Guest Blogger: How to Create an Inspiring Reading Nook

Guest Blogger #892, Entry #2098, March 12, 2013

The reading nook is a joyfully indulgent installation to add to a home. Transport yourself to the fictionalised world of your favourite literature. Create an atmosphere and ambience in-fitting with the tone of your favourite novels and genres. A reading nook can complete the joyous experience of becoming lost in a book.

Choose the perfect area for your reading nook

Image via: Robert Benson

The Horror Fan

Sometimes it can be hard to be affected by the terrifying ordeal within a horror title if you are reading it on a sunny day, sat under an apple tree with the family dog looking doe-eyed at you. Create an atmospheric and slightly claustrophobic reading nook to increase the fear-ridden sensation. Darkened woods and rich shades can create an old-fashioned appearance for the reading nook. A chesterfield chair sat aside an old wooden reading table will recreate the impression of Edgar Allen Poe scribing his dark fiction. A creepy reading nook may leave you too terrified to open the curtains.

Chick-Lit Chic

The sense of escapism that is created by the chick-lit genre relies on the aspirational nature of its readership. Allow these aspirations to blossom with a glitzy and glamorous reading nook. A beautiful chaise-long topped with extravagant throws and cushions will create decadent appearance fitting for many of the famed titular chic-lit heroines. Light, pastel colours create the sense of freedom that is so often a theme in the genre.

Science Fiction Fans

For those who like their science fiction to have one foot in realism; dystopian novels often offer a realistic and sometimes terrifying insight into the future. Novels such as 1984 and Brave New World are still as relevant today as the day that they were written and still make up the libraries of millions of people. Create the popular dystopian look with minimalistic furnishings and fittings. High gloss furniture lends itself perfectly to the minimalistic effect due to the modern sheen and clinical exterior. A modern art canvas will set the nook off perfectly.

Create a space that is ideal for you and your family!

Image via: Sam Gray

Children’s Reading Zone

If you are creating the reading nook as a means to encourage your child to read or nurture their passion for literature; it is important to make it an enjoyable environment. A child will not feel comfortable in a room that they consider to be contemptuous to their abilities. Decorate the children’s reading nook around literature they will read in the coming year. If the room is decorated in the style of literature they have already read, they will soon out-grow it and consider it condescending and an ill-representation of their abilities. This will help inspire children to tackle more mature and rewarding pieces of fiction as well.

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