What luxury! A room dedicated to quiet contemplation, to academic pursuits, to pure pleasure! Even in these days of information technology, the book remains our vital link with history and other worlds, and while books are considered our ‘ friends',  it is rare indeed to hear of anyone having a similar relationship with a personal computer. Although a library may be considered a workroom where serious research, study, perhaps writing are carried out, the title ‘library’ also conjures up a picture of an altogether more pleasurable space: warm and welcoming, a comfortable cocoon in which to while away the hours.

Your choice of colour scheme can do much to contribute to this feeling of cosseting. The selection of traditional, deep, jewel colours- ruby, sapphire and emerald – or warm earth tones - terracotta, sand clay and volcanic rock- will give your room an intimate feeling as well as suggesting security and tradition. Lining the walls, the books themselves may well provide the starting point to inspire your scheme. By echoing the colours of the book spines, you will give your room a cohesive feel and you will create the illusion that the books are part of the structure of your room. The books themselves will provide plenty of interest, so you may opt to forgo strong patterns that may fight for your attention and distract from the ‘stars’ of the room. Instead you may like to concentrate on incorporating an interesting variety of textures. Imagine your shiny book spines against a background of dark green felt walls; rough natural material flooring is underfoot, green-and-red plaid, heavy linen curtains grace the window and worn, glossy, red leather chairs stand in an inviting group.

Lighting can so easily enhance or spoil this wonderful ambience that you have gone to such trouble to create. The central pendant light is to be avoided - it will flatten all the textures and you will lose all feeling of intimacy. Instead, choose several individual lights positioned in the lower portion of the room - table lamps, desk lamps, standard lamps - all these fittings will create pools of light that will impart a warm feeling.

It is also important for the shelves to be well lit so that books can be located, removed and examined on the spot. Ceiling - fixed recessed wall washers will bath the shelves in light or, as an alternative, you might consider library lights fixed to the uprights of the shelving units themselves. Strip lights behind baffles fixed within the bookcase will highlight attractive books but are to be avoided if the bookcase is antique as the routing of wiring is likely to cause damage.