Bookshelf behind dining table

Here's how to create a small, functional comfy zone for eating in your own home.

A curated gallery wall and lots of books give a lot of personality to this dining room, while the dining benches keep the space light and airy

I was sitting in my dining room the other day when it struck me just how boring the room is. It’s furnished with a table. And chairs. And that’s it. What if — I began to wonder — one was surrounded by shelves and shelves of books in the dining room? Here are some inspiring examples.Not only would it serve an aesthetic purpose, but a practical one, too. When the room (or area) wasn’t being used for dining, it could function as a library of sorts.

It looks like a work of art!

library/built-in seating for the dining

Blogged about at roomlust.blogspot.com/. Greenwich Village living room designed by Pappas Miron. Photo from www.pappasmiron.com.

This Where I Work visits Christiane Lemieux in her 2,800-square-foot studio in Tribeca's design district to see where she creates and runs The Inside.

#MyDomaineTIPS: When it comes to wall color, each of our experts recommended a neutral palette with white walls and ceilings to visually brighten a room and make it appear larger.

Who wouldn’t smile at a peach-pink ceiling?

How to squeeze in all your favorite reads

If you’re like me, you spend half the day on a mission to find the second missing sock, torturing your family members with never-ending "have you seen" questions about this and that, trapping yourself in the eternal "lost and found" limbo. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be this way, so bear with us.

books, dining room

Located in the historic Oliver Cromwell Building, The W72nd penthouse inhabits the top three floors of the historic building in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. With commanding views of Central Park, it’s an awe-inspiring refuge from the frenetic pace of NYC. The clients, a financier and a...