A charming and cozy reading nook has been an eventual plan of mine for years. I have a whole folder of diverse inspiration images saved on my computer, a thriving Pinterest board, and I’m pretty sure a number of years back I even wrote a blog post with some ideas I was considering. We’ve never really had quite the sort of secretive and wonderful space I’ve envisioned in any of our homes for a reading nook (a tucked away closet, an inset window seat, etc.), and this home really is no exception.
Actually, we did design and build in this little bench in our kitchen that doubles as liquor bottle, cocktail supplies, and cookbook storage and is also somewhere to sit while babysitting the stove or oven and, admittedly, this nook is super cozy for curling up with a book when you still need quick and easy access while baking or cooking. Honestly, this is such a great thing to have in a kitchen and every cook should have one!
However, I’ve dreamed of a designated reading area in somewhere other than our central living space with an abundance of natural light, a peaceful view, a stylish but functional lamp for after dark reading, a big comfortable chair you can really sink into that cradles you, an oversized warm blanket, pillows for extra ambience and comfort, lots of vivid and rich jewel tone colors, maybe some twinkly string lights, or curtains, or a fireplace, and somewhere to set a hot beverage or cocktail, or a stack of books or even a candle.
When I started working from home last March at the beginning of the pandemic, our guest bedroom became my office. We brought up a desk from the basement, rearranged the furniture a bit, put the dresser in the large walk-in closet, etc. And that all made the room a bit on the cramped side, since we didn’t remove the guest bed or anything, but with so much time spent at home for the foreseeable future, I quickly came to realize that I really wanted a small reading area in that room as well since I was almost always home (and would be for quite a while) and with my waking hours somewhat transformed in terms of daily tasks and expectations, etc. this seemed like the perfect time to create a reading area that would get plenty of use right away.
I knew we were working with not only a very small footprint in this room (which was the primary challenge), but also a small budget – all of which was perfectly fine. But it was important to me to create some sort of area of comfort that felt bright and calm where I could escape to, even if it was on a much simpler scale than what I’d always envisioned and would, eventually, still like to work into the plans for a future home down the road. On snowy days (very much like this one today!), a reading nook just felt like something that would be really beneficial for my sanity and mental health during a super weird period of life.
I am a big fan of a particular shade of deep, rich, vibrant hunter green. I always gravitate toward that color, and when I want or need an item, I secretly hope it’s available in that color. And velvet is about as soft and luxurious as you can get. So, I decided to start there. I absolutely love a good classic chaise lounge and that was my first choice for a central statement piece that everything else would build around, but we didn’t have the space for a long chaise that I could stretch out on, or even for a wide and tall stately yet cushy armchair that you can really curl up in, so my first (and, frankly, only) task was to locate the one “big” item that would be key to transforming the tiny space into a reading nook: a chair that fit in the space.
Fortunately, I did find a perfectly hued and velvety soft chair (with ottoman!) that I really love, was compact enough to fit in the space we had to work with, and also was okay on the budget front (Ted surprised me with it’s arrival one day during the spring!). With that in mind, I already had a big, soft blanket in a vivid shade of golden mustard with some blue tones in there that would contrast nicely with the green of the chair, and we also already had a painting (that Ted painted, actually) hanging up in the room of a serene winterscape comprised primarily of green, white, and various shades of deep blue. I ordered a single jewel-tone throw pillow that had deep greens, brilliant blues, and mustardy golds mixed in to further tie the chair, blanket, and painting all together (as well as into the rest of the room, which is decorated with deep blue curtains, a green comforter, and peacock sheets and pillowcases in shades of mustard, blue, and green) so the whole room looks cohesive and makes sense together.
And so, for now, this is my lovely reading nook! Because of where this is situated in relation to the window (which I do have a good view out of and plenty of natural light!), it was very challenging to get a photo that actually showed the true colors of everything, so imagine the carpet as shades of salt & pepper gray that compliment the paint color on the wall instead of the beige/brown it’s showing up as, and you have an accurate idea of color and how everything looks together. Across the room are the deep blue curtains, and right next to that ottoman is the bed with peacock-colored linens. There’s definitely not much room to move around right now, but we’re working with what we have and I’m just thankful to have this space (especially during a very cold and snowy winter) as I’m spending so much time at home and inside, reading and writing.
I will say I’ve been lobbying all along to add a reading light or sconce on the wall for those late nights or dark and dreary days, and this is the one I have picked out, to be ordered and installed….sometime? Hopefully?
And I also think a small round area rug under the chair and ottoman will help designate the area more clearly and make it even cozier looking and feeling…but I haven’t found quite the right rug yet. I’m after one that’s bright and eye catching, and that ties in all the colors again – mustard/gold, green, blue, and maybe a bit of ivory or gray – in an abstract pattern that’s somewhat amoebas, but without being too distracting. One of these is on the road to what I’m seeking, but not quite there yet. With the, literal, millions of rugs out there, I’m surprised I can’t find what I’m looking for. If the bottom left rug had deeper green tones in it instead of so many light, grassy greens, or if the one top left had a touch of green or gold in it, I think that one of those would be the best fit. Ah well, I’ll keep my eyes open and see if anything wonderful presents itself.
Anyway, that’s my reading space, and I spend a lot of time in it. I really, really love the green velvet, which looks and feels so luxurious, and is just the absolute perfect color, and on snowy Fridays, just like today, it’s exactly where I want to be.
