One stacks books all over the house, another prefers to line her walls with them. The creators of Flow allow us to peek at their home libraries.
Creative director Irene Smit (left): “My books lie all through the house: stacked on the couch and beside the bed, one part of the cupboard and in two low bookcases in the living room. Deciding on the ones that were allowed to stay downstairs was a puzzle. In the end, I opted for a box of my favorite books (including those by Belgian author Griet Op de Beeck) and one of books that have a blue cover. Sometimes I even buy a book because its cover is such a beautiful blue. For example I recently picked up a copy of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen with a beautiful fabric cover.”
Journalist Chris Muyres (right): “In the living room, we converted an en suite into one huge bookcase. It contains exactly as many books as can fit into it. That means we’re always swapping titles in and out, at least with the novels that is. There’s always a ‘still-to-read’ pile—and there’s not been much rotation there lately. Only the beautiful picture books have a permanent place. There’s also a bookcase in my office with mainly LPs, vintage books and old magazines. I often take a random dip into it when I take a break from work. To hold something from another time in your hands is still good fun.”
Online editor Bente van de Wouw (below): “The nicest thing about moving was that I could finally buy a gigantic bookcase for all my books. They’ll all fit in there, I thought. Not so. Since then, a second bookcase is almost full. And I also have books all through the house. On the dining table, on the floor beside my bed, and in every drawer. I intended sorting the titles in the bookcase by color: I think a rainbow always looks so cheerful. But I don’t have the patience, and now it’s all crisscross in every direction. But it actually has character, such a messy bookcase without a clear pattern.”
