COLORFUL SISTERS

Bookworm’s Paradise – Baldwin’s Book Barn | West Chester, Pennsylvania

Who doesn’t love a good bookstore? Rows and rows of textured leather covers, endless unique treasures to be discovered. The smell of old books filling the pleasantly stuffy air. Creaking floorboards and rustic wooden chairs. A rainy day and the scene is set. That was just what we were looking for when we headed to one of our favorite places – Baldwin Book Barn.

Visiting Baldwin Book Barn

Any bookworm or lover of old books will be in paradise in Baldwin Book Barn in West Chester, Pennsylvania – the most beautiful bookstore I’ve yet to visit. This bookstore contains 5 floors of thousands and thousands of used, vintage, and antique books. They have over 300,000 books just waiting to be discovered!

Baldwin book barn - bookshop bookstore

Built in 1822, what is now a lovely bookstore, was originally built to be a barn. Perfect way to revamp it no? Wandering through the maze of perfectly organized books you can find anything from vintage comics, antique collectors editions, old maps and blueprints to modern used books.

And the best part of all is that the place is filled with adorable little nooks. Thinking of spending the whole day perusing and reading before making your choice on which one to take home? No worries because the place is filled with countless rustic chairs to help you enjoy.

Baldwin book barn - bookshop bookstore

I always have a hard time deciding what book to buy when I go to a bookstore, especially when there are soooo many books to choose from. It can be a bit overwhelming! But at least here there is the opportunity to take your time, far away from everyone else and decide.

Baldwin book barn - bookshop bookstore

The place is so large, with such small, windy hallways and low ceilings that it’s almost easy to get lost! But who wouldn’t want to get lost in a maze of books?

Things to Do in the Area

Chester County, Pennsylvania (of which West Chester is a part) is filled with amazing and fun places to go and things to do. Whether you’re looking for quaint cafes, excursions to the nature, or interesting things to do, Chester County has it all! Here are some of my favorite things to do that are super close to Baldwin Book Barn!

West Chester Pa

West Chester “Downtown”

Baldwin Book Barn is located under 10 minutes away from “downtown” West Chester. West Chester is a super cute and quaint place with an unmatched small town feel. Coffee shops, local stores, and one of a kind places abound. Just walking through the brick and cobblestone-like pathways give you the perfect small and old town feel. Check out Malena’s Boutique for pristine and fun vintage pieces or Roots Café for a local, organic bite to eat.

Apple Picking

Although this is very dependent on the season, Pennsylvania has endless opportunities to go fruit and apple picking! Highland Orchards in West Chester has fruits to pick all year round, berries, apples, pumpkins, and more. And don’t forget to try their famous apple cider donuts in the fall!

View the full post here: FALL FUN: HIGHLAND ORCHARDS – APPLE PICKING, PUMPKINS, AND DONUTS | WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA

Looking for more amazing things to do in Pennsylvania? Check out our USA-Pennsylvania page for lots of unique and fun things to do.

Lots of Love, Safe Travels, and Happy Reading,

Danielle and Brooke, Colorful Sisters

67 Comments

  1. […] View the full post here: BOOKWORM’S PARADISE – BALDWIN’S BOOK BARN | WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA […]

  2. really nice colors! 😍

    1. You can almost smell the old books right? 😍

    2. I agree – really nice colours. And I love the coordination between the background tints and tones, the colours of your clothing and the hue of your skin. Masterful photography.

      1. Thank you so much!! Although we often plan outfits when we go to do a photoshoot, this time was completely unplanned and we love the way it turned out!

      2. Me too. 🙂 How’d you get started in this … endeavour (rubbish word but better than ‘thing’)?

      3. Our mom was a fashion designer and photographer so we grew up doing lots of photoshoots with her and I guess the fashion and the photography stuck with us too! A great way for us to use our artistic side!

      4. Very true. Well, like I say, you have a great blog and you write beautifully so I wish you much success in all your endeavours. 🙂
        *backs out gracefully before y’all get the impression that I’m some kind of a sycophant*

      5. Hahahahah thank you so much! Truly appreciate it. We wish you all the best in your endeavours as well!

      6. Ta muchly. 😉

  3. I have been to West Chester a few times to ride the train. Nice little town.

    1. Yess it’s quite cute! I’ve never ridden the train though 😊

      1. It is a nice train ride. You do not realize that you are surrounded by development. It was once a commuter train to Philadelphia.

      2. Sounds cool!! I’ll keep it in mind for my next visit 😍

  4. Looks like a great book shop.

  5. Charlee: “This looks like a place our Dada would love to visit!”
    Chaplin: “Doesn’t Dada do all his reading on that e-paper gadget of his these days?”
    Charlee: “What has that got to do with visiting a five-story store full of old books?”

    1. Hahahah amazing!!

  6. Love Love old book stores. Such a neat find.

    1. Isn’t it? I’m so happy we found it when we were young and were able to visit so many times 🙂

  7. It looks really lovely!

    1. It truly is!!

  8. This was an amazing bookstore, the fact that it is almost 200 years old add to its charm. The books you were holding looked a treasure trove of delight. And you clicked some stunning pictures….stupendous blog and a great post!!

    1. Thank you so much! The age certainly does add to the charm of the place. Could spend so much time just walking around and relaxing there 🙂

      1. Absolutely, perfect place to spend an entire weekend engrossed in books and its rustic charm!

  9. This bookstore looks amaaaazing! I’ve been to West Chester once and it was so cute!

    1. Yess it really is! 🙂

  10. All pictures and locations look wonderful, but that book store? Wow that is stunning

    1. It really is a little dreamland of a bookstore 🙂

  11. what an amazing bookshop

    1. Among the best!!

  12. West Chester and the Baldwin Book Barn look like my kind of places to visit and hang out for a spell. Greetings from central Ohio.

    1. I hope you manage to pop over to Pennsylvania for a visit someday!

  13. Oh my goodness! We love bookstores and can’t get enough of them! We have added this one to our list! We could hear the floor creaking as we were reading. Nice work.

  14. You had me at “Bookworm”.
    What a lovely blog!

    Slainte,

    Paz

    1. Hahahah I’m happy you enjoyed!!

  15. Thanks for visiting and following my blog. I love the way you design and find colors to match the theme of where you’re going. Amazing talent!

    1. Thank you so much!! I’m happy that you appreciate 🙂

  16. What a lovely post about West Chester, PA. I especially love the outdoor cafe in the downtown area. It has a European vibe. Thanks for dropping by my blog. Who doesn’t love fashion and travel? Wanderlust is within me too. Be well. Nice meeting you both.

    1. Thank you so much as well for stopping by and happy that you enjoyed! I love the outdoor cafes too! It really is just like in Europe 🙂

      1. Be well and stop on by to read the new post today. https://drniemczura.wordpress.com

  17. Simply love those books (I could spend hours) and the photos are just amazing. Loved the blog.

    1. Thank you so much!! And it really would be so easy to spend hours there 🙂

  18. What a beautiful place! I would have taken advantage of the amazing photo opps, too 🙂

    1. It really was the perfect spot for a photo op!!

  19. It must have been such a wonderful feeling being around all of those amazing books, have you discovered any more talents of yours over there that day:) ?

  20. Great very nice I love to explore the world. Thanks for such passionate words and clicks. You make me feel just I was there experience just while seating at home

    1. I’m so happy you appreciate!!! And happy that you were able to experience a little bit of these awesome place from home!

  21. Super cool. Live not too far from this area and didn’t know about this bookstore. Definitely looks like a place everyone should check out that enjoys books. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Oh wow you should definitely check it out! I’m sure you’d love it 🙂

      1. I’ll have, too. Thanks again. Have a great week!

  22. Definitely looks like a place all bookworms need to visit!

    Thanks so much for following The Write Edge. I hope you find the posts interesting and informative. Have a great Thanksgiving, and all the best to both of you on your blogging and traveling journey!

    1. Thank you so much! The same to you 🙂

  23. Sounds like my kind of place!

    1. Truly unique!

  24. My humans idea of heaven. They would spend way too much time in there, reading as many as they could. To hold an old book and feel the work that has gone into producing it, is a wonderful thing.

    1. It is really an incredibly amazing place!!

    1. It really is!!

  25. Fantastic post, and look forward to visiting the bookstore during my next (post covid-19) trip to Pennsylvania.

    1. Yayyy I hope you get to!!

  26. That looks wonderful, I could easily spend a whole day there.

    1. Yessss for sure!!! Truly a special place 🙂

  27. Hello,

    I love your website…….it is so colorful! Great Blog about the bookstore! Thanks for stopping by my website and blog. If you love bookstores, you will find this link interesting. I hope to see more of your adventures!

    Zulu Delta

    https://zuludelta45.net/2017/04/25/underdogs-of-the-book-world/

    1. Ooooo how exciting! I will take a look 🙂 And thank you so much!

  28. Pennsylvanian here! Thanks for highlighting one of our “hidden gems”!

    1. Ooo yayy! So happy that you also enjoy..Assuming you’ve visited?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: