The Nook Book: How to Create and Enjoy the Coziest Spot in the Home - Hardcover

Hansgen, Karen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1400047323 ISBN 13: 9781400047321

Publisher: Clarkson Potter, 2003

Synopsis

We all yearn for a cozy place in our homes where we can relax and unwind. Whether it’s a bright window seat, a snug daybed, or a secluded corner table, we intuitively seek out alcoves because there is something undeniably warm and welcoming about these small spaces. The Nook Book extends an enticing invitation for you to find such special spots in your home and provides just the right creative boost to help you make them your own.

From a breakfast nook where you can sip a cup of coffee while reading the morning paper to a sewing niche in the attic, from a seemingly useless space under the staircase transformed into a practical storage facility to a child’s room enhanced with bunk beds, lofts, and other space-saving devices, The Nook Book offers solutions that are both practical and charming. While many homes have nooks waiting to be discovered—a corner of the kitchen, a bench next to the fireplace, or an oversized window—common devices such as a screen, bookcase, or curtain can also set an area apart, creating the perfect alcove.

The many diverse ways to create, decorate, and enjoy these lovely niches are fully explored with gorgeous full-color photographs in Karen Hansgen’s delightful book.

We all desire a space that we can call our own—a place where we can escape to read, rest, pursue a hobby, or simply daydream. The Nook Book shows just how easily the nooks, crannies, and corners of our homes can be transformed into cherished retreats.

About this title

About the Author:

KAREN HANSGEN is a writer and editor. She has produced a wide range of books on design, fine art, photography, and popular culture. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her son.

From Publishers Weekly:

"We all have fondly remembered nooks from childhood," Hansgen writes in the introduction to her pretty, practical book on creating and decorating little spaces. And as adults, she argues, we still long for a special, cozy spot to read, sew, work or read. Hansgen's volume suggests ways to design nooks for all of these activities-she fits little couches and cocktail bars under stairways, and tucks desks into corners or under rafters. Divided into seven sections-Dining, Dreaming, Playing, Solace, Utility, Working and Diversions-the book is amply illustrated with full color photographs. Especially beautiful are Hansgen's examples of sleeping alcoves and window seats. One photograph, for example, shows a large stairwell landing fit with pillows and a custom-built daybed so that it makes a comfortable spot for reading-or for hosting an overnight guest. Other pages suggest ways to divide large rooms into several practical nooks using screens and bookcases, so that one room can host several independent activities. Such suggestions will be especially welcome to readers who find themselves short on floor space but are unable to construct an entirely new room. Though Hansgen's suggestions would be easier to apply if they had been supplemented with a few floor plans or a few before-and-after shots, the variety of her examples, and of the design styles she uses, make this a helpful and charming idea book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarkson Potter
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1400047323
• ISBN 13: 9781400047321
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144