A home library can tell your life story

If you own a lot of books, it’s great to have a place to celebrate and enjoy. That’s why a home library can be so attractive: it’s a welcoming retreat where you can appreciate and be inspired by the volumes you’ve collected over the years.

“Libraries are inherently personal, where you are surrounded by the things you love,” said Courtney Coleman, founding partner of Brockschmidt & Coleman, an interior design firm with offices in New York and New Orleans. “It offers a kind of personal story because it reflects things that have shaped your life and that you are interested in.”

Ms. Coleman and her partner Bill Brockschmidt regularly design home libraries for their clients that feel like special destinations that homeowners and visitors can browse for hours.

Here’s how she and other designers create home libraries that feel like much more than just storage space.

Find a place

Having a dedicated space for a home library is a wonderful thing, but space limitations don’t always allow for this. If you don’t have a spare room that you could convert into a library, you can add one to a space you might not have thought of, such as a wide hallway, an alcove, or even an unused corner in a larger room.