Decorating the "Library"

I don't normally write about home decorating, but today I'm feeling inspired. A few weeks ago I read a post by Peppermints and Pixie Dust where she talked about her desk at home and her desk at school and how the two environments had very different feels, and affected her state of mind differently too. It made me think of my home office and what kind of mood I'd like it to project.

The second bit of inspiration hit me during a visit to the Denver Art Museum. I walked by a large cupboard filled with globes, clocks, and other antiquities. It was placed outside the entrance to one of the floors, a mix between an art piece and museum decor. I wish I had taken a picture because I was so drawn to it, probably because I love travel, books, and antiques.

I mulled it over for the next week or two, and I decided I wanted my home office to have the feel of an old-fashioned library, but I wanted to update that with modern details, especially the wall hangings.

The third and final instigator was a trip to Pottery Barn. This globe immediately caught my eye, for the reasons I just mentioned. Even though I went in with the intention of buying a candle holder, I left with a candle holder and a globe.

I was also intrigued by these gold-colored office supplies. They are a little over-the-top, but they could also add a lot of panache to an otherwise ordinary room. I haven't bought them yet.

This is the part where you get to see how I'm clumsily putting it all together. We inherited this big gray file cabinet. It's not pretty, but it's very useful, and for lack of a better place, I put the globe right on top of it. Something must be working despite my clumsy efforts because I referred to the office as the "library" the other day.

I'd already bought a little gray couch from Ikea for the room and the navy blue curtains and black curtain rods from Target, as well as an oak desk to match the oak bookcases. Next on my list is to organize the books. My friend Kayla has done it by color, which I think looks really nice. I'll still keep fiction on the left and nonfiction on the right. I'm also thinking about leaving one shelf free of books and filling it up with my own little artifacts.

What design projects have you been working on? Do you have any suggestions for my file cabinet or book shelves, or any ideas for creating my library look?