For some reason, it seems that every product I write about lately is available in black or white lacquer–not that there’s anything wrong with that. The new storage system by Ligne Roset, designed by Pagnon and Pelhaitre is no exception. Shiny, glowing, gleaming, and resplendent, high-gloss lacquer has a distinct appeal that perhaps ties in to our primordial attraction to gems. But the design duo offers a sedate alternative as all the pieces in their Book and Look collection are also available in walnut veneer, that staple of good design that holds up across the decades.

Book and Look. Designed by Pagnon and Pelhaitre for Ligne Roset.

Whether you go for the flashy lacquer or the traditional wood, the Book and Look pieces can be combined in different ways based on your storage needs. The options are only limited by your imagination. Open shelving, cabinets with doors, and interior drawers are all available. Chests come with open niches and one, two, and four door models with frames in aluminum lacquer. Podiums stand from just under four feet to just over seven. Doors can be made of lacquer or clear glass, so you can either hide your collection of illicit videos or display your priceless Chihuly. Of course, these doors are equipped with a “push-catch” opening system because a) the clean lines should not be interrupted by protruding knobs and b) millennial humans are losing their ability to grab–just kidding, though sometimes I wonder. For those of you who cannot live without your large flat-screen televisions (and you know who you are, you addicts of HGTV and Bravo), the podiums can be topped with a TV-ready wall panel.

While the Book and Look collection is perfect for a living room, the pieces also work in a dining room, bedroom, den, or library (my favorite). Especially in black or white lacquer, the open-niche podiums make excellent bookcases. I particularly like the way the serious, matte books look against the shiny, sleek material.