For The Union-Tribune
If you’re a reader and book lover, you need both a cozy place to curl up with a book and an eye-catching way to display your collection. It’s not enough to have a chair and a lamp — or to have bookcases or shelves. There are all sorts of creative options that can give you (and the kids in your life) a beautiful and comfortable nook to lose yourself in the written word as well as integrate your books into your home decor.
Let’s start with the books. Perhaps no one has more experience displaying books than a bookseller. Justine Epstein, owner of used bookstore Verbatim Books in North Park, has one of the most eclectic — and delightful — approaches to books in bookcases and beyond.
“What we do in here is to inspire people to look beyond the function of a book, which is to read and enjoy it, and also look at is as like a little piece of art,” she said.
She pulled out several wild-looking books that reflect a publishing trend of edge painting to match the cover, books you’d certainly want to display in a way where the whole book can be seen.
For groups of books, sure you can organize them by the author’s last name or arrange them by genre — fiction, essays, poetry, for instance. But Epstein has a long top shelf in the shop’s main room that looks like a rainbow. Yes, she has books lined up by color. But she’s also fascinated by the idea of a monochrome display in neutrals like beige.
“It’s a way of getting creative with your own decor and complementing it.”
But that’s only the beginning for Epstein. The main room’s back wall is filled with a wide bookcase dominated by a feat of imagination: the name of the store spelled out in horizontally stacked books. Now you may not have the space or number of books to spell out your name, but if you have adjustable shelves in your bookcase, how about removing a shelf and spelling out your initials? That is a statement piece.
Decorator Diana Clark places books on shelves, of course — and pulls them up to the front edge so that they look neater and less dusting is involved with chunks of space in between for a piece of art, a candle, or pottery to break the line — but you can find books in rooms she’s designed in all sorts of places.
“My philosophy is that if you are a book person and they stick to you they can be anywhere in your home, so open your mind to putting them everywhere. Up high, down low,” she said. “I think books become part of the decor because they just speak to who the person is who lives there.”
In one space Clark decorated, the ceiling was low — just over 7 feet. So, she installed a bookshelf below the ceiling around the perimeter of the room. It just took a short footstool to reach the books. Of course, if you have higher ceilings, you can use a rolling library ladder.
Want books closer to where you’re sitting? Clark pointed out that there are numerous designs for side or end tables with bookshelves. Some rotate. Some have height enough for oversized art books. And don’t forget coffee tables with a shelf or two below the top.
No shelves in the table? No problem. Stack them underneath the table. Or create smaller stacks on the table and top with a decorative object like a statue or bowls. Clark added that they can be stacked inside a large basket, in an alcove under a staircase, on a fireplace mantel or on a raised hearth. They’re perfect on the seat of a small occasional chair and under the chair. Or on top of the cabinet under a wall-hung TV to hide the cords and cables.
Have a studio apartment or an expansive room? Use a bookcase as a room divider.
“I had a client with a loft in downtown San Diego,” she recalled. “There was one huge open space, and he had a fabulous room divider that was a bookcase that was open on both sides, and he had half the books facing toward the bedroom and the other half facing toward the living room.”
Interior designer Tracy Lynn, owner of Tracy Lynn Studio in San Diego, has had fun creating ways to display books for her clients’ children. In a bright and airy playroom room, she hung picture books on ladder rungs.
“I’ve seen them used to display throw blankets in stores like Pottery Barn and thought it would be a really great way for the kids to see their most current or favorite books — and you could swap them out.”
Of course, make sure you’ve secured the ladder to the wall so it doesn’t come crashing down on little ones.
Another display Lynn created was carving out a bookcase in a couple of walls with kid-friendly map wallpaper in the back, and adding horizontal rods at the front of each shelf so the books could be displayed forward facing without falling to the floor. Once the kids are older and have more books, they can be displayed in other ways.
Lynn also likes the idea of storing books in baskets, as well as inside lidded ottomans. And, for an adult sitting room, the built-in book cases have several large spaces where paintings are displayed, along with woven baskets and small pieces of art interspersed with the books.
Speaking of kids, Epstein has fun in her children’s books spaces, adding plenty of stuffed animals to shelves and creating novel bookends. She’ll spray paint metal bookends and glue small plastic figures like dinosaurs to the bottom.
In fact, Epstein has a delightful collection of unique bookends that she and her staff collect or customers bring in as gifts.
“I think we might have one of the best collections of random bookends, at least in the state,” she said, joking. “Even just a plain style of books can be made to pop with a really fun bookend.”
She pointed to a replica of Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker, then to a weird ceramic shell. There are ducks and dinosaurs. Skulls and robots, a sleek gold painted swan and small globe. On another shelf in the room is a large Batman statue. Not your style? Well, said Epstein, perhaps a beautiful rock or crystal. Or a sconce. Whatever fits your aesthetic.
“I’ll pick them up at a swap meet, consignment stores, thrift stores, and garage sales,” she said. “Just keep an eye out for things you like and you end up with a pretty good collection after a while, and lot of them are not even expensive. Just use your imagination and find something heavy enough.”
Once the books are organized, you’ll want the ultimate nook to enjoy reading them. Clark believes there are seven key elements to a cozy nook: environment, seating, foot rest, pillows, light, a side table, and a throw.
“The goal is to have your own retreat where you can escape into the world of books. This means using an actual private space or creating the feeling of one,” Clark explained. “A corner of the living or family room will work, especially if there’s enough space to define a private nook by using a room divider such as a screen, or even a freestanding bookcase. If their home allows for this, I encourage my clients to think ing a more private space such a seldom-used guest bedroom, a window seat, an upstairs loft area, or even the space under a staircase. And I’m always a fan of removing a closet door to create a little reading nook.”
The chair should be all about comfort. Test drive chairs if you can, said Clark, so you can find one that fits the contours of your body just right. Maybe you like padding, maybe a high-back chair provides the best . A love seat can allow you to stretch out — and maybe accommodate a child or pet with you. And while you can certainly go to a retail store, Epstein has found some unusual and affordable chairs at consignment and thrift shops. And if it’s a little raggedy, reupholster it or toss a quilt over it.
A foot rest could be an ottoman or stool — perhaps something with storage for a pillow or throw. Make sure it’s high enough. And it doesn’t have to match the chair. It can be whimsical, like a rattan elephant, or a small pine box.
Pillows can your lumbar or prop up a book on your lap. They’re perfect to help you nest in your space.
When it comes to light, you can look for a spot with great natural light, but that won’t be much help at night. A height-adjustable floor lamp with a swing or flexible arm is helpful so you can direct the light just where you need it. A table lamp can do the same and if you need to adjust the height, you can place it on a stack of books.
Tim Jackson, owner of Urban Lighting, is a big fan of LED technology and believes an Edison base, or screw-in LED lamp is preferable, especially in a warmer color range (2700k to 3000k).
“Layering light [with different sources] is ideal,” he said. “It helps create a cozy atmosphere.”
If you’re someone who enjoys a drink or snack at hand while reading, wants to place your book there when you’re not reading it, and maybe wants to have the phone nearby, you need a side table — and one generous and stable enough to hold those things. It doesn’t have to be a conventional side table. Browse websites like eBay and Etsy, for instance, if you want a true book side table, as in one that actually looks like a stack of books.
If you like to cocoon, you’ll want to have a throw to cozy up in, added Clark.
For kids, the options are broader.
Lynn loves big floor pillows for children, along with an area rug so they can sprawl while reading. And in a playroom, she’s added a table and chairs.
“There’s a table and chairs that you can bring the books to and sit and read — or you can bring games over from the reading nook,” she said. “I love a space that functions many different ways. If you feel like sitting upright, you can. If you feel like lounging on the floor pillows and tossing them around the room you can.”
But she also has created cozy playroom getaways in the form of a quasi-bunkbed. In one there are long thick tufted pillows that create a kind of mattress on each level, with plenty of throw pillows against the wall. Directional wall sconces provide the light and there are shelves on each level for books and toys. A net across the top bunk keeps little ones from falling out.
She loves how deep they are. “You can get Mom or Dad lying next to the child to read to them.”
Another space she’s adapted for reading — and other uses — is the often awkward landing on a second floor. In one space she created seating with a small, low-back couch and storage ottomans in front along with open shelving with baskets that hold books and toys so the kids have an additional hangout to read or play.
Pulling your nook together to fit your style is a matter of thinking about what you need, what you crave, and what your goal is, said Lynn, as well as the realities of the space. Do you have a tile floor that’s a bit uneven? You may need a heavier side table to avoid wobbling. Do you have electrical outlets where a lamp could go and you can charge devices? The point is to create a space where you can pick up that book you’ve been eager to open and sink into its world, oblivious to everything else.
