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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

♥