The Allure of the Library
“I just love books, they’re so decorative!” When Rosalind Russell said that in Auntie Mame, she was perfectly correct. Now don’t get on your high horse, of course books are much more than merely decorative but one must admit, besides their power to educate, entertain and otherwise enhance life, books certainly do warm up a room. The walls of a library are not just visually appealing; they are layered with meaning. Design with depth.
Photo: Art Gray
When books are collected and placed one-by-one on shelves, the private library becomes a sort of biography, one not written, but acquired like moss on a stone. Each book becomes an experience, a part of one’s unconscious, a layer of understanding. From the design perspective however, they fill a room with a richness that can’t quite be qualified in “decorator speak”, even by quips from Mame herself.
There are those designers who have a habit of covering books in matching paper (you know who you are). That’s just silly. Sure, it may create a chic surface, but it kind of misses the point, doesn’t it? Why strip each book of its own personality and presence? We’ve even heard of people organizing books by size or color (no comment!). Or there are always those who fill their empty shelves with “books by the yard” ~ publications purchased en mass as a sort of expensive wallpaper. Ugh, now why would anyone actually advertise his or her shallowness by doing something so shamelessly, er, shallow?
If you don’t have your own library, it’s never too late to start one. Used bookstores are treasure troves of out-of-print titles. Of course there are always great private libraries to visit for inspiration, such as the resplendent, and recently restored Morgan Library in New York. But most of us have more humble libraries. Pictured here are a few that we designed.
Photo: Art Gray
The key to an organized and attractive library is to group books by topic so when seeking a beloved passage, or a remembered image, or when doing research, one can step up to a bookcase, find the desired book and crack it open. It’s an absolutely ancient and extremely satisfying act. Sure we all love Google, but if you want to feel great, do it the old-fashioned way. Your IQ will ascend without even trying!
Great American Libraries
Important architecture as vessels for protecting human knowledge is nothing new. In the ancient world, both east and west, libraries served as sanctuaries for chronicles, sacred writings and literature. The same is true for the modern age in America. Here are a few of our favorites:
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The Library of Congress in Washington DC
1886, architect, John L. Smithmeyer and Paul J. Pelz |
The New York Public Library
1902, architect Carrere and Hastings |
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The Boston Public Library
1895, architect Charles Follen McKim |
The George Peabody Library, Baltimore MD
1878, architect Edmund G Lind |
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Bienecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale
1963, architects Skidmore, Ownings and Merrill |
Riggs Library, Georgetown University
1889 |
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Harvard Library (Widner building) Harvard University,
1915, architect Horace Trumbauer and Associates |
Los Angeles Central Library
1926, architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue |
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Southern Exposure – Art & Design in Miami Beach
By Frank Webb
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Like great herds of migrating wildebeest, the art world makes its annual journey to Miami Beach during the first week of December. In search of their own form of sustenance – cutting edge art - the packs descend on Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) where the most exclusive galleries display one of the world’s greatest assemblages of modern and contemporary art. Originally established nine years ago as a sister fair to Switzerland’s Art Basel, the exhibition attracts avid collectors, art stars, and party bloodhounds from across the globe. Equal parts spectacle and spectacular, the fair provides a sensory smorgasbord within and outside of the exhibition hall.
In addition to a non-stop array of glamorous parties, ABMB has spawned a number of simultaneously occurring satellite fairs, such as Art Miami, Art Asia, Scope, Pulse, Red Dot and NADA, most of which focus on the works of lesser known, emerging talents in the art world. Rounding out the line-up, and of particular interest to design enthusiasts, is Design Miami, which seeks to position great furniture and industrial design on the same plane as great art. This year, its sixth in operation, Design Miami relocated from the Miami Design District to a tent just outside of ABMB. Although the move might strike some as an abandonment of its grittier origins, it afforded easier access to a broader audience of fair attendees. What’s more, its proximity to the masterpieces of ABMB underscored the organizers’ primary aim to foster a similar regard for greatness in the worlds of art and design.
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On my tour through Design Miami, I was struck by the enormous breadth of creativity on display, ranging from the exquisite furniture of 20th century classics such as Jean Royere and Phillip Lloyd Powell to space-age lighting by Swarovski and rAndom International to finely woven metal rugs from Colombia’s Hechizoo Textiles. An astounding combination of state-of-the-art
technology, phenomenal technique, and boundless imagination set the stage for a truly awe-inspiring experience. Click below for a glimpse of a few of the pieces that captured my attention at Design Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach.
Meghan Meehan
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Since she was a young girl, Meghan Meehan was always flipping through her mother's Better Homes and Gardens magazines envisioning new ways to rearrange her house. Design has always been her calling and after making the decision to leave a rising and successful career working in fashion for a division of Tommy Hilfiger, Inc., Meghan returned to graduate school to follow her true passion of interior design. In 2008 she earned her master's degree in Interior Architecture and Design from Drexel University.
While attending graduate school, Meghan had the privilege of working for Lumen award winning lighting designer, Ann Schiffers, of Ann Schiffers Lighting Design, LLC. As an associate, Meghan assisted on both large and small scale lighting projects and collaborated with some of the country’s top interior designers and architects.
After receiving her MS, her love of design deepened when she began working with interior designer, Laura Ricci. “It was here where I was able to not only learn about the art and true beauty of fine antiques, but where I began to understand the process of relating different pieces together in a harmonious way.”
Meghan holds a BA in English and Art History from Syracuse University. She is currently working on a personal design project in White Plains, New York and looks forward to her upcoming wedding in February. We are pleased to welcome our newest design associate to the White Webb team.
The Rocking Chair
By Matthew White
I had often heard about my great grandfather’s house in Hoisington, Kansas. Dr. Gustav Adolph Koerber, was educated in Stuttgart, Germany and immigrated to America to become the “horse & buggy” doctor in this part of Kansas at the turn of the 20th century. He died in his fifties, leaving behind his beautiful wife, their ten children and the big house that held them.
Decades later, the summer I turned 17, my Mother and Aunt took my cousin and me on a car trip to see the long-abandoned Kansas home ~ the place where they were both brought into the world at the hands of Gustav.
After a day of hard driving we arrived in Hoisington just after sunset...
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