my mini library

Just as I mentioned yesterday, storage is extremely important in my tiny studio. As a big fan of books and magazines of all sorts I know that I am in desparate need of a place to store and display them. Lucky for me there is a spot just to the right of my sofa that can use something with some decent vertical height. Unlucky for me there is a baseboard heater (that I'll never turn on) that sticks out a good number of inches and limits my options.

a sneak peak into my tiny pad - process

Thanks to Crate and Barrel's wonderfully fantastic mobile site (I was stuck without proper online access for a month, so all online browsing was done via iPhone) I discovered their Sloane Leaning Bookcase. It met all my needs and requirements: width, height and the lean which meant it would avoid the heater. I decided on the grey finish over the white to add some warmth and contrast to all the other white furniture in the room.

Sloane grey Leaning Bookcase by Crate and Barrel

Of course there is no way that I can fit all my books on a bookcase only 25.5" wide, so only my favorite and most used books will grace the shelves. The rest of my collection will be tucked neatly away on wall mounted shelves in the extra vertical space over the clothing rod in my closet. That's definitely one of the bonuses in a small space of having vaulted ceilings that top out around 12'. . . extra storage up high.

via flickr

I also have to make sure there is room to display a few of my favorite accessories on the shelves. My Jonathan Adler bull cannot be cooped up in a box forever. As Nate Berkus said just this morning on Today, "A bookcase should never hold just books unless it's in an actual library."