Be Prepared For The Coolest Bookshelves Ever

I've never fully understood that whole "Don't judge a book by its cover" adage — after all, most covers have been carefully designed to send you a very specific message about what to expect from the book. Plus, I happen to like book covers and think that most of them are pretty cool. But it turns out that book covers can be even cooler than we already knew, with a little help from Thatcher Wine, a library designer whose designs make my bookish soul very, very happy.

Based in Boulder, Colorado, Thatcher Wine's company Juniper Books works with people who have private libraries in order to design book covers that will make their shelves pop. Sometimes the books add up to form a picture, other times they might all have paper covers in a certain color scheme to match the room. Sometimes the point is just to give the books a unified appearance. But they are all really freaking cool.

This isn't the first instance we've seen books being used as art objects, of course. If the rise of eBooks has taught us all anything, it's that hard copies don't just contain words, they also are physical objects. And people have been turning them into art objects accordingly. Take for instance the book with a 3-D cover, or the Internet's newfound love of bookshelf porn. Because if you're going to have physical books, after all, they should look cool.

Giving your library a Thatcher Wine makeover isn't cheap — in fact it can set you back up to $750 per foot. But I can still dream. One look at 'em, and you will, too:

See the whole video about the process at the CBS Sunday Morning site, which is definitely worth the few minutes it'll take to watch.

Images: Juniper Books; CBS Sunday Morning