Every bookworm has dreamed of having his own library. Well! It’s high time we materialize that dream of yours. You can create your own little home library. Don’t have enough space? We’ve got some pretty cool ideas.
From deciding the location to furnishing, lighting, and the arrangement of books, here is all you need to know to set up a cozy library at your home that you wouldn’t want to leave.
For Space
First comes the location of your little home library. Where are you planning to set up your library? For beginners, this might be one of the steps that they can’t figure out. However, others might have an assigned space and are only looking forward to redesigning it. Whatever the case is, here are some pretty cool ideas for deciding the space of your little library.
1 – Optimize The Available Space
If you are one of those who think they don’t have enough space to design a home library, let me change your mind. Because the first idea we are going to discuss is about optimizing the available space.
Look for empty walls and spaces that feel spacious enough for some bookshelves. Get creative and look around your home. Such as the following picture, you can get bookshelves installed along with the door of your room.
Though you have to redecorate the furniture if you decide to turn a certain wall into these bookshelves, the effort is worth it.
2 – Make Use Of The Corridor
Can’t find any empty space? How about we turn your hallway into your little library? However, you have to rethink this idea if you have children in your home, as the probability of your books getting damaged can increase in that case.
Otherwise, it’s a creative idea where you can turn the empty corridor into a cozy space by installing bookshelves on one side or both depending on the size of your book collection.
3 – Get Creative With The Staircase
If you live in a double-story house, don’t even worry about deciding the location for your little library because you can never find a better option than a staircase. There are tons of ways you can utilize the staircase area to store books and design a cozy reading corner.
You can either use the area beneath the staircase by installing bookshelves on the wall and a sitting sofa in front of it. Besides you can also install bookshelves along the stairs. Another creative idea is to get bookshelf racks installed within the stairs. However, you will need to add protective sheets if you opt to go for the latter option.
4 – Use The Wall Of Your Living Area
If you have a spacious living area, you can use one of its walls to get bookshelves installed. This way, you can turn the whole living area into a little library. However, if you live in a big family, this idea might not offer solitude (for those who love to read in a quiet environment).
But if you opt for this option, you can get creative freedom in deciding the furnishing and overall look of your library as you will have a lot of space. Also, most living areas have big windows or bright environments, which is great for a home library.
For Furnishing
Next comes the furnishing of your little library. As a beginner, you must keep it within budget. So here are some ideas for furnishing that don’t require you to spend a lot and will make your reading nook look 10x better.
1 – Let’s Start With A Reading Chair
You will need a reading chair – that’s a no-brainer. If you are a student, you must already have a reading chair. So, you can make use of that. Besides, you can make use of other chairs from your home. All you need to make sure is it’s comfortable, as you will be spending a lot of time sitting on it.
If you are going with a specific theme, such as rustic or indie, you can also get a chair that matches the theme. For example, you can get one of the old rocking chairs if you are going with a vintage/rustic theme. But don’t forget to add cushions to make it comfortable.
2 – A Ladder Is All You Need
Though you can claim you don’t need it, you will definitely want it. You can get a wooden ladder, or you can also paint it to match the theme of your little library. It looks great and gives the perfect finish to your library.
3 – How Can We Forget Plants?
Plants are yet another affordable furnishing option. You can use plants as decoration items and put them on the bookshelves among your books, or you can get plant pots to put around the bookshelves. If you like boho aesthetics, you can also get vines to hang around the bookshelves for.
The best part is that you can get creative with them and decorate them in different ways. If you are not a great plant lover, you can use artificial plants or cacti, so there’s no need to take care of them. Whatever you choose to do, the sight of green leaves with books will definitely look amazing.
4 – Don’t Skip Decorative Accessories
The decoration of your library will be incomplete without decorative accessories. No, you don’t need to buy them. You can find a lot of decoration pieces in your home, and you can even make some.
For example, you can use wall art, candle holders, vases, or small paintings as decorative accessories. All you need to know is the correct way to arrange them.
For Lighting
The next step is to ensure your little library has proper lighting. Your priority should be selecting a location that is bright and has a large window so that you can enjoy a good amount of sunlight. Considering these lighting requirements, the living area is a great option for setting up your reading nook.
However, if you have to select a location that is not naturally well-lit, you must invest in lighting. You should get a large lamp to keep beside the reading chair.
1 – Decorative Lighting
Other than the lighting required to read, you must also consider decorative lighting, as it can completely change the ambiance of your home library. For the bookshelves, you can get LED strip lights and install them on the inside of the racks. It is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to make your bookshelves/library look well-kept.
Besides, if you have no budget restrictions, you can get some funky lights, bulbs, or lanterns to decorate your library.
2 – For Arranging Books
Last but not least on this list is the way you arrange your books. No matter how well-lit and spacious the location you have, how amazing is the furniture you are keeping there, or how stylish are the decorative accessories you have chosen, if you don’t arrange them right, your library will look awful (yes, you read that right. Awful).
The first step is to judge the available space on the basis of your book collection. If you have more books than the available space, you will have to go with the basic vertical arrangement, and you can use the accessories on the top of the shelves or hang them around.
On the other hand, if you have more space than available books, you have to arrange the decorative accessories and books in such a way that it looks neat and decluttered.
Here are some creative ways to arrange books and decorative items.
3 – Use Books As A Base For Decorative Items
Rather than going with the basic placement, place the books horizontally and keep the decorative items above them. Similar to the following picture, you can keep a clock on it or any other decoration piece.
4 – Go With The Classic Rainbow Pattern
Don’t have much space to place decorative items on the shelves? Fret not; you can create a pattern with the books so it doesn’t look boring. Go with the classic rainbow pattern and arrange the books in solid colors. You can make horizontal and vertical stacks to introduce variety.
5 – Skip The Basic Vertical Arrangement – Go Horizontal
Another way of arranging books is going with horizontal alignment. This one is particularly helpful if you have a lot of space. Also, you can stack the books from larger sizes to shorter sizes to create a pyramid. This way, the bookshelf will look aligned and neat.
6 – Keep The Space Decluttered
Don’t overstuff decorative accessories. If you have a large space, keep it free. It will give your library a neat and decluttered look. However, even when you are leaving free space, don’t do it without any pattern. Make sure you are leaving spaces in such a way that it creates a pattern.
7 – Use Decorative Book Ends
When leaving spaces, you would need something to hold the books – sometimes at one end and sometimes at both ends. Decorative bookends are a good option for such arrangements. You can invest in them, or you can make DIY book ends at home.
Here’s A Cute DIY Idea For Bookworms – Make A Book Nook
Now that you know all the exciting ideas for decorating your home library, here’s a fun idea for you to try. You can make tiny book nooks for your bookshelves as decorative accessories. Though they need effort and time, it’s worth it as they look great.
The best part is that you can add a personal touch to them. Let’s say, what’s your favorite book? Or what’s your favorite scene from your favorite book/movie? You can recreate that in a tiny cardboard box and keep it among your books. Doesn’t that sound great?
Here are some creative book nooks you can recreate for your bookshelf. Make one of them or give it a creative twist.
Happy Reading in your little home library!
Make These Book Nooks For Your Book Shelf
