian, Minimalistic, Arts and Crafts, Midcentury Modern, Rustic, Industrial, etc. interior design styles I see in a lot of home decor books I borrow, they do not always seem particularly cozy or real – like how do you get comfortable in those homes? I am just looking for somewhere to curl up with some books and my tea!

The best compliment/feedback I ever got on my personal random eclectic style of decorating was from my neighbor in Bend, Oregon’s 3 year old son who plopped onto some pillows on my floor and declared: “Tierney, your house is cozy!”

Another thing I really liked in the British Designers at Home was that nearly ever house had a library, or some room dedicated to their book collections (or just books everywhere)!

Besides the “people actually live here” vibe of many of the homes in the books, the thing I most enjoyed about the book was the brief interviews with the designers at their homes at the end of each section using standard questions.

The best question was:

If there was a fire, what would you grab?

I think that question can reveal a lot about a person and what they truly value.

(Another question I loved was “Fiction or non-fiction?” – it was an appropriate question as clearly these designers loved to read!)

Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

29 thoughts on “Back to My Local Library Stack!”

  4. Now that we own a home, I should follow your lead. I will look for that book at the library. I would grab the kid and the cat. But since the kid is grown and Bob would probably grab the cat, I guess I would have to choose some yarn to save from the stash. 😆

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  7. I have a shelf on my coffee table for books to go back to the library. When you see houses for sale I often wondered where people had their stuff, then we viewed them and discovered everything stacked in boxes in the garage. I like a home to look like a home not like a show house.

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  8. That system of under the chair sounds great actually
    –
    And side note – your comment about “cozy” tired into an analogy I used earlier today – i was chatted with Trent about bleak house (for the spring reading challenge we did) and someone on his blog said she doesn’t read Charles dickens anymore because he is so wordy and she instead – only uses his material to teach creative writing students how to write less and say more with less!
    There are times when that is crucial for students!
    But our chat was about how writing loses flavor if it is always less !
    And how wordy is not sways verbose – it can be succinct
    And just like Seth Godin might have pages with few words – some folks want a house with less (my son had a bed and a chest during his minimalism start) but not all books and not all homes need to be minimal –
    I think I used my aunt’s home as an example
    The Knick knacks and trinkets – art – furniture pieces – trays – a few books – etc – well it have it her flair
    And it was rather “cozy” as you would say!

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    1. Dickens’ Bleak House, wow I read that so many years ago, I remember it had a lot of storylines going on! Not sure if we have to move to everything being less, including writing. I was in to minimalism for a while but then COVID hit and I could not get to a library but the thrift shops were open (they were considered “essential”) so I started to put together a home library. Now my home library makes me feel cozy! I think if you want to go for “cozy” you have to have items in your house that mean something to you and make others feel warm and peaceful when they visit.
      Dickens wouldn’t be Dickens without his use of language and all those glorious words!
      Okay enough of my ramble – ha!

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  9. Oh what an enticing stack of books. From some of the titles I couldbn’t help but wonder if you are planning on moving to a tiny house in a treetop or river boat. Ha! Think your filing system for books to be returned is excellent. Just as well that Mike the Miniature Schnauzer is no longer a puppy as they might then have gotten chewed corners.

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  10. most of my stacks of late are e-books – dipped into a few today as the file was growing and some didn’t get past a few chapters – both fiction and non-fiction.

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