6 well-thought-out homes with libraries

Houston, Texas

The library in this 2006 Tudor Revival has richly carved dark wood book coves, a cornice, a fireplace and diamond-paned leaded windows. The four-bedroom house features period-appropriate pocket doors, coffered ceilings, and inlaid-wood floors; a grand staircase and window seats; a primary suite with fireplace, balcony, and spa bath; and a chef’s kitchen, wine room, and butler’s pantry. 

The lot is landscaped with a patio, lawn, shrubs, and mature trees; Hermann Park and the Houston Zoo are a 10-minute drive. $3,695,000. Gordana Vickers, Compass, (713) 703-6299.

Pipersville, Pennsylvania

The library at Wolf Hall, a five-bedroom converted 1875 stone barn, features walls of bookcases, two seating areas, one with a wood stove, and a vaulted central space with a massive Palladian window. The historic home also has a beamed great room, chef’s kitchen, second kitchen, and downstairs hot tub, resistance pool, and sauna. 

The 6.28-acre estate on the Delaware River has patios, a greenhouse, a pool and pool house, a cottage, a studio, and a three-car EV garage. $2,850,000. Lisa Frushone, Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty, (908) 413-0156.

New Canaan, Connecticut

The two wings of the library at Celanese House lie at either end of the living room, brightened by white shelving, floor-to-ceiling windows, and bleached-oak floors. The 1959 four-bedroom home designed by Edward Durell Stone features a lattice façade, 12 pyramidal skylights, and an updated, high-end kitchen opening to the backyard patio. 

The 2-acre landscaped lot on Oenoke Ridge is 70 minutes by car from midtown Manhattan. $4,700,000. Hannelore Kaplan, William Raveis Real Estate–New Canaan/ Luxury Portfolio International, (914) 450-3880.

Chicago, Illinois

This two-bedroom condo in a Magnificent Mile high-rise includes a wood-paneled library with floor-to-ceiling carved, illuminated bookshelves. The home has reclaimed barnwood floors, oversize windows framing Lake Michigan and the city, a chef’s kitchen and pantry, generous living and dining rooms, and two studies. 

The building’s boutique-residence group has access to a private green roof with patio and amenities both in-house and at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago next door, and Oak Street Beach is just a short walk. $3,775,000. Katherine Malkin, Compass, (312) 576-5200.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

The library in this one-bedroom Pueblo-style home features a kiva fireplace, viga-and-latilla ceiling, skylight, oversize windows, and walls of tall bookcases. The house also has a living room with a central fireplace, a breakfast room, and a roof deck with mountain views. 

The 2.65-acre lush property on the Old Santa Fe Trail includes a one-bedroom guesthouse, fruit trees, cottonwoods, and a stream with waterfall and aquatic wildlife; Santa Fe Plaza is 5 minutes’ drive. $4,750,000. Chris Webster, Sotheby’s International Realty–Santa Fe, (505) 780-9500.

Guilford, Maine

The 1902 Guilford Bed and Breakfast, on the National Register of Historic Places, includes a library with carved bookshelves, mahogany-clad walls, a bay window with a window seat, and a fireplace. The eight-bedroom Victorian house, which can be used as a single residence, features ornate stairs, murals, stained glass, a chef’s kitchen and pantry, and formal dining and sitting rooms; the antique furnishings are also for sale. 

Outside are a screened porch, gardens, lawns, a carriage house, parking, and the Piscataquis River, a short walk. $499,900. Dorothea Perkins, Realty of Maine–Dover Foxcroft, (207) 279-0571.

This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.