Making it Yours (MiY)

MiY 5d: Reading Nook

James and Eugenia, our fictional couple with exceptionally good taste in furniture, have just moved to Chicago! They have a long but wide hallway in their new place that they’re setting up as a mini-library. They don’t have a ton of space, so the small scale of the mid-century rocker chair is perfect for a little reading nook.

Bookshelves with glass doors line the wall (the same bookshelves we have in our hallway library), and a glossy black floor lamp illuminates the area. The walls are painted a charming blue-green, and there isn’t enough room for a full rug but a graphic black and white runner works perfectly here. The apartment has a nice lived-in feel, so books are always scattered on the little side tables along with a few coffee mugs that hadn’t made their way to the kitchen yet. Eugenia also likes to keep a blanket (in orange, James’ favorite color) over the arm of the chair in case she gets cold.

James and Eugenia have a spare room that they thought they’d setup as an office, but it looks like they’ll be turning it into a nursery instead! We’ll see that room next time in the final look for this edition of Making it Yours.

Sources & Paint ColorsNeed design help? Let's work together.

You Might Also Like...

  • Holly Marie Gibbs
    July 19, 2010 at 12:19 pm

    I’ve always adored those Pantone mugs. They’re just so great.

  • Kathy
    July 19, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    I am a little concerned that James and Eugenia are moving way too fast in this relationship…however their apartment is fabulous!

    • luuve
      July 20, 2010 at 8:24 am

      hahahahaha!

    • Making it Lovely
      July 20, 2010 at 10:06 am

      Does it help if I say that a few years have passed? ;)

  • Two Lovely Spaces
    July 19, 2010 at 12:36 pm

    Love the side table. I had a problem with that Kulla floor lamp, though. Mine kept making this buzzing noise so I took it back. It is beautiful, though!!

  • Danielle
    July 19, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    I have been eye balling those little tables for awhile now…

  • Paula/adhocmom
    July 19, 2010 at 1:46 pm

    I have the billy bookcases and they are awesome. The glass doors are KEY. People are always really surprised they are from Ikea.

  • Keatley & Co.
    July 19, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    Ah, I love those Pantone mugs. Awesome. Those tables are lovely too. Found a little hallway table that somebody put out as trash last week. Will sand it down and paint it first, but it was a really nice little thing.

  • Cindy
    July 19, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    I love this look! And I wish I had a hallway like that to set up as a reading nook.

  • Shrie >> Lo & Behold
    July 19, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    I’ve always loved the nerdiness of the Pantone mugs, and that rocker is just rad!

  • Two Lovely Spaces
    July 19, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    Nicole, this is totally unrelated to james and Eugenia, but I know you adore red and I just had a mani/pedi with the best shade of nail polish I have seen in years. It’s OPI “Vodka and Caviar” Very candy-apple w/ 2 coats!

    http://www.amazon.com/OPI-Polish-CAVIAR-Russian-Collection/dp/B000V04ZLE

    Just tought I’d share.

  • Jacinta
    July 19, 2010 at 10:39 pm

    WOW! I love the library idea… and those bookcases look great considering they’re from ikea!

  • Laurie
    July 20, 2010 at 12:27 am

    I really like the looks of the bookcases!!!! Wish I had an Ikea here!!!

  • nicole
    July 20, 2010 at 1:16 am

    this instantly reminded me of you! <3

    http://www.fredflare.com//customer/product.php?productid=6306&cat=103

    *xo…

    • Making it Lovely
      July 20, 2010 at 10:05 am

      Love it! That would actually go really well in James’ and Eugenia’s library. :)

  • Redlilocks
    July 20, 2010 at 3:15 am

    Love the colour combination – it’s not too masculine or too dark and still manages to look casually sophisticated.

  • Catherine @ waking up with you
    July 20, 2010 at 5:05 am

    That rug! I love it.

  • luuve
    July 20, 2010 at 8:24 am

    this looks really classic…yet super cozy…

  • Bethany Joy
    July 20, 2010 at 11:16 am

    I love the Billy bookcases. Thinking about replacing my Expedits with white Billys since they are not as deep and much taller. My Expedits are in my blog photo. WDYT?

  • Traveling Mama
    July 25, 2010 at 8:51 am

    I thought of you the other day. We went to a Danish flea market in Copenhagen that was 4000 sq meters overflowing with 50’s and 60’s furniture. A rocking chair like the one above was less than $100 and I saw the COOLEST sofa that was in perfect condition for even less! At one corner there was almost a “chair graveyard” that must have been 20 feet high of retro Danish chairs tossed about like junk. I wanted to save them all! :-)

    If you are interested I wrote about it on Traveling Tribe and posted some pics. Next time I go I will try to take some more photos!

    Hope you have a great week!

  • Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » MiY 5e: Little Boy’s Room
    July 28, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    […] few years have passed since we last checked in on James and Eugenia, the fictional couple in this edition of Making it Yours. James’ […]