A cozy little Book Nook

Hi there! Long time no blog?!?! I took a bit of time off after the holiday season and into the beginning of 2022 to give myself a little time to refocus and get set up for the year ahead! I am excited for all of the projects big and small we have planned for this year, and first up was this super simple floating book shelf DIY. We have this awkward little hallway in our guest room that I never knew what to do with, and I also have an abundance of pretty books that I love to flip through, and scour for inspiration and recipe ideas. So, I thought why not display some of those books, making them easier to access and giving new purpose to that awkward little hallway. I love how it turned out and it was such an easy DIY and now we have this cozy little space I have now named the book nook!

Isn’t it cozy? Just wait till you see the before pictures, it definitely gives the space more purpose and I think so many books look like art, so a book/picture rail was the perfect addition here.

This is how we started …

I knew the books I was going to be displaying were going to be heavy so we measured our boards so that they could catch and be drilled into three studs on the wall. Then we used a 1×4 as the back plate, another 1×4 as the bottom of the shelf and a 1×3 for the ledge to hold the books on. The boards were cut to size, then we used wood glue and brad nails approximately every two inches nailing into the bottom shelf from both sides. Then filled the holes with a little wood filler, and let them set overnight. Next was just a light sand, primer and then I chose to paint them out the same colour as the wall to have a cohesive look. We then pre drilled holes as not to split the wood at the spacing of our studs and then decided the spacing between each shelf and screwed in place. A little paint touch up on the screw heads blended them right in and we were ready to display those books!

Before I show you more of the finished space, are you ready for the before?

It just looked like a long white box, even with some decorative accessories or a picture on the wall the space always felt awkward to me.

I also decided to add in a few framed watercolour prints to break up the books a little bit, and chose more muted colours so they flowed well with the overall look.

I loved the vintage feel of the prints and how perfect is the one with the lady reading the book!

I decided to keep the décor on the dresser pretty simple and in neutral tones, so it wasn’t too busy with all of the books right beside it. {PS- how cute is this picture … that is my mom being carried by my grandma and is one of my favourite pictures } in addition to the sweet photo stand, white candles holders, a large iron urn with this fabulous wispy faux plant finished out the look.

I already had this little book canvas on side wall and it fits in perfect with the whole book theme.

So there you have it a cozy little book nook was all it took to make this awkward little hallway a little more fabulous, and did you notice from the before picture I snuck in a new lantern light fixture it goes so much better with the space. I hope this little nook inspires you to tackle an area of your home that you have been avoiding!

Till next time …