BH | Studio Dedham 72-Inch Arched Bookcase

The arch has framed books for a long time. In Georgian and Victorian houses, shelves were often fitted into the recesses either side of a chimney breast, and the finest of those alcoves were finished with a rounded head, so the books sat inside a shape borrowed from a doorway or a window.

This is the broadest of the three, standing about six feet tall, with front and back frames that both rise into a full rounded arch. Four wide shelves sit between them, open at the back and sides so the wall shows through and the piece never looks heavy, even fully loaded. It is built in wood in a Blonde, Jet or Chestnut finish, and together the shelves will carry up to 220 lbs, plenty for rows of hardbacks. Glides under the feet keep floors unmarked. It needs assembly.

Give it a long wall in a living room and fill it the way a library would: hardbacks low down, paperbacks above, a few pieces of pottery and a framed print under the arch. It is just as good as a display piece in an empty corner, holding the things you have collected over the years. In a pale room with linen curtains and a jute rug, the open frame adds character without weight.