My grandmother's 3-part formula for the perfect reading nook
Plus, design lessons from "shelf wealth," books and bookish people in art, creative bookshelf stying, and a reading recommendation
There was no question that I’d turn into a voracious reader. Books were central to my world — I read books at breakfast, at lunch and I would’ve at dinner if I had been allowed. My grandparents took my sisters and I on frequent trips to the used bookstore where we would wander for hours to find just the right book. The habit has continued as I’ve gotten older.
At the beginning of the year, there was this interior design trend that cropped up on the internet — like many others before it — as a way to classify or explain a pattern that shows up in design. They called it “shelf wealth.” Broken down, it’s praise for curated bookcases that have been collected over time and show off the owner’s interests. The key is the over time part: there’s an appreciation for the time it takes to get a bookshelf just right. It can’t be completed in an afternoon.
The concept can apply beyond bookshelves to broader design plans because, after all, it really is just slow decorating. Items on the shelf aren’t just beautiful, they’re useful and have personal meaning. You have to read them, first, or at least plan to read them, before they get added to your collection. Buying a bunch of books you’re not familiar with just to fill the shelves won’t do; it’s too impersonal. And cheap trinkets from stores with mass-produced items won’t tell a story, you need tiny trinkets that you’ve bought while on trips, inherited from family or picked up in a junk shop just because they interested you.
Book lovers tirelessly curate their bookshelves or, if no shelf is available, their list of favorite books because it defines who they are and how they want to be understood. It’s not unlike decorating a home: items are pieced together to reflect a certain story that the resident wants to tell. What’s different, though, is that you’re forced to live with some empty space in the process. It’s good practice in delayed gratification and it’s a really fun lifelong project to take up. In this instance, and really in any act of collecting and curating, good things take time — there’s nothing wrong with a messy, unfinished, on-its-way-to-becoming-something period of time. Maybe that’s how it should be creating a home, too.
Today’s newsletter is about the joys of being a reader: curating a book collection, books and bookish people in art, ways to decorate a bookshelf and a handful of interesting shelves to choose from. Plus, I have a new favorite book recommendation for you at the bottom.
ESSENTIAL ITEMS
Three key components of a reading corner (as taught by my grandmother)
You can read a book anywhere, that’s the fun of it, but it’s really special to settle into a favorite chair on a sunny (or rainy) afternoon with a book from your collection. I’m always making reference to my grandparents’ house but, really, it’s where I’ve learned the most about creating a cozy space. Their home is and always has been a book lover’s paradise and, when I was over a few weeks ago rearranging furniture, I picked up a few good tips from my grandmother.
You don’t need a perfectly designed plan to create a reading corner; nothing has to match. This is about function and feeling — that’s what makes it a good reading spot. Really, you just need three things.
A really good chair
This photo is of the sunny living room in my grandparents’ old house. That chintz-covered chair has since been reupholstered (it’ll make another appearance in a moment), but you can see just from looking at it how comfortable it is. Every reader needs a good chair or couch, even better if you can sink into it a little bit. Chairs can be expensive but you can find some really great ones in good condition on Facebook Marketplace. Buy a well-made, comfortable chair (always do the sit test!) to have now and redo later, when you have a little money to make it more your style.
An “incidental table”
You need a side table to set your coffee or tea, book and maybe a snack too (since you’ll be there for a while). My grandmother calls them “incidental tables” and she has countless small tables scattered around. You could use a ceramic garden stool, a small decorative chair or even a trunk or old suitcase to create a place for your books and treats.
Good light
I love a sunny reading corner full of natural light but my grandmother says every chair needs a lamp. Here, you can see both at work: both chairs have lamps positioned slightly behind them, peeking out in the corners of the photos. This way, it will illuminate your reading but it won’t blind you if you look up. Notice how the chairs are the same as before, but reupholstered and sitting in my grandparents’ new house, and the table in the foreground is the same, too.
YOU REALLY LIKE TO READ
Inspired by books and bookish people
The background pattern at the top of the collage is “Menerbes Stripe” by Carolina Irving.
The collection of marbled papers is from a book at The Met Museum called, “The Whole Art of Marbling as Applied to Paper, Book Edges, etc.” Sounds pretty compelling, no? It was written in 1881. Marbled paper is a very good reason to judge a book by its cover or by its inner lining.
One of my favorite bookstore scenes in one of my favorite movies, “Funny Face.”
Matisse’s “Interior with a Young Girl (Girl Reading)” painted in 1905-06.
The blue and white background is a fabric by Kathryn Ireland called “storybook.”
Fondazione Sicilia Library in Palermo, photographed for World of Interiors magazine.
ALL YOU CAN DO WITH A BOOKCASE
Paint, placement and pictures
Yes, bookcases are functional for storing a literary collection, but they can be really creative pieces of furniture, too. While I think most book lovers would love to have a sprawling library full of built-in bookshelves, there’s plenty you can do with a smaller set of shelves or even a freestanding bookcase.
Here are a few ideas.
I love this room by Carlos Garcia, especially the bookcases in the back. The two contrasting colors — the muted gray-brown and the bright blue on the shelves — make the bookshelves feel more like a piece of art than a simple piece of storage furniture. Painting the inner shelves a bright color is a great idea if your collection is too small to fill the shelves just yet. The pop of color makes it feel less cavernous and more intentional.
Low bookshelves would do wonders in a room where you’d like some space for displaying objects and art atop the shelves and don’t want to take up the whole wall. These are built in around the fireplace, and I love that sort of look, but I’m looking at this as inspiration for a reading corner in a bedroom. You could get simple, low bookshelves and arrange them along a wall and place a chair in front of it, like here. The top of your bookshelf, depending on the height in proportion to your reading chair, could even act as your “incidental table” like we discussed above.
Another Carlos Garcia room, this time his personal house, where art is hung on the fronts of the bookshelves. Designer Cathy Kincaid has done this in her Dallas home, too, and I love the look of it (see the very last photo of this slideshow). I’d be a little bit nervous to drill or hammer a nail into a bookshelf, but I saw one tip that would be smart: place a small hook on the underside of a shelf and hook the wire of the art over it. If you remove the hook later, the hole won’t be visible.
TOP SHELF
More than storage to offer
Lean into style and gain some storage at the same time with these three bookshelf options: a vintage, 1960s painted corner cabinet, Alfred Newall’s bobbin console table which looks great when stacked with books and a scallop-edge bookcase from Anthropologie.
GOOD CHOICE
This is my new favorite book
Thomas Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” had me all wrapped up in the story last week that I stayed up late into the night just to finish it. It’s now at the top of my favorite books list and pushed “The Sun Also Rises” out of its former first place.
Above is a still from the 2015 film version starring Carey Mulligan. I’d seen the movie years ago but never read the book — suffice it to say, the book is better. It’s just impossible to capture the depth of the story in a short film; you miss so much.
Have you discovered any new-to-you old classics and loved them? Tell me what I should read next.
All the best,
Mary Grace