Monday, October 27, 2008

Holly Black's Hidden Library

Holly Black, half of the duo behind the enchanting Spiderwick Chronicles (the New York Post calls it "vintage Victorian fantasy," so you should seek out a copy for yourself or your steampunklets) mentioned her "hidden" library a couple months back, and I sought her out and cajoled some pictures (although truth be told it wasn't that hard...).

Our tour, guided by Ms. Black...

The bookshelf, closed

And now, slightly ajar

And now, open into the sorta secret library.

The secret door from the other side.

The hidden door is from hiddendoors.com and installed by our
contractor during the renovation. There are a few other small hidden things in our house, but this is really the most fun.



Looking into the library. There is a speakeasy door (ed. note: a door with a small window hole in it that can be opened to see who is on the other side.) on the other side, that leads outside -- the library is in the basement, but it's a walk-out basement -- which is why the library can only be sort of secret.







The fireplace surround is actually pressed stone. It's from www.mantelsdirect.com. They don't have the specific mantel I got any more, but it's a great place to acquire relatively affordable mantles that look like stone.

My husband wanted to be sure to include his WETA ray gun.

I can tell that a lot of love and passion went into this library -- can't you just see a hearty winter meal on that marble table, with a fire roaring and plenty of red wine?

I also wanted to draw your attention to the lighting design -- there's the great chandelier with the mica shade for style, but the library gets most of it's drama from the track lights that highlight the books, panelling, and objects.

Thanks Holly!

More hidden doors.
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45 comments:

  1. Clare K. R. MillerOctober 28, 2008 at 10:37 AM

    Wow, so beautiful. I want one now!

    Though I had a bit of cognitive dissonance when you referred to Holly as "half of the duo." I'm a fan of her modern faerie tales series first and foremost, so it's weird for me to think of her as half of anything! Then again, the Spiderwick Chronicles are far more steampunk, and nearly as delightful...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary OcampoOctober 28, 2008 at 12:21 PM

    This room is amazing. It is cooler than a very cool thing. If I am ever forced to move outside of New York City, I totally want a house with "sort of secret" rooms and hidden passageways. And this Victorian-style decoration is lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 28, 2008 at 4:00 PM

    Seriously, that must be one of the most beautiful rooms of any era. The coolness factor aside. Cudos.

    ReplyDelete
  4. tanita✿davisOctober 29, 2008 at 3:56 AM

    Oh, wow. I need a secret room full of books. She must feel SO rich.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SteamPunk AngelOctober 29, 2008 at 9:59 AM

    wow that is so cool, its a beautiful library. I like the candelabra, secret doors you must be rich!!!

    bravo!!!!

    any more rooms that are complete

    post them

    ReplyDelete
  6. Melissa WalkerOctober 29, 2008 at 10:25 AM

    WOW. Just wow!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A Paperback WriterOctober 29, 2008 at 4:54 PM

    How very Anne Frank.

    Dang. I wanna secret library! Heck, I'd even settle for a not-secret library!

    ReplyDelete
  8. C. K. Kelly MartinOctober 30, 2008 at 7:38 AM

    Beautiful. If I had a secret library that looked like that I'd be hard pressed to spend a significant amount of time anywhere else.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownOctober 30, 2008 at 10:13 AM

    It brings tears to my eyes to see an old friend who has come so far in life. Congratulations to you Holly & Theo; you both deserve the best in life and I'm so thrilled for you both!

    ReplyDelete
  10. EmNovember 2, 2008 at 7:06 PM

    Oh man, I want one, I want one! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Little WillowNovember 3, 2008 at 10:45 PM

    WANT. Oh my. Go Holly.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Z-KidsNovember 4, 2008 at 1:16 PM

    Coolest library Ever!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Susan MoorheadNovember 4, 2008 at 8:47 PM

    This kind of makes me ache a little bit. Seriously decent.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dani In NCNovember 6, 2008 at 6:26 PM

    Those pictures definitely make me want a library in my own home. We have waist-high bookcases scattered here and there throughout the house, but walls covered floor to ceiling with books would be lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  15. holly cupalaNovember 7, 2008 at 12:11 PM

    This is really cool! Architecture meets literature. I posted it over at readergirlz.

    ReplyDelete
  16. lkmadiganDecember 11, 2008 at 12:43 PM

    So jellus.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Karen AnneJanuary 6, 2009 at 6:45 AM

    I am another jealous person.

    Did the contractor make those bookshelves (book walls?) from scratch?

    My ambitions for bookshelves upstairs just went thru the stratosphere.

    ReplyDelete
  18. UnknownJanuary 9, 2009 at 3:44 PM

    Oooh. I just realized where I can put a secret door in my place. There isn't any location which would make a good hidden passage... but there *is* a small walk-in closet in a place where nobody would notice the missing space.

    Busily sketching a combination of ideas from several websites... I won't be ready to build any time soon, but this does affect my plans for the surrounding space.

    The biggest question, outside of hardware details, is whether I will want to use an electromagnetic latch or a mechanical one. Electric lets you do silly things with the release -- think of the Batcave's access button in the old TV serial -- or complicated things involving several non-obvious actions, and might hold more securely in the closed position. Mechanical would be a bit more "period" -- especially for my part of the world, where there were some houses on the Underground Railroad that had such hidden spaces.

    ReplyDelete
  19. UnknownJanuary 23, 2009 at 6:34 AM

    This is super-cool! I just drew up plans for my dream house, and it includes a hidden staircase *from* my library to my husband's hidden laboratory in the basement. I <3 Holly Black! Thanks for posting this!

    LMHarmon.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2009 at 8:59 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Jessica PeterFebruary 19, 2009 at 4:24 PM

    Wow. Just wow.

    I am entirely awestruck by this room, and I've now added "Get a secret library" to my Bucket List!

    ReplyDelete
  22. UnknownFebruary 22, 2009 at 12:22 PM

    Keshlam: if you do a mechanical switch it could be one of the books on the initial shelf.

    I really want one now

    ReplyDelete
  23. RavenSeptember 2, 2009 at 8:53 AM

    OMG! I love the hidden door and the whole library!

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousNovember 25, 2009 at 8:51 AM

    AAAAHHHH!!! This library IS WIN!

    (I just discovered this blog and I'm sitting here at work scrolling through it all and drooling. Good thing the boss isn't here today.)

    ReplyDelete
  25. dayseaseFebruary 22, 2010 at 2:51 PM

    Oh, be still my heart... Now that is my secret heart desire library. I love the mystery of "hidden", and the comfort found within. I love all of those books. Looks like a WONDERFUL place in which to spend hour after hour.

    Thank you so much. Now I am off to forward the link to this post to my husband. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  26. KellyMellyBoBellyBananaFannaApril 13, 2010 at 2:32 PM

    So cool! Someone linked this in the comments on my blog, bc I'm interested in creating a sort of trap door or hidden bookcase thing...

    http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com/2010/04/hide-and-seek.html

    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  27. Tales of WhimsyJuly 18, 2010 at 12:10 PM

    I'm in love. More to show the husband.

    ReplyDelete
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