A home library is the new middle-class boast. But there’s one burning question... IS IT NAFF TO COLOUR-CODE YOUR BOOKS?

WHETHER you prefer to organise your books in cheerful rainbow order, in piles of decreasing size or favour the divisive ‘spines-inwards’ trend to present a minimalist canvas of crisp white pages, there’s no doubt the ‘shelfie’ is having a moment.

Social media is full of snaps from proud bookworms sharing their oh-so-aesthetically pleasing shelves, or discussing their new literary favourites in TikTok’s popular ‘BookTok’ community.

And with sales of books soaring and the number of independent bookshops at a ten-year high, it seems there has never been a better time to embrace the latest interior must-have: a home library.

As an interior designer (simshilditch.com), I’m witnessing at first hand the boom in demand for home libraries — and you can create one, too.

When most people picture a library, they imagine row upon row of books standing in columns from floor to ceiling. Yet today’s home libraries are chic, restful, organised and intriguing.

Best of all, you don’t need an entire room to do so. A library can easily be incorporated into an existing space within your living or dining room, a corridor or that boxroom full of clutter.

In my home in Wiltshire, England, we installed a bespoke library on an overhanging wall that borders the open-plan sitting room and kitchen, filling what would otherwise have been a blank space with an eye-catching feature. For me, a home without books lacks warmth. So even if your collection only stretches to one stack, take a moment to think about how best to arrange them. I promise they’ll give you far more enjoyment and satisfaction than how you position your TV.

Here, five women open up their lovely libraries . . .