Admont Double Bookcase With Ladder

The Admont Double Bookcase from Four Hands is a wall-filling library piece built from solid oak and oak veneer, finished in a worn black that lets the grain read through the color. It is double-width, with open shelving and glass doors that slide aside to reach the storage behind them. A decorative iron ladder in a dark gunmetal finish comes with the case and rests against the shelves.

The design borrows from traditional European libraries, where a tall case, a ladder and glass-fronted shelves signaled a room built around books. The worn black finish looks like aged, ebonized wood, so it sits comfortably beside brass lamps, leather club chairs, plaster walls and saturated paint colors. The iron ladder adds a second material and a bit of theater.

Use it as the anchor of a living room wall, a home library or a reading room with generous ceiling height. Books and ceramics can stay on view, while the glass doors keep dust off the objects you handle less often. The ladder reaches the top shelves, and it also works as a place to lean a throw or a framed print.