This room is very much not my style and, yes, there is no visible ladder (edit: a bald-faced lie. It’s actually on the left-hand-side of the fireplace) but, for what ever reason, I find it quite intriguing. Not necessarily a room I’d want in my own home but still very interesting and strangely welcoming, despite its modern simplicity. Even more interesting are those chairs: how, exactly, does one sit comfortably in them?
The Captive Reader 
Not my cup of tea, the fire is faux (unless the books above contain a hidden chimney), it is neither light, nor dark and not a cosy chair to curl up in to be seen. The light fitting also oddly distracts from the main show – the books.
I’m always so interested in what your library lust will be for the week. I think there is a ladder, to the left, the third vertical row of books. For me, I could probably manage to get comfortable in those chairs, but, how-in-the-world would a granny like me get out of them?
I agree, not my cup of tea either. I don’t like the all-brown look, especially that overbearing ceiling (when was it necessary for a ceiling to mirror the floor? Well, Robert Adam did it beautifully with plasterwork and magnificent carpets – see, for example, Saltram House, Plymouth, Devon) but wood like this just looks like you’re inside an upmarket match box! As for that white square thing for a coffee table …
Sorry, I don’t see a thing to recommend it, because I think that, like the fire, the books are false. Or at least bought by the metre. Long sections of law books and matching spines that hint at outdated encyclopaedias.
Perhaps the terrace and glimpsed view are more enticing.
I sort of like the room but looking at the books it does almost look like they’re only for show!:) Now if I were to put *my* books there, switch out those awful (uncomfortable) chairs, it might be more to my tastes. I think it is less about being a room for readers than something artistic? I wonder when it was designed?
I think it has some quality to it, this room. But if I was to (re-)design it, I would definitively not have used floor boards in the ceiling! And a fake fireplace – no way!
oh, but look how thick and plush the rug looks…!
I agree, the books look like they were bought by the yard. Nevertheless, storing books above a (possibly not faux) fire is a bad idea — both for the skirt wearer and the book she’s reaching for.