There’s a new home decor trend on the block, and it’s upsetting people, to say the least.
Book lovers everywhere are at arms over the up-and-coming backward books trend, where people style their bookshelves with spines facing in, pages facing out.
As you can imagine, this probably makes it hard to find a specific book since you can’t see the titles, and it’s certainly not how books are traditionally stored. However, it does create a uniquely uniform look for your bookshelf.
So what is it about this controversial trend that has people riled up? Is there a reason to store your books backward? Or is it just to rock the boat a little? Scroll through any number of Instagram comments and you'll find people on either side of the divide.
"Apparently this nonsense is trending in decorator showrooms, and being touted as a minimalist look, due to the neutral color of the paper. I love when people arrange their books artfully, but these isn’t that. This is antithetical to the idea of reading," commented booklegger_eureka on this post. "I never knew of this trend till now. I like it. And agree with @pitmanpyle that it would work well with the books you’ve already read," a more forgiving miningforsoul stated on this photo.
"My grandfather would have a fit lol," chimed in wmphototo on this 'gram. And then there are those who've tossed convention out the window to give it a try: "I’ve done it a few times recently. I did roll my eyes at myself for doing it though," admitted homestagingbrisbane.
For blogger Hannah Briggs of Thistle Harvest, backward books are a way to maintain a cohesive aesthetic in her home.
“I only keep the books that have pretty & neutral spines facing outward, and any book with a super colorful or not as pretty spine, I face inward,” she explained in a comment on Instagram.
Bookshelves can certainly look a bit jumbled with all their random covers, so this actually makes sense if you’re committed to maintaining a neutral color scheme.
For others, backward books are a way to bring interest into the home. Blogger Natasha Meininger of Outside and In explains that she simply wanted a unique way to store her vast collection of books. Plus, she raises a good question: How often do you really reread books?
“My book collection is huge, so it was important to me from a design standpoint to find a creative way to store my accumulation,” Meininger explained to TODAY Home. “I have read thousands of books. I’ve only reread about 20, so I don’t find it necessary to be able to find a specific title that I’ve already read at the drop of a hat."
Again, a reasonable explanation. Maybe this trend isn’t so crazy after all.
Here are a few more examples of the controversial home decor craze:
Okay, we want to know: What are your thoughts on the backward books trend? Sound off below!
Written by: Camryn Rabideau
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37 Comments
Buy a swank buffet (with fancy doors) and stuff it with whatever is your true passion. Shades of Grey books and cds perhaps. Additional benefits of buffet: top serves as buffet for cocktail parties or bar service. : )
Fondest regards.
And I, too, have thousands of books--with the covers facing outward--and while I won't re-read all of them, that's not exactly the point of collecting books you love. I don't re-read The Essays of EB White often, but every time I see it's battered maroon cover in the bookshelf it reminds me of Christmas 1977, when I fell in love with words. Books remind us of who we were...and who we are, which is arguably more important that the visual dissonance of their covers.
cookbooks, how the heck would you find anything (except perhaps
the odd dust bunny)? On a winter's night, when the power is out
finding a book to reread is like finding an old friend to visit. Curling
up with a cat, a quilt and a book is comforting. Minimalism to this
degree is not.
But what I found most telling about the whole thing was that while their books were backwards, hiding the titles, the shoe boxes and bag bags were all label forward in their closet.
Wonder if this reflects either a generational thing and/or a phasing out of the codex (book object) as reading on screens takes over.
Yes, also agree with the comments so far.
This trend ultimately speaks to a small collection of design-minded people who use books in one of two specific ways: pure decoration, or read-once before pure decoration. Or maybe a third manifestation; the hyper organized, colour-adverse person who has a very specific shelving map or technique that allows for easy finding in a sea of white.
How many readers who build collections of books never want to find a particular book in the future? Never reread. Never reference a book for a quote or passage, work, inspiration, double-check your memory, or random curiousity. Never lend to a friend. Never have friends curious about what's in the library. Never scan to check if you have a specific book or edition, or get inspiration for what to buy next. Never look to see how your reading has evolved. Etc.
And it's rather ironic to think that shelves upon shelves of white paper devoid of context and use is minimalist.
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