The latest in our Everyman's Library how to's, furniture designer Matthew Elton offers his advice on the perfect storage solutions to put your books to the best visual effect.
Books play an important part in Matthew's furniture designs - he celebrates the way they look and feel, their size, shape and even their smell! With this in mind, we asked him for a few interior tips for creating an eye-catching feature out of your library.
"Organisation draws the eye for all the right reasons – you might want to display your collection alphabetically, by one colour per shelf or even through the colour spectrum along the shelf. Size matters – I find keeping larger art and design books lower down and smaller novels and poetry collections along the top shelves creates balance both physically and visually. Freestanding shelving units are making a huge come-back, allowing you to make a real feature of your favourite tomes, either front on to showcase the cover or side by side to display the spine."
Put Matthew's designer tips to work by shopping our collection of storage and shelving.
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[ INSPIRATION ]
Trends & Lifestyle
Whether you're in search of tidy designs for small spaces or a statement piece for your pad, we've got just the thing to make your Home Office work.
With increasing numbers opting to set up their own business, go freelance or escaping the busy office environment, there's never been a better incentive to create a smart Home Office space. To get you excited about the short commute to your desk, we've picked out a range of contemporary home office furniture that work within a range of price points.
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The Studio Flat The playful lines of mid-century design make a welcome distraction to any workspace. Celine Desk by Nazanin Kamali £450, Case 675 Chair by Robin Day £275, Tab Table Lamp in white £205.
The City Space
Get your Home Office ship-shape with the geometric form of these contemporary classics.
Primary Desk by Nathan Yong £1595, Orlo Side Chair in black leather £345, Crawford Table Lamp in White £175, Primary Half Clock £65.
The Penthouse Pad
Whether for work, rest or play, every space deserves a touch of designer luxury.
Orson Desk by Matthew Hilton £3042, Manta Chair £870, Type 75 Deks Lamp by Kenneth Grange £130 and McQueen Bedside Table £2070.
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Whether you're supporting the home nations at Euro 2016, cheering on Andy Murray at Wimbledon or willing team GB to go for gold at the Rio Olympics, we show you how to create the perfect space to enjoy the summer of sport.
Even if you are on the edge of your seat it still helps to have a comfy to sofa to perch on. With its mix of modern silhouette and comfortably cushioned upholstery, the Slouch Loveseat (pictured above) provides the ideal place to watch the drama unfold.
Our Sofa Guarantee also ensures quality that will last for years to come, ideal when you find yourself jumping on the sofa in celebration. To give it that homely feel, top with Soft Furnishings such as the Honeycomb Throw for an accent of colour.
You can't go wrong with walnut, especially the timeless yet contemporary look of our exclusive Check Tall Storage Unit and AV unit, which provides the perfect place for your TV and media system.
To complement these rich timber furnishings, we've paired with the Chanterelle Occasional Table by Ligne Roset topped with a Carats Glass Tumbler for those moments when you need a little light refreshment to calm the nerves.
When it comes to those big occasions, atmosphere is everything. Floor standing lamps are great for setting the mood and also provide sculptural silhouettes to the room. Try Tom Raffield's graceful Skipper Floor Light, each of which is traditionally steam bent in Cornwall from Walnut.
So now the stage is set, all that's missing is you. Discover our full range of contemporary Sofas and Living Room furniture and save up to 40% by shopping the Heal's Sale today.
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For the first instalment in our Everyman's Library guest posts, we look at how to begin building a library any literary scholar would be proud of.
School of Life bibliotherapists Ella Berthoud, Susan Elderkin and Simona Lyons met as English students at Cambridge University, and were instantly drawn together by a deep and shared passion for literature. In their chosen career they live, breathe and dream books.
What they love about their job is the satisfaction of finding exactly the right book for the right person at the right time in their lives. Simona offers her advice on starting to collect a library of your own.
Select books to mark significant moments in your life - a childhood favourite in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Jane Eyre for a coming of age story, The Master and Margarita for times of travel and The Great Gatsby for leaving home.
Your bookshelves can be a great expression of your personality. Create a favourite shelf which could be organised chronologically by date read, so that your books form a literary diary of your life.
Create a reading nook somewhere in your house - a peaceful spot with natural light - free from all distractions.
Keep a reading journal. Whenever your finish reading a book, write down the title and author, the date and place you were when you read it, plus a few lines on how you felt about it. This will help you to cement your relationship with the book and, if it is a novel, enable the characters from the story to live on.
Find the perfect frame to start building your library with our collection of contemporary and classic Bookcases and Shelving.
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Our curated collection of marble design shows you how to incorporate this season's must-have material within your home.
For centuries marble has been a feature of opulent interiors, it's natural veined pattern adding an elegant contrast to a room setting dominated by solid woods. Yet the durability of the material also makes it a worthwhile investment for everyday family life, as is the case in many Italian homes where locally sourced white Carrara features prominently on worktops, counters and coffee tables.
Seduced by its functionality and style, designers from Tom Dixon to Lee Broom designers are once more returning to marble this time carving the ancient material into contemporary shapes and introducing modern solutions.
Marvel at Marble
Tom Dixon Stone range: Chopping Board £75, Serving Board £65 and Cake Stand £120.
Not only does marble provide a sense of grandeur to the table when used for serving dishes but is also very practical providing many years service especially when compared to wooden chopping and serve boards. Ideal for everything from petit fours to a cheese board, Tom Dixon's Stone range adds elegance to any dinner party pairing white Morwad marble with brass elements.
Lee Broom Chamber Pendant range in Small £840 or Large £960.
Unlike other more brittle types of stone, marble can be carved very thinly will still maintaining a solid shape. Lighting designers such as Lee Broom have taken advantage of these natural properties, with his Globe Table Lamp, Marble Tube Light and Chamber Pendant range all utilising the semi-translucent qualities of the material to create decorative diffusions of light.
Free Range Coffee Table £695 and Side Table £355 shown with Slouch Three Seater Sofa from £2,195, Kaiser Idell Table Lamp £536, Andria Rug £510 and Merino & Cashmere Throw £130.
While their modern form wouldn't look out of place in a cutting-edge, minimalist scheme, these marble tables from Blu Dot work just as well in a homely sitting room. Paired with the Slouch sofa, some modern soft furnishings and a few designer accessories, the clean white stone adds a light break from a strong navy palette.
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The modern metallic of choice, let our shiny new Copper mood-board bring some interior inspiration to your home.
Warm and lustrous, coppery tones are the perfect accent to minimal spaces or an opulent addition to classically styled rooms. Providing a modern alternative to traditional chandeliers, groups of lustred pendants have continued to prove popular as lighting centrepieces while the metallic finish also gives a fresh perspective when applied to home accessories such as mirrors, clocks and lamps.
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