Book Nooks: Looking for a Warm Place to Read
When the days grow short and the weather turns cold, few things warm the soul like a quiet place to read. Whether you do your reading on an e-reader or you prefer the heft and feel of a hard-bound tome, setting aside a place to read needn't be complicated or fussy.
Be sure a reading nook is well-lit and, in the winter, warm. If you keep comfort in mind while you're planning a reading space, you'll find excuses to read instead of listing the reasons why you don't.
In a world where quiet and solitude seem to be increasingly scarce commodities, creating a reading nook is a great way to draw a line in the sand and reclaim some time for yourself. The spaces that follow show a good mix of styles with a common theme: Each looks like an ideal place to while away a Sunday afternoon.
Be sure a reading nook is well-lit and, in the winter, warm. If you keep comfort in mind while you're planning a reading space, you'll find excuses to read instead of listing the reasons why you don't.
In a world where quiet and solitude seem to be increasingly scarce commodities, creating a reading nook is a great way to draw a line in the sand and reclaim some time for yourself. The spaces that follow show a good mix of styles with a common theme: Each looks like an ideal place to while away a Sunday afternoon.
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"Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house." –Henry Ward Beecher
To a lot of people, built in bookshelves and a built in place to read define the good life. This nook is flooded with light and a few hours in this space would cure even the worst case of winter blues.
To a lot of people, built in bookshelves and a built in place to read define the good life. This nook is flooded with light and a few hours in this space would cure even the worst case of winter blues.
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Harry Potter was a boy who slept in the cupboard under the stairs. Something tells me Harry's life would have turned out a little differently if his cupboard under the stairs were set up like this. The wall of pillows, a throw and a tucked away sconce make this an ideal spot to escape without going anywhere.
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Here's a library even Frank Lloyd Wright would like. It has an Arts and Crafts feel while still laying claim to 2010. The orange accent wall draws attention to the window and by placing a deeper color at the source of the room's natural light, it keeps this library as bright as possible.
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The reading nook in this kitchen is begging for a shared newspaper and a pot of coffee. Even though it's just feet away from the range and the sink, this nook might as well be in another house all together. It's a great example of how to be alone without being apart.
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Positioning this window seat over a radiator would make this the warmest spot available on a Saturday afternoon in January. The windows fill the space with sunlight during the day and recessed lights will brighten it up after dark. Add a comfortable cushion and some throw pillows and you're ready to go.
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| Two people, two chairs, two books, one big ottoman and a fireplace looks like domestic bliss to me.
The wooden paneling and the subdued lighting will make this the coziest room in the house. |
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People who like wide open spaces and clean lines like a nice place to read too. This nook combines a window seat and some storage without adding unnecessary ornament or distraction.
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Moving in the opposite direction, this reading nook combines bright colors and bold patterns to make quiet spot that begs for attention. Note the skylight and the varied light sources. This is a room made for use at any time of day.
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When speak of reading nooks as retreats I usually mean that psychologically. This one takes that sentiment literally and provides an actual retreat. I can see grandkids sneaking away in this space and letting their imaginations soar.
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| Sometimes, the best reading nook is an old chair with a slip cover in a previously underutilized space. A floor lamp and an end table complete this vignette and prove that you can carve out a space for yourself using furniture you have already. All you need is a bright, warm spot and you're all set.
What about you? Do you have a reading nook set aside for yourself? More: Cozy nooks and crannies |
Ideabook published on Dec. 2, 2010.
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"Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house." –Henry Ward Beecher
A home without a reading nook is like a home without a soul. Great post!
Our living room has open, double sided fireplace. On the other side is a small room the owners had as a billards room. We currently use it as a play room and have put tall bookshelves for our books in there. When the kids get too old to need a play room we plan to transform it into a library reading room with two cozy armchairs and ottoman in front of the fireplace and library reading table under the chandelier for our kids to do their schoolwork at and for family game night.
When dealing with books, it's not the number of books you need to plan for, but the linear feet of books. How many linear feet of shelving do you need?
The most inexpensive way to house books is to build in cabinets, with paint-grade wood, and paint the shelving white, black, or the color of your wall.
Most your books can be housed in shelves that are 9" or even 8" deep. When your space is small, reclaiming 3" depth back into your room makes a difference.
If you're not going to build/have built your shelves, the BILLY system at IKEA I'd recommend. It's more book-depth than most shelving, and it's simple enough not to argue with the books or with the rest of the room. Not white laminate, which looks too utilitarian to be everywhere. Once it's in place, and bolted to the wall against earthquakes, it's not that fragile (though it is when you take it down to move again and again like we have.) Definitely get the BILLY extension to add to the top, because:
Home shelving always looks better if it's not in standard 7' office height. Run your shelves to the ceiling. You need some gesture towards nonutilitarian when you have this many books at home.
Shelves in the hallway can be claustrophobic. Sometimes you have to do it anyway. If possible, try putting in counterheight bookshelves there. At least you'll have elbow room as you walk down that hall with the laundry basket--and it will feel that much more open.
When you have this many books, I give up on having an decorative stuff in the shelves. Except for maybe hanging some art over where the vertical and horizontal wood meets, assuming you don't mind swinging over moving the art to get to the books behind.
Overhead book lighting, same as you'd do overhead lighting on a painting. If you act like it's great enough to spotlight, it will be.
With thousands of books, I insist on shelving my collection by subject, and keeping all the first editions together on one high shelf. But some of my book loving friends swear by shelving by binding color, so the library looks less visually busy, more intentional. If you catalogue your books (with a scanner like from collectorz.com) you can set it up so you can still find a specific book, even if it's in the blue section.
Double shelve the paperbacks and/or stack them horizontally.
If you have a dining room, definitely line it with books. It's a natural.
If you frame out a window with books, and the room already has light coming from two sides, it seems to me you improve the quality of the light coming in, as the glare is softened. Make that bottom shelf at the window 18" deep so you can sit on it.
Remember, your library is not the Dead Sea where books go to die. A living collection means you allow yourself the possibility of passing on a few books from time to time, and new ones come in, and the collection breathes. Seriously, you will love the books more, as they loom over you everywhere, if they are not in charge of you.
You can buy bookshelves on wheels/tracks that slide full moveable bookshelves in front of stable wall bookshelves. It's an expensive and extreme and cool.
Do browse for "bookshelves" at houzz. I did before I had these built. The shelf heights actually differ by a few inches, so I could house more books filing the space. I wanted spare and modern, same white color as wall, and I made the horizontals and verticals heavier than necessary so it wouldn't look utilitarian--and to echo the built-ins in the adjoining room. I think I'm getting away with an even number of shelves too--my theory is that once you're filing a wall, you can do an even four or six or eight. The many books is statement enough.
Here's a quickie rendering of what I mean.