How to Decorate a Mini-Library in an Apartment: 8 Examples

A home library is a dream that shouldn't be abandoned due to limited space. We explain how designers decorate storage spaces for books in their projects. These ideas work well for both spacious apartments and small studios.

Make the most of your space

To accommodate a mini-library in a studio apartment, architects from Ruetemple designed an interesting structure. It serves as both a sleeping area, living room, and a book storage cabinet.

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Create a Shelf Portal

Designer Nadezhda Zотовa placed a shelf portal with books around the door frame. She also painted the entire structure in one color to make it look cohesive. By the way, this same approach can be used around a window.

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Arrange Cabinets in a U-Shape

If you have many books, arrange cabinets in a U-shape, as in Olesya Shlyakhtina's project. The library is located in a home office.

Since there was enough space, they also created a reading and conversation area here: several armchairs, coffee tables, and a workspace were added.

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Hide in the Foyer

If you already have enough storage solutions in your rooms, one of the cabinets can be dedicated to books. For example, designer Natasha Yanson came up with a solution for placing a library in a studio and relocated it to the foyer.

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Set Up Open Shelves

The owner of this apartment has a large book collection—around two thousand copies. The team at S&T Architects designed a storage system that is 40 meters long, featuring open shelves and cabinets.

Since the clients don’t mind cleaning, they were happy to support this idea. Books became part of the interior and immediately made the space much cozier.

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Hide Behind Curtains

If you're afraid to keep books on open shelves or want to mask them in the interior, take inspiration from Nadezhda Fedorovich. The designer hid cabinets behind thick dark curtains so they can be quickly concealed when needed.

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Custom-Made Cabinets

Designer Alexandra Fedorova designed a shelf with an original shape (named the “origami library”). Here, books and handmade dolls collected by the clients were placed.

Interesting fact: The shelf is designed so that when viewed from different sides, either only dolls or only books are visible. Visually, the shelves don’t look cluttered.

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Use Vertical Space

Due to the ceiling height of about four meters in this apartment, designer Vadim Maltsev suggested adding a second level. To accommodate a large library in the living room without cluttering the space, a professional designed wall-mounted cabinets that reach the full height of the wall.

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