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2nd Sep 2019
For those who have always wondered what it would be like to live the high life of a celebrity, look no further than this news. It’s been revealed Gwyneth Paltrow hired a book curator to help her choose books for her Los Angeles home, proving that with enough money it is possible to buy happiness — or at least five or six hundred books.
In an interview with Town and Country, Paltrow’s chosen book curator — yes, it’s a real job — Thatcher Wine, spilled the details on what exactly Paltrow required and how he went about it. Revealing Paltrow was in need of a few hundred books, Wine said he looked to her existing personal taste before investing in the additional space-fillers.
“Gwyneth remodeled her L.A. home a few years ago and when she moved in she realised she needed about five or six hundred more books to complete the shelves,” Wine said in the interview. Taking into account all areas of Paltrow’s interests, including those of her children, Wine then started his search, focusing on a few key areas.
“I looked at books she already owned, which focused on fashion, art, culture, photography, and architecture, as well as books that her kids liked. We expanded on those topics, and for the kids, we included a selection of classics that we thought they might like as they got older,” he said.
While the information gives us an idea of Paltrow’s interests and hobbies (outside of touting jade eggs and enjoying gluten free food, that is), the interview also shed some light on Paltrow’s interior aesthetic.
“In the family room we integrated the books into her existing collection so that it felt very light, inviting, and easy to grab off the shelves,” Wine said. “In the dining room, we stuck to a more rigid colour palette of black, white, and grey since it was less of a space where one might hang out and read.”
While Paltrow’s use of designer books chosen by a book curator might be seriously out of touch to the everyday person, it does pose an interesting question: how much of a library or book collection should be for personal choice and how much should be chosen to complement your design style?
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Wine has some thoughts, telling T&C “home libraries, especially those that contain a few dozen, hundred, or even thousands of books, are not about constant use of reading. They are a reflection of where you’ve been and where you want to go.”
And what if that favourite crime noir book jacket doesn’t quite fit in with the living room colour scheme? Well, if you’re Gwyneth Paltrow, it’s definitely not getting a spot on the shelf.