?A room without books is like a body without a soul,? said the philosopher Cicero, and some ravenous readers take this bit of wisdom to the extreme, collecting tome after tome until their homes look like the coziest of libraries. Books contain virtually endless fonts of knowledge, not to mention opportunities to escape into different worlds altogether, and their presence definitely adds a heft and soulfulness to any space. Many of us have organized entire rooms around our carefully curated book collections, but how about the entire house"
In this home just outside Paris, books literally form the foundation of the second floor, acting as load-bearing supports that help transition the space from one level to the next. With everything else in the home painted white, the built-in beechwood shelving units really shine, drawing the eye toward the spines of the books the owners have so lovingly acquired and displayed. Italian architect Andrea Mosca first found the home in a sad state, as it was a dark, deteriorating space in dire need of a renovation. The buyers had just spent time staying at a friend?s house that was also under renovation, with a huge, wall-sized bookshelf in the process of construction. Inspired by what they saw, they asked Mosca to create something similar for their new residence.

The result is the three-story, aptly named Bookshelf House, designed for a family of five, with two oversized bookshelves as its centerpiece. The main bookshelf, located along...