Over the time you’ve seen a lot of bookshelves on Freshome, but what I’ve found today is really impressive. I was browsing Flickr and I found this beautiful example of organizing books by color and the smart guy that managed to do it, is user chotda. This is a very good way of changing the whole aspect of a bookshelf with a little bit of creativity. I guess you’ll have to pay more attention to the book’s cover from now on if you want to reproduce that effect and have your own rainbow bookshelf.
Subscribe for FREE to our Interior Design & Architecture Newsletter by clicking on 
RSS or 
E-mail
| Put a Rainbow Right Inside your Bedroom |  | Angled Bookshelf | ||
 | “Parts of a Rainbow” Chairs |  | TWIN Bookshelf | |
 | How to Make the Stairs the Most Interesting Element of Your Home |  | Hang Up Bookshelf | |
This makes no sense…
Instead of thinking of a topic, now you have to remember the specific color of a book.
Do you honestly think this is real? There are no books with black spines or multiple colored spines. My thoughts are either this is an edited photo, or they were purchased random books to fill in the colors they needed.
Is picture 1 and 2 of the same shelf, or is from a different point in time, all of the books are in different locations.
-ryan
Libraries can be organized in all kinds of interesting and creative ways. As long as you can keep track, there are lots of options. Here’s a link to an article on different approaches:
http://www.publishingtrends.com/copy/01/0102/0102shelves.htm
I love the sound of the Osho Meditation Resort, “150,000 volumes ‘are sorted according to size and color,’ … ‘and placed on the shelves in an arrangement that suggests ocean waves. The effect is organic and natural, with no solid blocks of color or size to grab the eye and weigh it down.’
There are lots of programs to help you organize your books and if you need help, just hire a library technician!
[...] You would end up with this: [...]
Beautiful, but impractical!
Breathtaking Example of Organizing Books by Colour ( Pics ) | Deliggit.com…
This is a great example of how you can change the whole aspect of a bookshelf with a…
[...] read more | digg story [...]
[...] Seen on freshome.com. [...]
Actually, that would work pretty well for me. I’m too lazy to alphabetize, so my shelves are in chaos. I always remember the covers of books I have read, and always find them by vaguely remembering where I shelved them, and looking for the right spine. I own thousands of books (some of them stashed away in boxes because I don’t have room), but I can always find what I’m looking for in a matter of a few seconds to half a minute.
I think I’d be more consistent about colorizing, because if I put a book in the “wrong” place, I’d see it right away and it would bother me.
If you really know your books, you won’t have any trouble using this kind of arrangement
Nice. Difficult to associate what is where though….
Good training for the memory =)
the organization and the location of books is not the issue here. it is an issue of aesthetics. and it just so happens that it looks amazing. how many times do you really go into that room to find a certain book. usually you are just reading the one on the table or couch. i have a hundred books i have only read once and now sit on a shelf.
its beautiful. good work.
How about an index card box with index cards sorted the ‘inside the box way’. you pull out the card and it has a color swatch on it that you can take to the shelf and run across the spines of the books to find a match. Or a close match and you’ve got 5 or 6 spines to actually read.
I had no idea colour-based sorting of books could be beautiful. Thank you.
we arrange our books like this. it has never been a problem to find a book. it also reduces visual clutter. highly recommended.
Oh, add color too – A1R – R for Red, B for Blue, G for Green…
You people, listen, all he has to do is make a simple database assigning each book a shelf section. “Calculus II” – red book in top left corner –> A1 – A-top most row, 1-first column. Search Calculus II it tells you where. If ze is so meticulous organizing this, inputing this data is a simple task.
It’s not so bad.. you can still have a system for finding the book you want. For example: use a computer. You can arrange books however you like so long as you keep track of which one is on which shelf. A simple database/record isn’t that hard to set up and use and is a small cost compared to the beauty of being able to enhance your home by the color. I’m surprised how many nay sayers are here. A system is great for keeping track of books even if you aren’t arranging them by color!
awesome. it might be hard for *other* people to find a book, but i don’t see why it would be hard for the owner — after all they’re the one who put it there. plus the name of the book is right there on the spine…
other filing systems have problems too — if you go by author you have to know who wrote the book you’re looking for, if it’s by topic then you have to know which topic it was filed under (is that italian architecture book in with the art books or in with the italy books?) etc.
Wow…lovely colors.
Do you even know how to read or do you just buy them for all the pretty pictures??
It’s not only beautiful but I find it a good way of organizing books. Guess many of you disagree, but that’s how I find my books, by the colour on the spine, this way you can just wonder over to the pink section or whatever and there you go!
My bookcase is a terrible mess… this has inspired me to get my act together and tidy it up!
Though it would be tricky if you had a book series… they do look nice all lined up together… 
That’s hot!!
Wow, really nice color palette there.
I like it! I should do that with my books.
There was an artist in San Francisco who organized an entire used bookstore (Adobe Books) by color. Sad to say I missed the show but was told is was quite impressive.
It’s way cool…but I wonder how you would find anything
That is awesomely beautiful!
Whats with the bath towel on the couch?
good luck trying to find the book you want to read
I wouldnt have the patience to find a book
Style over substance. Nice look but there’s something wrong with organizing a bookshelf based on color rather than content. Why not just buy fake books colored the way you want them? Or use paint on a fake bookshelf?
wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
How would one differentiate books by category?
This seems unduly problematic. This postmodern blasphemy should be called out for what it is… Being ‘different’ for the sake of ‘being different’ is unoriginal and should be discouraged.
Hi i wanted to tell you that i absolutely love your blog it’s full of a tonne of great stuff!! I really enjoy reading it.. it’s so good! I also have a blog which i am trying to promote it’s called “Black in the new blog”, dont ask me why.. but i would love it if you could check it out at http://www.blackinblog.com
Keep up the great work!
Wow, that’s incredibly non-functional and lame… What will someone think of next to waste time?
Maybe I’ll arrange my boogers by color and size, with interesting geometric shapes… Yeah I’m just that trendy!
“You know how I know you’re gay? You have a rainbow bookcase in your house.”
freak!
Wow! What an amazingly pointless way to organize books. How the heck do you find anything – with a catalog “number” that’s a color wheel?
O man, I did that with my bookshelf! My coworkers thought it was dumb, but it’s a great way to organize your books in technology since different types or topics of books are often color coded. Not as impressive as this bookshelf however!
this is actually a terrible idea because you will never be able to find anything. this only works if you are interested in any book. sorry, i still think it looks really cool.
Can you say ‘autism’?
good luck finding the book you want to read now. You just have to remember which one of the 100 shades of pink it is.
not practical
Rainbow Bookshelf…
Over the time you’ve seen a lot of bookshelves on Freshome, but what I’ve found today is really impressive. I was browsing Flickr and I found this beautiful example of organizing books by color…
Wow, out of question how long did arranging all that take? I probably do not have the patience to get even half way through.
Pretty… but useless, as you’d never be able to find the book you wanted :S
THats pretty cool.
this is so pretty man!
Thanksgiving Table Decorations : Freshome Facebook Photo Contest
'Twilight: New Moon' Film House for Sale 
Rewrite Desk : Designed to Take your Productivity to Another Level
Coffee Table that Encourages Clean Surface Space
