Ya know, I recently watched this video, and ever since I’ve done nothing but dream about what go in my own “Bleak House.”  I’m a big fan of “shelf porn,” you know, those internet sites and articles where people show off the stuff in their offices?  Their bookshelves full of collectibles, their stacks of DVDs, the original comic art on their walls … I love seeing all of it.  I love seeing what inspires artistic people, and what they decorate their inspirational spaces with.  My office is pretty barren right now, but I hope to one day have it decorated with original Knights of Reignsborough art (from Jake Ekiss), and a whole bunch of other goodies.  Still, it’s just one room.

Guillermo del Toro, director of the Hellboy movies and Pan’s Labyrinth, and one of my favorite directors, has a whole house.  I love how, what looks like a mess to some, is completely organized to him.  It tickles me that he has 17th century books sitting on the shelves next to softcover pulp, and first edition classics out in the open, like a comic with frayed edges from being read too much.  It’s funny that the only thing he keeps behind glass are models and toys, and even then, it’s probably just to not lose any pieces, or risk them breaking.  He has a ROOM dedicated to horror, and a hidden room behind a bookcase for fantasy.  Do you guys have shelf porn you want to show off?  E-mail me pics at paulkaponte@gmail.com and I’ll feature them on the site, along with pics of my office!  In the meantime, get some inspiration from del Toro giving us a tour of his BLEAK HOUSE (which you can read more about in this awesome article from The New Yorker).