Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

Thatcher Wine thinks of bookcases like canvases.  His company, Juniper Books, helps collectors and designers curate beautifully designed libraries filling the shelves with custom curated tomes matching their interests, completing a collection, or sourcing books of interest that bibliophiles will envy.

But what sets Thatcher apart from others that do what he does, is that Thatcher also designs custom dust jackets to take the shelves to new heights.  Whether your goal is to fill the book case with (faux) antique books or carry through a color or design theme, there's a cover for that.

The designer of the Icon Spa in Miami wanted to use the books as a layering component for texture and interest.  Clearly they were not meant to be opened, let alone read

If this doesn't a make a WOW design statement ~ It takes the whole room to a different place

The white books and mirrored shelves say contemporary, stylish, symmetrical, and savvy.

His business took off in an entirely different direction when Wine started designing custom covers to "decorate the shelves" of the well fashioned library.  Some of Juniper’s compositions—beguiling patterns, brightly colored spines—are available for order through the company website, but it’s the complex custom projects that seem to give Wine the most satisfaction.  Of all his projects to date, Wine is happiest about one that Juniper recently executed for a golf club in Texas.  “It’s one big image of their course on the wall,” he says about the complex image that required extensive modeling, trial and error.  Libraries like this aren't necessarily for the truly bookish: the books in the golf course clubhouse aren't really intended to be read, just looked at.

If you're a piano player,  you may enjoy this ~  piano keys were photographed, blown up and precisely cut into dozens of dust jackets that create just the right note on the shelves.

A war buff ~ 

feeling patriotic? 

or playful ~ 

With the proliferation of e-readers and iPads, it's nice to know we still need books, even if part of the reason is purely decorative.  It's just another way to personalize your little piece of the world. 

We've been wrapping books for years (remember every September when a new school year began?), so I know it's easy and fun.  The beauty is in the repetitive nature of the pattern and the artistic eye it takes to elevate your bookshelves.  That's where the magic happens.