Make your home look like your favourite book

Asha Bogenfuerst Asha Bogenfuerst
A Contemporary "Oasis", Kevin Cooper Garden Design Kevin Cooper Garden Design Garden
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Making your home look like your favourite book can be an exciting project. We often turn to books as an escape from our everyday reality, so it would be interesting to turn your home into that specific escape story that you love so dearly. Story books bring our imagination to life and inspire us, we can make our homes do that for us too. 

This idea guide features six popular all time favourite novels with examples of how to bring these stories to life in the interior design of your home. The six novels are 'The unbearable lightness of being' by Milan Kundera, 'Kafka on the shore' by Murakami, 'My name is Red' by Orhan Pamuk, 'Snow' by Maxence Fermine, 'The shadow of the wind' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and 'The great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald. We hope you will find some inspiration for your home through this idea guide. 

The unbearable lightness of being – Milan Kundera

'The unbearable lightness of being' essentially explores the intellectual and artistic life of Czech society from the Prague Spring of 1968 to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union. The story revolves around an intellectual man who is a womanizer, but loves only his wife as he considers love and sex to be two very distinct entities.  

The novel is famous for its philosophical underpinnings which revolve around the theme of love and sex. Existential issues such as Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of eternal recurrence is challenged in this film. Milan Kundera portrays love as fleeting, haphazard, and possibly based on random coincidences, despite the significance it holds for us. This perception of life, love, and sex leads to the experience of 'lightness of being' he describes in the book. Fans of this novel are often mesmerized by this concept or experience of 'lightness of being'. 

To create a home that is reminiscent of 'lightness of being', try to incorporate water and plants into you home. Find a way to integrate a small water feature in your home, and add some plants around it. This will bring you the stillness of mind ideal for pondering about existential issues. 

Kafka on the shore – Murakami

Murakami's Kafka on the shore is an intriguing blend of popular culture, mundane detail, and magical realism; qualities which can be quite easily incorporated into a room. The cozy space pictured here reflects a very casual yet mysterious Murakami vibe. The hammock and swinging wicker chair create a laid-back vibe, whereas the window seat, wood elements, and plants in the house make it the perfect place to snuggle up with a book. 

Browse through living room designs here on homify for more ideas and inspiration. 

My name is Red – Orhan Pamuk

My name is Red by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, is a timely and sublime parable of east and west. It is sort of like a metaphor of what it is that unites the east and the west. In our modern globalized world, this novel is very relevant and insightful at the same time. 

Combining elements of east and west in your home can be easily achieved by incorporating furnishing and decorations with an oriental theme and a Scandinavian style for example. In interior design, we may call this the global ethnic look, that is combining design elements from different cultures in the east and west. 

The beautiful bedroom in red pictured here is designed by Anna Paghera, interior designers based in Lonato, Italy. 

Snow – Maxence Fermine

'Snow' by Maxence Fermine is a sensuous love story that reads like a poem. It describes the tale of one man's journey through snow-capped mountains on a quest to find art. However, he finds love instead, and in the end love and art converge into a beautiful understanding of life. 

The bright all white room pictured here is reminiscent of the snow-capped mountains described in the novel, while the delicate features of the room such as the sheer drapes express the gentleness of Maxence Fermine's voice. Last but not least, the four-poster bed portrays the romance and love themes central to the book. 

The shadow of the wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This novel is set in Barcelona's old city and starts of with the main character finding a cemetery of lost books, a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have gone out of print. It is a gripping story about the unknown mysteries that are hiding just behind the corner.

To recreate the atmospheric setting of this novel in your home, find a way to add elements of the Mediterranean or Spanish style to your home. You can do this simply by adding a splash of striking colour as you see in the picture, or by incorporating some Mediterranean style furnishings and decorations. 

The great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

'The great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a curious, glamorous story of today. The novel is set in the fictional prosperous Long Island with its lavish parties. The exquisitely grand living room pictured here portrays the luxuriousness and wealth associated with the story. 

We hope you enjoyed this idea guide as much as we have. For more inspiration and ideas, have a look at beautiful ways to have a bathroom full of nature

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