Nursery Closet: Storage Space Turned Cozy Book Nook

Yaaaaaaaay!  I’m so excited to say that I finally put the finishing touches on a special little project I’ve been working on for the last couple of weeks…

In honour Miss G’s upcoming second birthday, we wanted to create a special area, something inviting and cozy, dedicated to her love of reading.  She’s always had a ‘book corner’ of sorts in her room, but it’s shifted over time and really only consisted of a carpet or blanket, a pillow, and a basket of books.  This time around, I wanted something more special. Something more permanent.

I had pinned this post from Young House Love long ago, and knew I could use the idea to create the perfect space, not to mention, free up some room for big girl things that may be in her future while I was at it. (A wooden play kitchen? A dress-up station? Mini piano? …Perhaps!)

Here’s the end result… Miss G’s very own closet book nook.

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Although it wasn’t a difficult or costly project, there were lots of little steps that needed to be taken in order to do the job right, and anyone who has a toddler knows that those jobs aren’t always easily done with a wee one at your feet. Luckily for me, Grae is an overenthusiastic helper and was great at holding things, passing things, and transporting things throughout the process.

Up until recently, we’d been using the bottom of Grae’s closet to keep a couple of shelving units that housed her non-hanger-friendly clothes, and for storing bins of outgrown baby things. The bins made their way out to the garage where we have plenty of storage room and the clothes got shifted into a set of drawers that we already had in the room, and the project was on its way.

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With that stuff removed, I emptied the remaining stuff into the hallway, removed the top shelf and bar, took off the closet door, and gave the inside of the closet a good scrub and a quick coat of paint.  The wooden shelf and bar had been {hideously} covered in peach patterned tissue paper and an insane amount of packaging tape by the previous tenants, so that all came off and both pieces were sanded and painted white before being put back in.

Luckily that mandatory Grade 8 sewing class I took over 15 years ago paid off, and I was able to sew a basic curtain using fabric Grae and I had picked out at IKEA.  Next, I installed the spice racks turned bookshelves I had painted, as well as a curtain wire and curtain hook we picked up at IKEA too.

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With those simple things done, I took a blanket we’ve always kept in Grae’s room, folded it in thirds, and lined the bottom of the closet with it.

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Then tossed pillows all along the walls to make it a soft a cozy place to curl up in.

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The great thing is that the top is still a fully functioning closet. Tiny clothes = lots of leftover space.

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Today, Gracen and I picked up some of these frames (I like them because they’re lightweight and use plastic instead of real glass) and chose a couple of pieces of her art work to go on the one side.

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On the other side, we hung this ‘Mama Loves You’ print from The Paper Mama.

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The final touch was adding a battery-operated push lamp to each side so that there’s always plenty of light to read with.

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The best part is that Gracen absolutely adores her new book nook.  I’ll often find her in there, curled up on the platform, telling herself stories with a book in her lap.  Other times, she can be found hard at work, switching out the books and carefully choosing new ones to replace them.

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  Encouraging reading while creating a cozy hiding place for my precious girl, I’d say it’s a win-win.

27 thoughts on “Nursery Closet: Storage Space Turned Cozy Book Nook

  1. This is a wonderful idea , it looks so cosey, something my little daughter would love and appreciate. Well done and thankyou for sharing this with us.

  2. I heard about your blog from Lindsay over at thelittleredhorse.co, and I have been SO enjoying looking at all your great creations and ideas.
    This is by far my favorite, I adore this reading nook as I’ve been tossing around a similar idea in my head since before my one-year-old gal was born! It looks so cozy, I actually want to make one for myself too! Wonder if my husband would mind if I put all our clothes in the living room and made over our master closet into a Mommy nook :)
    Thanks for sharing your beautiful ideas, I can’t wait to see what else you come up with!

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words and for stopping by to visit. We’re in the process of looking for a new house, and one of the things that makes me most sad about leaving this one is having to leave the cozy little book nook G’s come to love so much. And on the mommy nook front – best idea ever! Surely your hubby wouldn’t mind, would he?! :)

  3. i love the fact that you were still able to keep it functioning as a closet as well. and that curtain is fab… totally want it. thanks for linking up to tip-toe thru tuesday.

  4. This is such a great idea! I was so lucky to have walk in closets in our house when we bought it so our little miss Addy may just have to have a reading nook in her walk in!! Great idea! Did you make the heart mobile? So cute!

    1. Ooh! A walk in would make this project even easier! Lucky Addy. :)

      I did make the heart mobile – just a few branches I collected while out on a walk, plus some jute, felt, and poly fibre fill. :)

  5. What a wonderful idea! Children love having a cozy nook like they are back in our bellies. I often wonder if the big empty card board box that comes with the toy is their version of just enclosing themselves in a small safe space that they can explore in.

    I love how this is the not your daughter’s first reading area. Even with the clothing rail on top, for the age that your daughter is in right now, this just seems to work.

    Good for you for promoting reading! I don’t know how many times I walk into someone’s small children’s room and they forgot the books altogether. I love you loving spot light on them for you child!

  6. Thank you so much for sharing this idea!!! I came to check this out via Pinterest. We are about to move into a new house and my two daughter and my son have had to share a bedroom (still very sheltered preschoolers, so that hasn’t been a problem at all) and in the new house, my twenty-month-old will FINALLY be moving out of our master bedroom and a crib and into a bedroom with her sister. I’ve been trying to think of some ways to “girl”-up their new room since my oldest has been sharing with a boy all of this time. This not only is perfect for that, but will allow me to turn their small closet into a double-duty storage/reading space since we wouldn’t have had room for a reading nook otherwise. I can put spice racks up higher on the sides for the paperback books so that my oldest can reach them, but her little sister would need help as well to help our book collection survive a little longer.

  7. I can’t help but think it would be a little better with a “bench” at the bottom. Gives you storage beneath, good comfort. Shift the book racks a bit, everything still fits.

  8. We are currently turning a wide, low (due to a sloping ceiling), and relatively deep closet into a nook for our kids. The floor is the largest area to cover. What would you recommend for comfy sitting? I’ve thought of gym mats, foam mats, etc. I want something tidier than a pile of blankets and pillows, durable, washable, and affordable. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

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