Coastal Cozy Reading Nook

Posted on October 1, 2018

The “before”–home to my desk and some still-packed boxes

I’ve been heart-eyed about this pretty little space in the front of our house from the moment we moved in.

For starters, it’s lined with windows, which is unlike any room in any house I’ve lived in before. In New York they do this crazy thing where they open the windows, and it makes the white sheer curtains (left here by the previous owner) do this dreamy blowing-in-the-wind deal that makes me want to keep them open even on the muggiest day.

It’s tucked away from the rest of the house, not easy to accomplish in 800 square feet. Basically, it’s the perfect spot for a quiet, cozy reading nook.

I’d been waiting to put anything here until we knocked some bigger projects off our around-the-house to-do list, like our floors and bathroom. Once those projects were completed I couldn’t justify spending much money on this space–maybe a couple hundred bucks, tops. Over the last few weeks I started going through what we already owned to see what could work here, and finally, pulled together a few other pieces we didn’t already have.

I wanted a space that would mirror the lightness and airiness of the adjacent windows while capturing the coastal vibe we’re trying to tie in throughout our house.

Here are some of the inspiration photos I pinned to Pinterest:

Original pin

I went with grey, beige and blue for the color scheme. I find that palette soothing, but also those are some of the only colors my husband doesn’t object to as being “too girly” (insert eye roll here).

Check out how it came together!

Reading Nook Chair

After several weeks of looking for a chair that fits both my taste and the size of the space (who would have thought it would be so hard to pick out a dang chair?), I came across the ‘Granville Swoop Wingback Chair’ from Wayfair an instantly fell in love. (Sadly, this chair is no longer in stock, but you can find similar options here, here and here.)

First off, I think the shape is beautiful. It looks inviting without taking up a ton of space like a lot of easy chairs do.

Second, I love the fabric; it’s perfect for a household with pets. My fellow fur-moms will feel me when I say fabric is so important when choosing a piece of furniture. In a reading nook you want something that feels welcoming and not stiff, but it can’t be too delicate or it will get destroyed by paws and claws. This chair’s fabric is 100% polyester but it looks much nicer, almost like tweed.

Finally, this chair was super simple to order and put together. I was a little hesitant about ordering a chair online, but this was delivered to my door in 48 hours and all I had to do was screw on the legs. And it was affordable. I never knew until I started shopping just how much cash you could drop on a cute chair. It’s frightening.

Reading Nook Rug

The beautiful Persian rug is courtesy of Rugs USA, my new favorite spot to find affordable rugs. I’m so glad I discovered them!

They have a zillion options. Seriously, your biggest concern if you’re shopping with Rugs USA will be deciding on the rug you want, because there are so many styles to choose from at a fantastic price point.

The style Rugs USA sent me for my reading nook is the 3×5 Bosphorus Distressed Persian Rug in white and blue, and I’m so pleased with it.

As with furniture, one of the first things I think about when choosing a rug is how it’ll hold up with pets. While I want something that looks plush, it can’t be too fluffy or it’ll quickly get grimy-looking with two cats and a dog traipsing over it.

This rug is soft but has a nice, low pile, which will make for easy cleaning (I swear by my Bissel DeepClean Essential for cleaning rugs and upholstery!). I love that it’s a light color scheme, but the pattern will minimize any spots in between cleanings. It feels sturdy, like it’s not going to get beat up after a year.

The cats already love to stretch out on it in the sunlight that filters in through the windows.

Reading Nook Lamp

In my mind, the trickiest element in a reading nook isn’t the chair—it’s the lamp. The perfect reading nook lamp has to be the right height for perching just overhead while you get lost in a book without knocking into your head every time you shift in your seat. It has to give off enough light to read by, but not so much that you feel like you’re under a police interrogation spotlight.

The Montage Modern reading lamp in Satin Nickel was sent to me courtesy of Brightech, and it easily checks both boxes. It’s simple yet sleek, the perfect lighting option for someone like me who prefers a low-key, classic design.

I only partner with companies that I truly love, and Brightech quickly won me over with their mission to provide stylish lighting options at a price point that’s accessible to the masses. Every Brightech light is built with power-saving technology to be both environmentally-conscious and electric-bill-friendly, which you know I love.

The lamp I selected was one of their more conservative styles because I like to play it safe like that, but they have a ton of cool, quirkier lighting options that would make really unique additions to a space (like the Twist floor lamp—how cool would this be in an office?).

You can check out all of Brightech’s floor lamps here.

Reading Nook Details

These picture frames used to hang in our living room when we lived in Florida and I’ve been looking for a spot to repurpose them. I’m usually a big fan of family photos, but for this space I decided to print off some pretty stock photos to add a beachy vibe. I used this one and this one from Unsplash; shoutout to photographers Mark Tegethoff and MILKOVÍ for the awesome royalty-free shots.

The side table, which we also already owned, is from Target. The chenille throw blanket was a clearance find from Pier 1.

As my budget allows I still want to add a leafy green houseplant in the corner opposite the chair, an ottoman, and maybe a bench or entryway table further down the wall from the side table, near our front door. Eventually I’ll get around to replacing the fake flowers on the table with something less cheesy.

For now, though, I’m already enjoying cozying up in this spot for my morning coffee and reading on the weekends. It’s so much better than the “before,” don’t you think?

Pieces used: