Make your home look like New York Public Library’s iconic reading room

Rima Suqi

featured

Sep 30, 2016

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The New York Public Library’s Rose Main Reading Room has been shuttered for two years while undergoing renovations, but it will reopen this October — fully restored to its 1911 Beaux Arts glory. Steal style inspiration from its classic furnishings and ornamental details, set in perfect symmetry beneath an intricate ceiling framing a celestial mural by James Wall Finn. COURTESY OF NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

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Soar to Beaux Arts heights with these winged baubles; their ornate filigree echoes the Reading Room’s ceiling. “Moth” oxidized-brass earrings with Swarovski crystals, $350 at MiriamHaskell.com Courtesy of the Designer

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Who says bookworms can’t steal the spotlight? This showstopper is a modern-industrial homage to the tiered chandeliers that give the library its famous glow. “Cosmos” 7-ring chandelier, $5,895 at RestorationHardware.com COURTESY OF THE DESIGNER

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The Reading Room’s walls may look like stone blocks, but they’re actually clever plasterwork. Similarly, this 1870s wooden curio seems to have tortoise-and-marble detailing, but it’s a faux-finish trick from an expert painter. Antique Italian Renaissance-style cabinet, $8,200 at DavidDuncanLtd.com Courtesy of the Designer

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What’s the Dewey Decimal classification for cool? Throw a little shade with sustainable sunnies that match the stacks. “Dione Noce” sunglasses, $109 at We-Wood.us Courtesy of the Designer

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Get on the Wright side of history with the architect’s iconic 1908 cubby-hole desk — perfect for stashing your library card. Frank Lloyd Wright “Meyer May” desk, from $3,920 at Cassina.com Courtesy of the Designer

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Check out this golden bracelet with green amethysts and coil pearls — it looks as if it were plucked from the Reading Room’s ceilings. “Cross” cuff, $925 at PatriciaPeckinpaugh.com COURTESY OF THE DESIGNER

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Give your walls the gilded treatment with this luminous wallpaper, whose hexagonal pattern is based on a late-19th-century sculpture. David Nosanchuk “Golden Relief” wallpaper, from $300 per roll at FlavorPaper.com Courtesy of the Designer

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Circle ’round this gold-leaf table with an of-the-era antique mirrored top, handcrafted by a South Carolina company that’s won awards for historical conservation. “Yeadon” dining table, from $6,100 at Avrett.com COURTESY OF THE DESIGNER

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Enlighten yourself under the metallic shade of this lamp — a nod to the bronze numbers in the NYPL and inspired by French bibliothèques. “St. Germain” table lamp, $485 at JonathanAdler.com Courtesy of the Designer

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You’ll roar in delight for mini versions of the lions that flank the library’s entrance — these wild beasts are perfectly sized for guarding bookshelves. White marble “Canova Lions,” $10,109 at Lapicida.com Courtesy of the Designer

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Nearly an exact replica of the Reading Room’s chairs, this steam-bent oak piece is the ultimate hot seat. Jasper Furniture “Boston Library Chair,” from $420 at WorthingtonDirect.com Courtesy of the Designer

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