"You can stack books in a corner in the living room. Use the books like a table and keep something on top of them,’ is Mattu’s solution for large books giving a ‘carefully careless look.’ For keeping books in the drawing room, "you can utilise the space beneath the coffee table to make a book rack," says Sarguro. Likewise, the space underneath the side tables can be utilised too. Iyer suggests making a magazine rack behind a door. ‘You can make racks like those in trains, only with a different material like powder coated mild steel instead of the net that they use.’

Kavita Krishnamurthy, a student in a small apartment, has found a solution to some of the book-storing worries. ‘I have put kadappa stone tiles on one side of my balcony wall right up to the ceiling, and I use that space as a library,’ she says. The space under a staircase is ideal for keeping books too. Majula S, a homemaker finds herself using the wall unit in the drawing room as storage for her bulky computer manuals which are too big to fit in anywhere else.

These days bookshelves are not made of wood alone. Glass, acrylic, wrought iron, steel and pre-laminated boards are also used to make shelves. ‘An all glass shelf supported by aluminium or wood gives the room a very light feel,’ says Iyer. Hanging book shelves from a high tension steel cable is also another idea.

Keeping urban lifestyle in mind, Gautier has come out with a range of Metro furniture which has modular add-on units. "We have 1-2-3 shelf piecemeal units to which you can add more shelves either vertically or horizontally at a later stage," says George Koodaly of Gautier.

"Books add a wonderful, textural feel to any space. They also add colour to the wall. They make a living space look lived in and comfortable," says architect Kalhan Mattu, insisting that book shelves are not merely the most convenient appendages to store your favourite authors in, but also an integral part of interior design. "You can use a bookcase as a divide between drawing and dining areas or any other spaces that you would like to divide."

"I would also like to use just the book jackets to create a design on a corridor wall," he suggests. When making a book-shelf , Iyer has this advice: "Every two feet, leave some space to keep some decorative items so the space does not look congested." Mattu suggests using books as an integral part of the interior design. "On a long wall, you can make a step-fashioned staircase going nowhere for a bookshelf, in bent glass," he says.

Books feature in vaastu and feng shui too. Says Iyer, "Heavy things should be kept in the West and South corners. So, while its okay to accommodate lighter books like novels in the east and north areas, I take care not to load these directions with heavy books." If you are a feng shui follower you will need to identify which of the eight areas is your study corner and keep the books there. LMN