When time allows, there is little so luxurious as escaping to a quiet corner of your home and losing yourself to a good book.
For me, that corner is in my bay window, where the sun streams in mid morning and I bury myself in the cushions of a white daybed, with a Japanese watercolor hanging overhead, a vase of bright flowers on the sill and a fuchsia blanket soft as cotton balls pulled up to my waist. A little glass side table holds a snack and a stack of always-accumulating New Yorkers I never can seem to finish.
It is the most prized real estate in my apartment, that reading nook, which sometimes also serves as a napping nook and a stare-out-the-window nook. It’s an oasis of calm, an invitation to slow down and turn off the multitudinous distractions of the every day.
Good reading is “not an activity that can successfully be achieved with TVs blaring, people chatting or music playing,” said Damian Thompson, author of “Books Make a Home” (Ryland, Peters and Small), . “A nook makes a stand for the primacy of the written word.”
Be it a hammock on a balcony, a pile of pillows squeezed into the corner of a landing or a recliner beside a fireplace in an oak-paneled library, creating an area devoted to reading is a deeply personal endeavor to be filled with those things that bring out your best literary self. Doing it in a child’s room, Thompson notes, is a good way to make books seem special and encourage kids to read.
“At a time when there are so many other…things yelping for our attention, a temple to reading appears more important than ever,” said Alex Johnson, author of “Bookshelf” (Thames and Hudson), a very cool compilation of creatively designed bookshelves, due out in May.
Whether you prefer to cuddle up with your Kindle or be enveloped by hardbound tomes, Thompson and Johnson offered some tips for designing a reading nook.
The location:
Pick a spot away away from distractions, including other people, the TV, the refrigerator, piles of dirty laundry “and anything to do with the internet,” Johnson said. “Think cocoon,” away from the main thoroughfares and perhaps even cordoned off by a screen or heavy curtain. That’s what makes the bathroom, in a way, the perfect place to read, said Johnson, who personally favors reading in the bathtub.
The chair:
Consider adjustable seating that you can adapt to your reading intensity, Thompson said. “So tip your armchair into recline mode whole you’re reading your Tintin comics or Dan Brown, but keep it upright if you’re trying to stay focused all the way to the end of a Henry James sentence,” Thompson said. Also consider a good bean bag, which is portable and accommodates different postures.
The lighting:
Sitting by a window gives you all-important natural light as well as the loveliness of a view, but also have an artificial light source nearby for night time reading or cloudy days, Thompson said. The latter ideally should have a two- or three-way bulb that can be adjusted in wattage.
The decor:
Disregard the decor in the rest of the house and make this a “defiantly personal” space — think treasured heirlooms, hand-me-down quilts and cushions, photographs of loved ones on a side table, your jointy old Anglepoise lamp from college, Thompson said. That could also dissuade others from roosting there, a more mature version of the “Keep Out!” sign from your teenage years. Johnson likes “book-accessorizing” the space, with clever book ends, Penguin mugs and favorite book covers framed on the walls.
The accoutrements:
A reading session is not complete without “decent slippers,” a “properly large sandwich,” “a long drink,” and “something to fiddle with,” like a bookmark, when plots turn exciting, Johnson said. Also keep a small selection of alternative book choices nearby – though not necessarily a large bookcase, which can be distracting — in case the one you’re reading turns out to be a dud, he said.
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Classic luxury
Oviedo Chaise
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Mongolian Lamb Pillow Covers
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Counterweight Task Floor Lamp
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Schoolhouse Wire Basket
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Modern comfort
Womb Chair
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Clutch Floor Lamp
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Barok Bookshelves
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Simple pleasures
Havana Corner Chair
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Camden Fireplace
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Copeland Task Light
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