looking for a fun way to add some interest to your stair case? this fun interior idea comes from d*s readers david and danielle mongin. david and danielle have been rehabbing a 1960s split level home in atlanta and decided to make a quick change to their stairs before a party. they drilled holes into books and threaded them down long metal pipes. then, they felt the risers were a little naked so they added some left over house numbers. they loved the look so much (and the books have become a true conversation piece) that they decided not to put up a “proper” staircase. if you don’t have a safety need for railing on your stairs (ie: small children, elderly guests) this is such a fun way to add a little detail to an unexpected space. thanks to danielle and david for sharing!
ps: and yep, i’ve already asked david and danielle if they’d like to join us for a full peek. those books on the wall definitely piqued my interest. ;)
31 Comments
I’m not sure I like the stacks of books …. though I’d be interested in a full peak. I’ve always have mixed feelings about faux – stage setting of a home – and this seems a little contrived to me.
the books on the wall make a great piece of art.
I love decorating with books. I love books!
Love the stair case! I’ve seen the full house and it’s loaded with creativity.
I don’t know why the books glued to the wall are so aesthetically unappealing to me, but they are. The overall appeal reminds me of my 90-year-old aunt’s house. I can kind of get behind the stacks of books, though.
Okay. I see why. It’s overkill. The stacks would be more surprising and interesting without the “wall books” telegraphing the punch.
I am fan of bookcases well I collect them, I might include this one in my next bookshelves posting,
I can see why this blog is so popular with women, it makes it posssible to recreate the material at home.
what i’d like to see is the stair risers turned into book shelves! but i live in a one floor home….so someone try it!
Drilled holes in books? Seems a little wasteful to me. Sorry, don’t like this one.
I love the originality. It is a great way of using outdated books.
but you can’t read the books, right? seems a little odd to me.
and speak@designsdelight – isn’t this blog popular full stop? i think you’ll find both men and women have a hand in creating their homes these days.
Always on the lookout for inspiring staircase ideas…
This is pretty. But I would cry if I had to drill holes through my books!
This post reminded me of one I had seen a while back on cool stairs, including one used as a book case.
View at http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-europe/at-europe-london-closeup-the-amazing-staircase-042543
her house is amazing! i wish you all could see some of the great ideas in the other rooms too. danielle?
Depending on local building codes this would not pass. Depending on the railing that exists it certainly would not grant an occupancy permit in my area.
This fun staircase is even better in person. Every inch of the house reflects the owner’s creativity. I recently bought a gorgeous painting off the den wall and I love it (so do my guests)!
Someone need to get a magic eraser to those scuff marks. Pronto. A crisp white riser against the graphic house numbers would look a lot better!
I love creative ideas too and I love books. But drilling holes in books? That hurts! From the angle of the photo it looks awfully messy.
Danielle is so creative and everyone should see the rest of her home. I love how she uses things laying around the house not being used, and finds a new, creative use for them. Eveyone needs to be thrifty these days and Danielle has lots of great ideas.
ok no. waste of books and they have cool spines they would have been better as display. and sometimes people actually hold railings –seems dangerous and silly
I wanted to ease the minds of all the book lovers as I am one myself. All of these books were either old encyclopedias, discarded/free books, textbooks (that we were glad to not have to read again) and damaged books from thrift shops. It was quite a project and as the primary hole driller, it did take some time. I am glad everyone enjoyed this peak into our life and look forward to sharing our many other creative projects…….
Wow. Not for me, thanks.
This reminds me of a great pub in London (Marylebone) called the Swan and Edgar. The walls and bar are both lined with stacks of books to great effect.
Books are for reading, not for burning or drilling holes or gluing to walls. Aesthetics over erudition… yikes.
wow. amazing how on a fantastic website – visited by so many
‘designers’ showing tons of DIY goodness – how petty and down-right mean people can be. so what if it doesn’t meet ismael’s building codes or lowcountrydogleah’s idea of OCD ‘pop’!
i love d*s – but if we are all honest here – a coat of white paint and some hipster print fabric cannot save your grandmothers fake french antique armchair! this site is about originality and personal expression through design no matter if YOU like it or not. PLEASE BE NICE!
I love the stairs. What a great idea. I would love to see pictures of the rest of your home. Like to get ideas.
This is the first idea that I hate on this site – you punch a hole in books? you glue them? Using books as decoration while letting them still be usable books is a good idea, but not this, not for me!
Come on people, do you realize how many rotting, unused books there are in this world? I’m sure there are extra copies of anything worth saving somewhere in a library or computer database. The main problem I see with this staircase would be the build-up of dust on the books – ick!
The books on the wall are exactly what anthropologie did in a window not too long ago.
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