Is this what 99% of mumsnetters homes look like

[Damaged27]

After all these interior design threads this is what I'm imagining everyone on mumsnets homes look like. Just curious if I'm way off because iv never been in a home like this. Maybe if the person is in their 80s. Do people really have bookshelves?

My house does actually look a bit like that, but less tidy. Houses without books weird me out.

I suggest everyone shocked that some people don’t have bookcases broaden their reading so they aren’t just reading about folk like them.

Reading is meant to be a mirror reflecting our own experiences and window into others’ experiences and all that…

With Kindle, Amazon can modify or delete the books on your device that you bought through the Kindle store.

Why on earth would you donate a book that you enjoyed? Wouldn't you want to re-read it?

GreyCarpet
I love your description of your home as 'the hippy version of the OP's attached pictures.
That's exactly how my home can be described!

I like things, things that make me smile and remember good times. My grandmother's Carnival glass, my mother's vases. Mementos of our travels and gifts from people who love me and know the things I like. Drawings by children.
I have just taken a look at my kitchen dresser and it really makes me smile. Little reminders of good times and family jokes.

However, on to books, I love BOOKS.! I have loved them since I was 3 years old, I was a librarian, I live to read.
Obviously I have passed on many books and have many more on Kindle.
Most of the ones on the 6 bookshelves are non-fiction, so I can consult them as and when I need too. I also have all of my favourite authors so that I can reread them.

Some are first editions or signed copies, some are signed copies from author talks.
I also have some illustrated books that are simply beautiful in themselves. I love Jackie Morris's and Robert MacFarlane's work and the magic of Lost Words and Spell Songs.

All the houses I visit regularly have bookshelves and I spend some time looking to see what they have acquired since I last scrutinised the shelves.

I am sure you are fine without books and bookshelves, but for many of us it's unthinkable ☺️

They may only read using an ereader?
I agree that I would feel bereft if I didn't have a book on the go, but I read mostly on my kindle.

I can't really argue with that. Those were the days 😁

You've basically described my house except the island but I would 100% have one if my kitchen was bigger. According to the previous posts which iv gone off, this is everything mumsnetters hate so I'm guessing your part of the 99%

My god no!!! Minimalistic no book shelves hate dust

Neither of those rooms are cluttered. And having a matching sofa and chair is boring!!

Another good point about book lined walls - book are excellent heat and sound insulation.

Why would you want to re-read something when you remember what happened in it? And when there are so many new books to read!

To me there is a difference between mismatching and not exactly the same but complementary - and I think in both photos, the furniture is more in the latter category.

I think that is fine for sofa and armchair - in fact I think of it as the norm? Obviously dining chairs usually all match but to me casual seating is different?

I stopped buying books 10 years ago when I bought a kindle. I still have 3 bookshelves full of books and I still love rereading them.

OP, I don't think books= clutter or bookshelves=stuff everywhere. They are things I love that have accompanied me through life. My DH's first present to me was a poems book by Sylvia Plath. It deserves a proper bookshelf!

So you threw away all the fun stuff?

I haven't once called anyone a name or been unpleasant on here. Iv said all the way along have your home however you like it, it's your home.

Yes I have one bookshelf with books on it another is a ladder Sheffield with decorative stuff.

I'd love a reading room like that with floor to ceiling bookcases and books

It is traditional to burn them, but I don't have a garden so I just put them in a dumpster. You can't give them away as they'd not be good for other people either.

Fantasy books is maybe taking it a bit far though, unless the books had encouraged her to experiment with the occult. Supposedly if a novel has a practitioner of magick portrayed in a good light, it could effect some people that way.

I have a room with shelves much like the picture on the left. Wall to wall. Plainer furniture and simpler rug but also the piano (also derided on the other thread), family photos (but not on the wall so could be missing a trick there), a stack of vinyl, CDs and music books and my beloved Linn, a desk and an old sofa.

More shelves on the first landing, plus in all the (adult) DC rooms even though they no longer live here. DC also have a lot of bookshelves in their own homes. We all have plants as well.

None of us are anywhere near 80.

I did books around a door like this picture.
Which comes from a rather nice bookcase article.

And a really good place to get bookcases, when you are ready to upgrade from Billy, is https://shelfstore.co.uk/

Your posts have come across very snobby and a tad rude. Calling people who keep books hoarders and saying they must be over 80. You know what you’re doing.

Burning books is terrible

The kids have bookshelves in their rooms but we don't have one in the living room. I am quite a big reader though. I read one to two books a week but I donate after I've read them and have a stack of a few favourites, maybe 20 books by the side of my bed. I don't usually read books twice so I don't see the point in holding onto them when I'm working with very limited space and the kids' toys add to the clutter.

My house looks a little like the one on the right - yes I have bookshelves. With books I have read or want to read. And a couple of comfy sofas and nice cushions and a sideboard with a lamp. I also have a pile of coffee table books (mostly books that my late mother bought me so they remind me of her, or bought when travelling), and flowers (currently dried hydrangeas from my garden).

Not sure why you say it is for someone in their 80's?

Same 😊

No I don’t think they do. I love reading and books but hate book cases/shelves with a passion.