Next Project for Cottage
Before I tell you all about that next project, I'm taking the oportunity of this post to reply to a few comments from my last post as some readers don't have an email appearing on their profile for me to reply to them. The dog idea isn't only a joke. I'm really thinking about it, but it'll only become a reality if I can find a permanent job in a nearby school... I wouldn't want a dog to stay alone all day long... Last week, the government said he wanted less permanent teachers and more "flying" teachers able to go from one school to an other as needed... So maybe the dog will arrive at Cottage when I'm retired ;)
Avant de vous parler de mon prochain projet, je saisis l'occasion de cet article pour répondre aux commentaires de l'article précédent puisque certains lecteurs n'ont pas d'adresse e-mail sur leur profil. Le chien est un vrai projet, pas seulement une blague, mais je n'envisagerai une adoption que si j'ai un poste permanent dans une école pas trop loin, je ne voudrais pas d'un chien qui reste tout seul toute une longue journée... Si vous avez suivi les dernières déclarations du gouvernement, ce n'est pas pour tout de suite, puisque la volonté est d'avoir de plus en plus de professeurs "volants" de collège en collège selon les besoins... Bref, le chien arrivera peut-être avec la retraite ;)
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| Bibliothèque du Parlement/Parliament library, Ottawa, Canada |
So, as I said in the first paragraph, I'm a teacher. When I had to choose which subject to teach (when I was young...), I applied for two different subjects. It meant two different exams in two different towns with two different curriculums (curricula?)... I actually got the two diplomas... Which was the beginning of a nightmare, as what I tought would be an asset, turned out to be a problem for the French administration who hates people who are outside their little boxes...
Comme je l'ai dit dans le premier paragraphe, je suis professeur. Quand il a fallu choisir une matière à enseigner, j'ai cru intelligent de préparer deux concours. Deux programmes, deux fois plus de livres... Le début d'un cauchemar en fait car ce que je pensais être un atout s'est révélé être un problème pour l'administration française qui n'aime pas qu'on ne rentre pas dans leurs petites cases et qui ne sait jamais quel bureau doit traiter mon dossier qui se perd à chaque fois dans les couloirs des rectorats...
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| Bibliothèque Marucelliana/Marucelliana Library, Florence, Italie/Italy |
I know, you're wondering what my personnal life has to do with home decor... I'm getting there. Two subjects means that I read a lot of books... And I still do... So I have many, many books... When I arrived at Cottage, I reused the bookshelves I had from my previous places... But after being moved from flats to flats and over and over again for the different renovations in Cottage, some of those bookshelves were unable to hold books anymore... There's been a few very scary moments when - always in the middle of the night - there would be a huge "bang" whenever a shelf and all the books on it collapsed...
Vous devez vous demander quel est le rapport entre ma vie personnelle - ou professionnelle - et la décoration. J'y viens. Double cursus veut dire deux fois plus de livres... J'en ai beaucoup, beaucoup, beaucoup... Quand je suis arrivée au Cottage, j'ai réutilisé mes anciennes bibliothèques qui avaient connu mes précédents chez-moi. Mais à force d'être transportées, certaines demandaient grâce... Il y a eu plusieurs moments d'horreur quand - toujours au milieu de la nuit - un énorme "boum" indiquait qu'une étagère avait cédé, déversant son lot de livres sur le sol ou écrasant celle du dessous...
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| Bibliothèque du Monastère bénédictin d'Admont, Autriche/Austria |
Right now the situation at Cottage concerning books is the following: there are some books in the living-room in the small bookcase behind the sofa, there are books everywhere in the room that I use as my office, there are piles and piles of books on the floor of my bedroom and there are books in the bathroom as I work a lot in my bath (people with fibromyalgia will probably understand that). I also have a huge box of books that I lend to my pupils which is currently at school but will come back at Cottage in July as I won't stay in the same school next year...
La situation "livresque" au Cottage est assez catastrophique en ce moment. Il y a quelques livres dans la petite bibliothèque du salon, il y a des tonnes de livres partout dans la pièce qui me sert de bureau, y compris sur le lit destiné aux amis mais qui sert plus souvent aux chats, il y a des piles et des piles de livres par terre dans ma chambre et il y a même de nombreux livres dans la salle de bains car je travaille souvent plongée dans un bain chaud (ceux qui souffrent de douleurs chroniques comprendront). Et encore, il y a une énorme caisse de livres que je prête à mes élèves qui est actuellement à l'école mais qui devra regagner Cottage au mois de juillet...
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| Bibliothèque de la Duchesse Anna Amalia, Weimar, Allemagne/Germany |
So my dream is to create bookshelves that will take the whole wall behind the sofa in the living-room. It's not a big wall, but I do hope it'll provide a lot of storage. I'm sorry to tell you in advance that there'll be no styling for those shelves... They'll be full of books in alphabetical order so I can find them easily...
Mon rêve est donc de créer une bibliothèque qui prenne tout le mur derrière le canapé dans le salon. Ce n'est pas un mur immense, mais j'espère que cela permettra de ranger une partie des livres. Je préfère vous le dire d'avance, il n'y a aucune décoration prévue pour les étagères qui seront chargées de mes livres par ordre alphabétique...
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| Bibliothèque du Château de Chantilly, France |
It seems to be an easy enough project... But will you believe I'm stuck because there are three plugs on this wall that I'd like to keep as I use them to plug my laptop and the Internet thingy in the evening... I just want them moved a few inches further and I can't find an electrician who wants to come for such a small job...
Cela ne semble pas compliqué comme projet par rapport à ce que j'ai pu faire avant... Mais là, je suis bêtement coincée car il y a trois prises sur ce mur que je voudrais déplacer sur le mur adjacent car elles sont utiles pour brancher mon ordinateur et la prise Internet le soir... Mais je ne trouve aucun électricien qui accepte de se déplacer pour un si petit boulot...
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| Salle de lecture du British Museum, Londres/London, Angleterre/England |
I'm very busy with work, but it's very interesting this year, so I'm not complaining... But during the winter break, which is the last week of February, I'll have one mission - finding an electrician...
Je suis débordée de copies et de préparation de cours, mais vraiment, cette année est très intéressante et je ne me plains pas du tout... Mais pendant les vacances de février, j'aurai une mission - trouver un électricien...
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| Bibliothèque de Trinity College, Dublin, Irlande/Irland |
Do you have many books? How do you store them?
Et vous, comment organisez-vous le rangement de vos livres ?
PS: The pictures of this post are from beautiful libraries all over the world. The source of the pictures can be found by clicking here.
PS : Les photos de cet article sont des photos de bibliothèques du monde entier. Vous pouvez les retrouver en cliquant ici.
pourquoi est-ce que tu n'essayes pas d'intégrer tes prises de courant que je suppose être en partie basse dans la bibliothèque en laissant un casier rien que pour elles où tu pourrais ajouter quelques décos, ça te permettrait de concilier les deux sans que cela ne prenne trop de place sur le reste
ReplyDeleteJe n'ai plus en mémoire la configuration de ta pièce, c'est peut-être un bon moyen pour revenir à l'antériorité de ton blog pour y trouver des photos de ta pièce actuelle
Allez, tu vas bien trouver une solution (ça doit être en bonne voie je pense)
Courage et pour tes cours et pour tes aménagements
Je suivrais ce projet avec intérêt
Bon dimanche
Dearest Magali, you and I have so much in common, even our job situations. For nine years, I held a full-time position in a French immersion elementary school. I made the mistake of resigning, but I was very fortunate that the same district re-hired me, but at the secondary level, which I LOVE. However, I have not been full time in 6 years, and probably never will be. Like in your situation, there is a trend here now to hire teachers who will TRAVEL. That's what I've been doing for 5 years now. I started off in the morning at the middle school then had to drive to the high school. Now I walk from the high school to the connected middle school. One of my colleagues works between THREE schools. As for books?We have many. We have many lovely bookcases and our bedroom upstairs have built in bookcases. I wish you luck on your vision, and your job!
ReplyDeletedo we have books! yes a lot I have actually been downsizing them over the years after we both got kindles as we had books in front of books on the shelves, books stacked every where. We have a living room with built in bookshelves - one whole wall of them to floor to ceiling and on each other wall in the living room are other floor to ceiling shelf's but not on the whole wall. In the bedroom is another area floor to ceiling but not the whole walls. I have gotten some of my books on to my kindle now and gave away a lot of the older books that I felt I would never read again. (understand on the fibro)
ReplyDeleteMagali, I too have fibromyalgia so I completely understand the bath thing. I'm lucky in that my husband does eletrical and as well as carpentry work and has built shelving for my ever growing collection of books. I hope you find someone to move your electrical outlets. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could come visit: your husband would build bookshelves while we would sip tea?
DeleteI'm not one to save books. Once I read them they're gone, which is why I use the library a lot! The exception are beloved books like Alexander Stoddard and that ilk, but nonetheless they amount to just a few dozen.
ReplyDeleteGood luck finding an electrician. I know how frustrating that can be.
xxx
Hi...I must admit I'm not a book reader..but..I do love my magazines..it sounds like you have a ton to find a nice home for and a wall of books sounds lovely..also sounds like it will take all summer putting them in alphabetical order..on another note..dogs are wonderful..just the other day I was at a red light an the guy behind me had his dog with him..he playfully flipped his ear an the dog started licking him on the cheek..which I can't stand but to see it was endearing to me..then he petted him til the light turned green..an I thought he must be nice guy..I look forward to seeing your books in all their glory proudly showing off in cottage..I hope you've had a nice weekend..cold again here.
ReplyDeleteI adore books and it's my dream to have a library of my own. What wonderful libraries you've shown here, I'm quite envious. Have a wonderful week Magali!
ReplyDeleteBooks, books, always more books. My late husband built a 12 ft x 4 ft bookcase and I filled it. It might be why the living room floor in this wood-frame house creaks more than it used to! There are built-in bookcases (4 x 6) on each side of the fireplace in the hearth room. Freestanding bookcases are here, there, and everywhere. One just for my favorite cookbooks. Al the other cookbooks are on the way out. The top of the large bookcase, has stacks & stacks on top, and I'm thinking I need more shelving to the ceiling, and a ladder, but am too old to actually have that. I might fall off.
ReplyDeleteOne day I will have to move to smaller quarters, so i send some books out and the next day bring some more back in! Cannot save my own life here!!!!!
They are shelved by topic and I can't imagine doing it by author!!!! That is really ambitious! Good luck with that project, Magali. I do so envy your little cottage by the sea. And your youth. But not your teaching situation. I thought it was bad here for teachers! One friend had to travel to two areas of the county each day. Quite a drive! AND in the school here, she had to put all her teaching materials on a cart to push around to whichever rooms she was teaching in. Her office was a closet shared with a couple of other teachers. I don't know how she stood it to retirement. But schools in rural areas have to make-do and teachers retirement pay is nothing to sneer at. I never thought French teachers might have to endure the same sort of situation. Thanks for sharing your cottage adventures with us.
I mostly have litterature books, that's why the alphabetical order makes sense to me... I'll keep the cookbooks I have apart, of course, but I don't have that many... I tend to always use the same!
DeleteHave a nice day,
Magali
Yes, indeed, fiction and lit would be alphabetically arranged. Should have realized you had a reason for that. My bookcase of cookbooks is full, so what do i bring home the other day for $1 each? France the Beautiful and In the Royal Manner, two more cookbooks. Luckily they are slim volumes. But something else still have to go to make room for them. Oh, my!!!
DeleteTu pourrais éventuellement le faire toi même et rapatrier les prises sur le mur qui te convient, il existe des plinthes qui côté mur ont toutes les encoches qu'il faut pour y intégrer les fils et les prises qui arrivent là où tu le désires. La seule chose, faire une petite saignée qui mènerait chaque prise à la plinthe. Pas de problème......il existe des caches pour les prises qui n'en sont plus et le raccord plâtre se trouverait derrière les étagères de la bibliothèque. Je crois qu'il existe aussi des plinthes qui sont déjà toutes garnies avec les fils.
ReplyDeleteCaresses aux griffus. Bises. Babette
I have Wayyyyy too many books.I organize and thin out every few years, but I heed better book shelves too. I've been collecting ideas from magazines and pinterest. But currently, the majority of them are stored on my big pine hutch that didn't fit in my dining room when we moved, and is now in our finished basement family room. Not to mention the two over flowing bookcases in my sewing room. The struggle is real.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very difficult to get rid of books (I did managed to give away three last week...) so finding a way to store them is important... I never see many books in renovation tv shows... They throw a few items on shelves... It's pretty, but not inspiring. I have found ideas on Pinterest, though.
DeleteMagali
I have lots and lots of books too. For my favorites, I pencil in the date I read it, and then come back in 10-12 years and read it again. :-) When I have books to read, I feel rich! Why don't you just get a couple of power strips, plug them into your outlet, put your bookshelves in front, and leave the power strip laying on the floor or shelf for easy connection. Looking forward to seeing photos of your solutions.
ReplyDeleteFor now, the electrician isn't the problem anymore, I seem unable to find a carpenter that still work with actual wood around here... I still need to make a few more phone calls!
DeleteMagali
M: You are young and probably still have a functioning brain, which I am a bit short of. Get yourself a carpenters square and an electric saw, lumber and nails, and make a plan. There are lots of BOOKS on how to do simple carpentry. You can make your own book cases. Really. I have a 60 yr old woman friend who builds things with metal and blowtorches and so on. Carpentry is easier, from what I see. Something to do while on Christmas holiday!!!! (big smile).
DeleteWow!! that means you have a huge collection of books...
ReplyDeleteAnd some of that collection is still in boxes at my parents!!!
DeleteI will be praying you find i good and kind electrician who can help you. I have a bookshelf that i had built from the floor to ceiling on a slim wall, i don't have as many books as you. I have been to Dublin to see Trinity College and all those wonderful books.
ReplyDeleteCollege libraries are always dreamy, aren't they?
DeleteThe bibliophile problem ! I live in a tiny 200 square foot studio. I have two bookcases both full and organized by travel, poetry, American History, Fiction, Mystery ( two shelves) and self help. My shelves also have to serve as my only place to display photos and as such i have to have one shelf free for my photos. I dream of living in a house with more room but alas must be content with my two bookcases. Books make a house a home and I can not imagine a life without books.
ReplyDeleteThat makes two if us. I wonder what will happen to mine when i die. No one to leave them to. Thinking of selling the few 19th century leather bound volumes. Guess i won't mind what happens to the rest when iI'm dead! Would like to know how others deal with this issue of dying before our books die.
DeleteI like the way you organise your books. I can't imagine life without books either and I always wonder where the books are when I see all those beautifully styled books shleves with no books in renvation tv shows!
DeleteOh my gosh! The white walls with brown shelves had me at hello! So beautiful. Have you thought of leaving the outlets in place inside the bookshelves and perhaps a long basket (without a top) that you could put the computer in when charging it?
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have so many books we have them in bookshelves and boxes and hidden everywhere. I would love to have a library look in our dining room and may do so. Also plan to build semi-built-in's in the entry hall which is wide.
I like the idea of books in a dining-room, I have seen pictures on Pinterest an it looks great... My dining room is just way too small for this idea!
DeleteI also have two different teaching are certificates. Almost had three! lol Many books in my old farmhouse. Some on shelves, some on nightstands and tables, etc.... I do use a Kindle which is helpful since I live an hour from a decent bookstore. A book in a flash I do enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI hope you do get your desired position for teaching, hopefully something not so far from cottage. Love your idea of a wall of shelves to house your books. I've always thought a wall of books to make for a cozy room. We both have a lot of books. We have them in bookcases throughout the house and stored in a lot of cabinets. Hope you get your electrician lined up so your ready to go when your vacation rolls around. Good luck..........
ReplyDeleteI can picture bookcases in the area behind your couch. Hope you find a electrician and a carpenter too:). We have dogs and our late kitty, Tiger sure told them who was the boss!
ReplyDeleteI hope a pup will be in your future Magali,
Kathleen in Az
The carpenter is actually very difficult to find as most people around here don't work with real wood...
DeleteEh oui, dans la famille, on aime les livres et nos bibliothèques sont pleines à craquer... et parfois, elles craquent. Bon courage pour ton projet. Il faudrait trouver un petit artisan sympa dans ton coin de Bretagne... Bises
ReplyDeleteWe don't have as many books as we once did, and tend to utilize the public library more now for reading books on loan. It's simply a matter of not have the space in our very small home for so many books. Dennis has bookshelves in his studio that he utilizes, and I have a couple of shelves in my workroom that I use for books. Coincidentally, we've just added some shelves to an alcove in our sitting room which I'll blog about soon. It holds some books, among other things. I like your idea for bookshelves in the cottage. I think it will not only be useful, but beautiful, too. I wonder if teachers who travel get paid for their travel time? xo
ReplyDeleteHi Magali, I’m so sorry to hear that you suffer from Fibromyalgia. I’ve had this nasty disease for 40 years. Two of my kids have it as well. I hope you are doing ok I know that some days it’s hard to even get out of bed.
ReplyDeleteI’m a big book person as well and when I moved into my new house I gave away many books that I knew I would not read again. They all fit nicely now on 2 white wooden ikea bookcases. I put curtains on them to keep the clutter down. I’ll sure you have seen that on my blog.
Have a lovely week!
xoxo Jo
Oops! Fibro probably doesn't leave much room for carpentry. There goes my idea of Magali building her own bookshelves.
Deleteah les livres !!! dans notre petite maison du Nord, il y en dans le salon, dans la jolie bibliothèque vitrée de Bon Pap, dans la salle à manger, bien rangés sur les étagères réglables de deux bibliothèques, et puis, tous les autres sont empilés tant bien que mal, sur le palier et dans les trois chambres, sur des étagères en pin bas de gamme... la bibliothèque de mes rêves, c'est celle de la photo13 de votre post du 30 mars 2017 ! bonne semaine ! monique59
ReplyDeleteI am so happy your bookshelves won't be 'styled' - I saw a blog the other day where all the books were turned backwards and the shelves were over-styled....first of all, how do you find a book if they are turned backwards??? What sense does that make? I am a book lover - I have a number of bookcases downstairs in my lower level, and then two more in my living room. It's still not enough! Looking forward to seeing your next project!
ReplyDeleteHi Magali,
ReplyDeleteWell, as a born 'reader' and senior teacher, and designer, my book consumption is ji-normous! I just donated about 300 books to charity-with plenty more left! The benefit of a Will is to be able to say where all your "stuff" goes after you die-right? So pick who could benefit from your books and leave it in your Will for your books to be donated to this place or person. I love being surrounded by books so it sounds like you do too. Have a carpenter build bookcases on any empty wall all around the room. Furniture can always be placed in front. Position comfortable reading chairs with lamps close to your lovely fire and read away! I have a long wall that I pushed a couch up against. So I built a book case to go up one side of the couch, across the top and down the other side of the couch. The carpenter wired small lamps on the sides of the book cases next to the couch side for reading. I put a soft, cloth covered foot stool the length of the couch, in front of the couch, and placed a wood tray on top of one end to hold TV stuff and whatever. It's sooo comfortable! I put my feet up and read, look at the fireplace, watch TV or just read. Incidentially, put an area rug from the front of your couch, (just catching the front legs of couch) under your coffee table (foot stool) to about 3-4 feet beyond or more. Anchors the grouping so the furniture doesn't look like its floating in the room and creates a more cosy feel. A room with books feels so finished or cosy or something, right!? Well, I'm off to read a really great book series for the third time. ...I' m reading A book by Margaret Truman. So was the daughter of our President, Harry S. Truman. She writes these GREAT mysteries that all take place in Washington D.C.. So glad to see a new Post! Be good, take care, Nonni
The rug is something I'm going to add to the living-room... highly needed in winter with a ceramic floor... But I'm waiting until I have the new armchair to get the perfect length for the rug.
DeleteI love your idea for the library. You do not need to move the plugs. When you put up the book cases, if there are backs you just have them cut the wood and then you put the plastic plate over it and it hides the uneven edges, but you can still use the plugs. That's what I did. My bottom bookcases have outlets. I even tucked in an outlet power strip. But I've tucked one into a basket too. I am odd, but my library books are color coded. So, it looks styled, but I can find any book I want in those shelves, more so than anywhere else in the house, because I never forget the color of the book. Since those are all the hardcovers that's easy. My paperbacks are in baskets under the beds. (funny). My living room ones are turned around, but I can find them from the side, and those are mainly my art books, and a row of classics; I decided it looked too cluttered in that small room, and I could not part with my books! Oh, and I love the musical library in the Paris Opera! We took many photos of the books and ceiling.
ReplyDeletexoxo Su
Hi Magali,
ReplyDeleteI really do enjoy seeing what you've done with your cottage and what you continue to do in the way of projects and decorating. I genuinely understand your need for bookshelves; we have LOTS and LOTS of books in our home. I've always loved to read and so do my husband and son. My dream is to have a house with a conservatory (I'm American so we call them sunrooms over here) and a library. If I could design it the way I'd like to, we'd have globes in the library, a map case, and tons of books.
With house projects, it seems like there's always some little something that holds up our best laid plans (like your electric outlets). I hope you find an electrician very soon so you can begin work on your bookshelves. Have a lovely weekend!
Hugs,
Denise
Thank you, Denise, for your comment. A library as a separate room would be a dream, but I'll have to make do with a wall only... that is, if I can find a good carpenter!
DeleteHave a nice day,
Magali
Wow, those library photos are fantastic! I've always wanted a library, but have instead, had to settle for scattering my books all over the house. I've got them in bookcases, on bookshelves, on tables, everywhere, really! I wrote a blog post about my books awhile back - I can't live without my books! Hope you are able to land a permanent job - and a dog!
ReplyDeleteThe library's are beautiful. I love books also, but I find that I can't breath to week when the pages get older, really bothers me. So I have a Kindle and read about 4 books a month.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with finding an electrician.
Have a great vacation.
Mary
I have a TON of books. We moved a few years ago and they are all still in the basement in boxes. BUT I've been spending a lot of time going through those boxes getting things ready for a rummage sale and I have decided to make one of the "storage" rooms in the basement a library. And several years ago we went to a school auction and bought actual library shelves. They are very, VERY sturdy and hold lots of books. Rather than hiring an electrician you might consider positioning the bookshelves so that you can drill a hole in the back of them and run the cords through. OR, run an extension cord behind the bookshelf so it will be long enough to reach around the bookshelves. Does any of that make sense? Just a couple of ideas that might save you money and frustration. I'm married to an electrician and I know first-hand, what we think is a quick and easy fix, usually isn't.
ReplyDeleteCindy
My books are scattered around my apartment. I have been trying to find a space for at least a narrow bookcase. xo Laura
ReplyDeleteI see that this is quite a common problem, it seems...
DeleteGood luck on the electrician - we have the same issue of finding people to do little jobs.
ReplyDeleteAs for books - books in the attic, in the garage, in my SheShed, on books shelves around the house, in baskets around the house ...
I have a ton of books, too. I have a small bookcase in my living room and another small one in the spare room. But I'm lucky to have a basement and that's where I have three big bookcases and two small ones, so that's where my main "library" is. It's hard to find a person to do small jobs - we need to have some trim replaced here and when we called our contractor for a quote, the price was outrageous. We declined and will have to wait until we find someone else or just wait until we need another big job one and then tack this small job onto that.
ReplyDeleteThousands of books, in Dewey decimal system with a few tweaks that work for us.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and your home.
Best wishes!
I have way too many books that I'll never read again but love. AND people keep giving me more. Over the past few years I have been systematically donating unwanted books. About 100 per year. Jo @ Let's Face the Music
ReplyDeleteWhere do you keep all those books?
DeleteLibraries are such glorious places. Any of those places would make an acceptable living abode to me! Thanks for sharing the beautiful photographs.
ReplyDeleteMagali: One note of caution. I would suggest that with your masonry house, that you not put the bookshelves against an outside wall, unless you are sure they will not get damp over the years. If this might be a problem, a trail of Borax along the shelving behind the books should be some help in stopping the damp spoiling them. Just a thought. One that has let me store books in cardboard cartons for long periods..
ReplyDeleteThe wall is indeed an outside wall as are in fact most of the walls in such a small cottage. But the wall has been insulated earlier and I also plan to have a back added to the bookcase for added insulation. I also plan to uncover the outside wall someday as it's what stone wall need... But that won't happen soon. Thanks for all your ideas and advice!
Delete