I do. I do judge a book by it’s cover. In fact, the last book I bought, I chose the Spanish edition instead of the UK one because of that. Yeah, shoot me.

My main goal with Simple Domus is for you to feel comfortable at home. Make it yours and do whatever you want with what you have in it, surround yourself with things that make you happy and organize it however you please. Nonetheless, there are some crazy trends to organize libraries around the web that are hard to understand by someone who enjoys a good book now and then.

In this post, I wanted to discuss five failed trends that get on my nerves.
But I am not one for promises when it comes to design, so I could end up trying one of these in the foreseeable future. 😌

❝ To travel far, there is no better ship than a book. ❞ Emily Dickinson

reversed books

This is a trend that seems to reign all over the beige aesthetic Instagram, as it seems that colourful book covers can be too strong for some. Lots of shelves have started to find themselves accommodating reversed books, where the book spine is inside out to reveal the aged texture of the textblock.

I first saw it at IKEA´s catalogues and exhibitions areas, and I thought it kind of made sense in that context. It was giving the spotlight to the piece of furniture that they are trying to sell.

In aaaaall the other cases, all I hear are excuses. There´s no sensible system to find a book on a shelf organised like this. And on top of this, books were designed like that for a reason, and not only to disturb us with their colours, but the spine is what holds the pages together and protect the book from water, dust, sun, etc.

2. Coffee table book

That book you bought at the art museum last summer, that thick magazine with inspiring travel scapes, or any book that has the name of a designer/artist on its spine, etc.

I personally enjoy using my coffee table. Like, I don’t know, for coffee?
But also to use my computer on it, and not feel like it’s instantly cluttered with stuff. I never have I ever, sat on the sofa to casually look for inspiration with a coffee table book. But maybe there’s someone who does, so if that’s your case please forget my last words and scroll to the next point of the list.

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3. rainbow libraries

Organising books by colours seems to be a really big trend as well 🏳️‍🌈. I believe it might have been triggered by the show from @thehomeedit on Netflix.

The girls from The Home Edit swear by it and say that it helps to organise visually. But personally, I feel that every colour has a different weight, and by organising like this some compositions seem to be off-balanced.

And if this reasoning isn’t enough to persuade you, let’s be honest: this is far from practical. Organising them by theme, title or author seems to be way more useful to find them later, don’t you think?

4. Stacked books

It’s not really a bad idea to have two or three stacked books on a shelf or the bedside table, also I can see how they can help to create dynamism if we’re after the aesthetic of it. BUT, please let’s not create another Leaning Tower of Pisa friends. I fear for its stability, and I personally cringe at the thought of having to find a book on these interminable towers that flood pinterest.

5. Accumulated books

Following the same assumption that we mentioned on the second point: books are there to be enjoyed and read, not to collect dust. After the next thorough cleaning, If you see that book collected a thick layer of dust, donate it and give it a second life!
Do not hold on to them. Books are meant to be used and enjoy, do not just have them for the sake of it.