ourhaus is thrilled to welcome our new arrival: The Nelson Platform Bench. Another member of the lust list has made it into our home—to round out a library area occupying a long wall that faces into an open area of our living space.
 |
| View from the kitchen toward the living room. |
 |
| View of library from living room. Shelves: 2 5x5 Expedit bookshelves from IKEA. Runner: Angela Adams "Munjoy" hand-tufted wool. |
Living with books is a pleasure, but the "where and how" seems to be a consistently perplexing home storage issue, especially in square-foot deprived spaces. But who wants to relegate their favorite books to storage? We took advantage of this big, exposed wall to function as a browsing library. (Any books that we can't part with, but are not in rotation, do go into storage/attic). We are happy to see that our guests enjoy perusing it, too. It becomes a living wall that invites interaction and discussion, and I love that.
 |
| Various views of our book shelf: Brownie Hawkeye camera body found at a Cape Cod flea market; C & J aluminum letters were our wedding cake topper; various Kikkerland wind up toys are gifts from my father-in-law; wooden drawing figure from IKEA; seltzer bottle bought from a street vendor in NYC. |
|
So, if you do make the decision to invest in a piece of furniture that will be with you and your family for decades, I strongly recommend investing in authenticity. We have been down the road of copies and handmade versions of mid-century pieces. Let's just say the inherent issues in their cheap production and the need to replace them so frequently quickly added up in cost and frustration.
 |
| Beautiful, solid craftsmanship. Small wooden dowels also reinforce joints. |
 |
| Designer's mark. |
 |
| It lasts and retains its value. |
The customer service at our Cambridge, MA Design Within Reach store is always friendly, thorough and professional. And there's nothing better than a handwritten note from your retailer
