If you are a book lover, you know that there are very few pleasures in life that compare to curling up with a book and a glass of wine or hot chocolate (whatever your preference is) and spending some quality time with your true love – a good book. There are two types of book lovers: those who have switched to reading books on a Kindle and the “traditionalists” – these people love the smell of books, love the feeling of turning actual pages, can’t walk past a bookstore without walking in and spend countless hours online searching and ordering books by favorite authors. If you belong to the second category, you can probably skip a couple of steps outlined below. In either case, read up! Our today’s priority is to create the perfect space for you and your books.
Step 1: Allocate the space
There is nothing better than reading a book by the window on a rainy day or a sunny lazy Sunday morning. Therefore, we recommend selecting a spot closer to the window. Plus, it gives you the advantage of natural light. If you have space to take over the entire area, even better. If not, a corner will do.
Step 2: Create a home for your books
A book nook will not feel right if you are not surrounded by books when you’re in it! Luckily, there are plenty of ways to go. Here are a few fun options if you can afford to or prefer to buy bookshelves or can build a more elaborate set of shelves yourself:
However, if you can’t invest (or don’t want to) in a major transformation or want to create something yourself but don’t happen to be too handy, don’t worry because there are numerous options for incredibly easy DIY bookshelves. Here are a few tutorials:
Here’s one made entirely out of IKEA boxes and binder clips (instructions here)
Step 3: You need a cozy chair to sit in
Now that you’ve surrounded yourself with your favorite books, it’s time to create the space where you can physically sit. Of course, if you have the budget, your options are endless.
However, you don’t have to go out and purchase a new item of furniture. You can simply upgrade what you already have. For example, you can re-upholster one (instructions here):
Or you can go an even easier route and simply make a throw blanket. Here’s one made out of old sweaters! (instructions here)
Or create a fringed flannel one – check out full instructions.
Step 4: You need a coffee table for that glass of wine or cup of hot chocolate!
OK, you are sitting in your nook, surrounded by books in a cozy chair. You made yourself a cup of tea, but have no place to put it. You can’t have a small issue like that distract you from the main activity! So, make sure you have a spot for your beverages and snacks.
Once again, if you are not too eager on making a coffee table yourself, you can easily purchase one. There are a ton of gorgeous options:
However, pretty much anything with a horizontal surface will do: old suitcases, a wine crate or a small ladder.
Step 5: Decorate and further personalize
Your book nook is a space that fills you with joy, where you can relax after a long day and spend countless hours. Therefore, add a few items that either bring up good memories or inspire you. It may be photos capturing fun memories, souvenirs from your travels, a globe – whatever makes you happy.
You are done! Now go pour yourself that wine, shut out the rest of the world and immerse in the magical world of books!
Founded in 2010, arcbazar.com is owned and operated by a dedicated executive team and web-developers. Our aim is to help our peers, young designers and architects finding exciting design opportunities from design conscious individuals. Our name arcbazar, is inspired by the idea of a bazaar for architecture – a vibrant space for an exchange and negotiation of design services. We are based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and are working around the clock as we prepare the matching of designers with exciting projects of our clients.