Our girls bedroom has had a few updates since we moved in. One of the best changes we made was to create a reading nook for the children. It was an easy update and made use of an awkward space in the room.
The room was the Master bedroom when we bought the house but we decided it would be the girls bedroom. This room is at the back of the house so it’s quieter and doesn’t get the early morning sun. We thought it might encourage them to sleep on! The room had decent sized built-in wardrobes in place. Since our budget didn’t stretch to replacing them we left them where they were. It did leave us with an awkward space between the wardrobes to use.
Clearing out the space
When we viewed the house the space between the wardrobes was decorated in a funky striped wallpaper and housed the owner’s suitcase collection. Stripped of the suitcases you could get an idea of what the space looked like. Next to go was the wallpaper!
The wallpaper was stripped and the room was painted white, including the wardrobes.
When we first moved in our younger girl was in a cot and it fitted perfectly into the space between the wardrobes. When she grew out of her cot we put a chest of drawers in the space.
I really wanted to tackle the gap between the built-in wardrobes and make use of the space.
Some Pinterest research to decide on a plan for a reading nook
After some Pinterest searching I decided to create a reading nook and also somewhere they could store their books.
Cosy, comfortable space to read books
I wanted the nook to feel cosy and I wanted to add some colour to their room. The room was painted white, except for the splash of yellow on the roller blind. Funnily enough I don’t like pink but my two girls do so the search was on to find a not very pink colour. I settled on Powder Room from Dulux which I got in Woodies, which was a nice dusky pink.
I wanted to fill the wall above the seat so it didn’t look blank so I opted for trusty IKEA shelves. To add a bit of interest and metallic to the space I spray-painted the brackets gold with Gold spray paint from Rustoleum.
Create a half-painted wall
Rather than paint the whole space pink, I decided to go about half way up the wall and also up the sides. I used yellow Frog Tape to mark off the area and get a clean line. Since the walls were painted white I didn’t need to prime the walls just paint on the Dulux Powder Room paint.
Storage and seating area in one
For the seat I got one of the IKEA STUVA drawers that pull out. To pull the scheme together I picked up some fabric in Hickeys . I just wrapped it around the flat cushion, I still need to sew it! The front of the handles were painted in the dusty pink colour. I had the cushions already so I just added those and a star from IKEA and a mirror and Woodies. And of course a plant to add a little bit of greenery to the space. If you want to add some plants to your home have a read through my blog post on the easiest plants to take care of.
And now story time in your reading nook…
This can be done even if you don’t have a space like this one available. You could set something up in a corner of the bedroom. Paint a different colour in the corner and add a chair and a little bookcase. Your child might be more inclined to read if they have a dedicated spot for it.
