Nooks
August 3, 2011
I love my house, I really do. Nothing feels more homey to me than my spaces filled with all my people and my treasures. It’s cozy, it’s comfy, it’s my sanctuary. I could die in my house, I love it that much, and I am grateful for each day I live in it.
However.
I have thoughts of building again. I harbor them deep in my soul, and it keeps me awake at night. It’s why I continue subscribing to all those shelter magazines, tabbing all the ideas for my ‘next house’. Confess, I know many of you do this too. You have pages torn from magazines of the things you’d include if you ever build a dream home. I have many images stored in binders and also online, it’s why I’m a Pinning fool.
One of the things I will have many of in my future dream house on five acres with a botanical garden and lavender field that I may or may not ever have the fortune to plant and build someday is a . . . nook. Well, not one nook. Several. Many. Many nooks would make me very happy. The world needs more nooks, don’t you think?
I shall definitely build a sunny breakfast nook.
I shall tuck a secret nook under the stairs too. It will make a great space for impromptu puppet shows or mid day cat naps.
My future fantasy home needs several window nooks too, a place for me and the dog or the cat and a good book.
And I simply must have a built in reading nook in my fantasy dream home. This image below reminds me so much of the built-in bed in the house I grew up in. It wasn’t white like this at all, in fact, it was all dark wood. Our reading nook was tucked away in the corner of our living room just like this, next to big bright windows, and my sister and I would curl up in in for hours, me with my Nancy Drew and she with her Anne of Green Gables. We laid there toe to toe for hours, it was perfect.
I love this one too, for its bold color and pattern medley.
Here’s a fun colorful version, perfect for a kid’s room.
Boston Design Guide, Fallon Homes
Of course, I’ll need several for all my grandbabies. Yes, I think about my grandbabies, I must have many of them too.
Nooks. I need ‘em. I need several of them in my fantasy dream home.
If you could build a house from the ground up, what’s the one thing you would include? Are you a nook obsessed like me?
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Tags: Inspiration, nooks
I love nooks, too! I have a couple in my house & I just posted about one done by a friend of mine!
Love the nooks! I have always dreamed of a bay window for my breakfast nook!
Yup, I do that too. But I don’t think my limestone tower (that’s actually a gigantic walk-in stone shower in the huge master bathroom) is going to happen in this house or any future houses. Lovely breakfast nook photos. It would be a lovely space to have, in any home.
OMG do I love a nook!! Seriously, could have written this post word for word! I love our home, but I am constantly fantasizing about another dream home – one that is filled with nooks, esp a breakfast one:) Love your blog!
I’ve always dreamed of a window seat nook, even as a little girl. A place devoted to readin’ and dreamin’ :)
I’m definitely obsessed with nooks, especially attic nooks. It makes me think of “Little Women” and how they played in the attic. I was about to show you a Pin of one of my favorite attic nooks and it took me back to one of your posts! Ha! So I guess you already know about that one.
If I built my own house, I’d definitely go for a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of windows… bay windows, dormer windows, french doors, huge glass walls. I love windows.
Great pictures which really got me thinking of the spaces in my house. Thanks for the inspiration!
My “the house we will build” board just grew by several pins. The reading nooks are the best!
My “the house we will build” board just grew by several pins. The reading nooks are the best!
I love the tucked away bed nooks. Am I too old to have one of these for myself?! ;)
Man, I never really thought about nooks, but you SOLD me! How precious are all of these little places. I’m in love.
Bay windows! I can’t get enough of them; and if the view from the window happens to be a sprawling ocean, then that is paradise! Nooks are fun too, growing up it seemed like all our family get togethers ended up with the women in the kitchen and the men at the table gossiping like the “hens” they made fun of. Funny how a grandpa can know just as much about the goings on as the women. :) Nooks and bay windows always seem to bring families together.
Dreaming is what keeps us alive… I’ve had to resort to helping friends remodel to get my fix. My husband told me yesterday to get a contractor’s license…
Oh, man, nooks are the best. I loved the idea of window seats, of cushions tucked under large, bay windows — the kinds of things one only sees in plantation houses, not the modular suburban home stylings I grew up in. The one with the bold mix of colors is fab!
Each nook was so inviting. :)
Library. Enough said.
~Blair
I love built-ins. No matter where I end up, I will include built-ins somehow. Whether in the form of bookshelves, a bed, a nook, a window seat. I think it makes a room so charming. My brother’s old home has wall to wall bookshelves and it is so lovely and makes me nostalgic thinking of my grandfather who was an English professor. Come to think of it, I’m fond of having a library room. That would be in my dream home.
Gorgeous! I loved, loved, LOVED Nancy Drew as a kid. I think I read every single one of the books.
Secret passageways…lots of em :D
I love nooks too! I’ve been trying to figure out how to put one in my house for years now! Thanks to these ideas I may have just figured it out. And, at first glance I could’ve sworn the first picture was from your house!
Nooks are great, and I’ve always dreamed of having one. I thought of making one under the stairs, but it is such a dark place that I opted for a more reasonable idea, storage. However, I still dream of having my little reading nook, and I know I can make it happen if we install a bay window in the living room. I would fill it with handmade cushions and a few potted plants, and would plant hydrangeas and roses outside in front of it. Dreams…
Oooh, I am SO nook obsessed! Like you, I definitely want a lot of them in my future home! Mostly for reading books, of course :) But is has been a dream of mine, ever since I was very young, to someday live in a house with window seats.
I know the real reason you chose the first picture (Southern Living) — the backsplash! Sorta looks like the one you did in the dining room. I like yours better, though, for the record :)
I’ve always wanted a cozy reading nook under the window, with lots of textiles…drapes, pillows, throws, cushion. The dream house would also have to have built-in bookshelves and storage, a large airy laundry room, and a dining space large enough to fit a table for at least 10!
we will definitely try for an under the stair nook (i have the plans for my new house tucked away in a file)…and for one in baby boy’s room as well.
i am bookmarking this page!
I love nooks! My parents have had a breakfast nook in their house that they built over 50 years ago and it’s always been the favourite gathering spot in the house. A couple houses ago, we had one in our house on 2 acres and I loved it. Hopefully someday I’ll have one again. And a porch swing. :)
Ever since I was a little girls I have loved nooks! They are the best place to sneak away and curl up with a book, a magazine, or art supplies! I especially like the bed nook you have shown via My Ideal Home.
Love them all :)
I would need an ocean view room. That. Is. All.
I’ve got nook plans in my future. Have you seen these two on piterest? http://pinterest.com/pin/67568634/
http://pinterest.com/pin/64535199/
Love these and your new page look! I have that same file (next to the last by Southern Living) in my future plans as well:)
I think there’s a nook in your future. Come on, YOU can figure out one (or two) in that house of yours. Think hard!!!!
Those really are lovely. :) I’m going to build in nooks wherever I can. They’re the people-sized crannies that make you feel sheltered, cozy, and safe. I wish I could have an Inglenook . . . that’s my biggest fantasy. But, so far, I haven’t been able to figure out how to add one of those . . .
Oh, and btw . . . nearly ALL of the nooks you posted up there can be added to existing rooms. Soooo . . . what are you waiting for? ;) lol
Love the little nooks :) I am embarrased to say that , until 3 days ago, I didn’t even know what a blog was until I stumbled upon this site researching “star wars” bday ideas. I am a stay at home mom and love to decorate and DIY projects. Any suggestions on how to “stay organized” with all these wonderful blogs! YIKES…..I am so overwhelmed! Love your site Kate :)
2 words…. laundry chute!
You are so speaking my language! I just wrote a post on Mom-Nooks! Hey, we have man-caves and play-rooms….what about us ladies? I am bookmarking this post for future inspiration….maybe my next house:) BTW, love the makeover! Joanne (here is my post for a few more pics for you!)
http://homestyling101.blogspot.com/2011/08/come-visit-for-some-smarty-decor.html
Window seat nooks are my very favorite. I’ve always wanted one. But my REAL dream is Secret Passages!! I either played too much Clue or watched too much of the TV show Webster as a child. Both made me really want a house where a painting or a grandfather clock swings out and takes you down a dark hallway to another part of the house!
Secret Passages might not be the most practical thing to have in a house, but I still love them!
Maybe we should all get a DNA test…..we must all share a special gene. I too have a dreams of one day having a NOOK. Mine will be in my baywindow…I have sketched it with LOTS and LOTS of pillows, storage underneath…..I just need my husband to build it. That’s another story!
LOVE this post! But, you forgot the halfway up the stairs nook that sits just under a window. In all of the Victorian-era homes around here and they are lovely!!
I’ve always wanted a comfy window seat that I could read a book. My best friend said she wanted one with a big curtain, like in Victorian homes. She said she would hide from her children in there. We were fairly young and I thought it was funny. She grew up in huge house with a lot of kids and I grew up in a 50′s modern house, which I loved dearly (of course my family made it home).
I also want a nook for the kitchen/dining table. I’d be even happy with a bench on the back side to save space and give extra seating.
Ohhhhh great nooks! I Love em all!
I love nooks, too! I always fantasized about having a reading nook/window seat when I was a little girl. Now I’m thinking of ways to make some sort of nook in my house!