Twenty-Something Tuesday
From our first view of Belle’s endless bookshelves in “Beauty and the Beast” to the initial descriptions of the Hogwarts book collection in “Harry Potter,” we at LD have had a lifelong love/lust for libraries. Assuming that one day each of us will be wealthy enough to construct our own beautifully furnished book collections, here are some points of inspiration.
1. The Adamont Monastery and Library
The Admont Monastery and Library in Admont, Austria makes us drool because it has nearly 200,000 volumes, 530 of which were printed before the year 1500. It features a ton of heavenly baroque art.
2. The Vatican Library
One of the oldest in the world (formally established 1475, but actually older than that), the Vatican Library has 1.6 million printed books! Enough said.
3. The Hogwarts Library
The Hogwarts Library is basically perfect. First off, it’s in Hogwarts, secondly it “holds hundreds of narrow rows full of books on magic.” It looks cozy, there are places to study, write, or daydream, and you’ll get the opportunity to read about magic all. day. long.
4. The Beast’s Library
Tying with the unforgettable ballroom scene, no other scene makes me love “Beauty and the Beast” as much as the part where Beast presents Belle with the castle library. After seeing Beast’s library we knew we wanted, nope needed, a library in our future house. In actual fact, we know that it will never be as magnificent as the animated one in the movie, but a girl can dream, right?
5. The Bibliotheque Nationale de France
The oval reading room of the Richelieu Building at the Bibliothèque nationale de France inspired the library scene in Beauty and the Beast so of course this would be on our list.
6. The Hangelindenkamer Library
The Hangelindenkamer Library is the library of the Dutch Parliament and contains all kinds of law documents. Apart from its necessity in politics, the railings and spiral staircase would make any avid bookworm swoon from its beauty. Someone besides a Dutch politician should be able to appreciate the beauty of this place.
8. The Oxford Library
While Oxford is renowned for having some of the most stunning libraries in the world, a personal favorite of ours is the Oxford Union’s as it is the one we think would be most feasible to recreate (OK not really, but we’d kill for this room). With its two stories, sloped ceilings, cutout windows and beautiful chandelier, one can spend hours in a leather chair soaking in the old world feel.
9. Hearst Castle Library
Subtly nestled on the central California coast, Hearst Castle’s old gilded glamour is renowned. The cozy but ornate library is no exception, and is excellently preserved for tours (and might theoretically fit in our dream mansion).
10. Bonus: Daunt Books
This is cheating a wee bit as it’s not so much a library as one of our favorite London book stores, Daunt Books in Maryleborne. Its back room has a beautiful green wall, plush chairs to sit and read, and a split level book shelves. The huge skylight makes it bright and airy and you completely forget you’re in one of the most bustling cities in the world.
