cover image The Nook Book: How to Create and Enjoy the Coziest Spot in the Home

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

Karen Hansgen. Clarkson N Potter Publishers, $22.5 (144pp) ISBN 978-1-4000-4732-1

""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.