I always knew I would have to have bookshelves when I bought my own piece of real estate. Ideally, I would like to have a library but if you live in Toronto, you know that real estate here is complicated, so that dream has to wait. To put it simply, I would have to sell every organ I have and that of my extended family to be able to afford to buy a place big enough to hold the library of my dreams. On second thoughts, that might not be enough! 

BookShelf #1

I knew I wanted it to be in a place that was visible to guests. I am a show-off when it comes to books and consider them an amazing conversation starter. If you are someone who does not enjoy books, you and I are probably not going to get along very well(exceptions apply). So when we first saw our place, I had already identified this weird little nook in our living space that seemed perfect because

• Location: It has to be in the living space, not tucked in a bedroom
• Accessibility: It was a cute little nook that was not in your way
• Size: It was big enough to fit a large piece of furniture

Picking BookShelf#1

I spent hours scouring the internet for this one. I wanted something a little rustic to offset my dark floors and did have doors, since I wanted to be able to display all sorts of knick-knacks on the shelf along with my books. Here is what I was considering:

• Size: I had a specific nook to fill so I knew that chances are that I would have to go the custom route
• Colour: I needed something a little lighter to draw our eye in. A conversation starter so to speak.
• Lighting: I needed options where I could put some sort of ambient lighting

With my non-negotiables thus defined, I went in search of a suitable fit. After the first few hours, I realized that the size and style I wanted would cost me an arm and a leg. I turned to FB marketplace for second-hand pieces and references to carpenters who could make this for me and voila! I found Cocoon Furniture(@cocoon.furniture on Instagram).

They were able to build me a perfect little bookshelf of my preferred dimensions, colour and LED light strips hidden at the back for lighting for about $300.

Bookshelf #2

I knew I had to have a bookish corner. A place that’s tucked away in a corner so I can sit here and read my book in peace with little to no distraction.

Again, I had a specific requirement for this area:

• Location: Shouldn’t be part of my bedroom or office. Not in the bedroom cause, that might disrupt my husband’s sleep and not in the office since that is my place of hustle, I can’t relax in there.
• Seating: I wanted comfy high-back chairs with depth and handles so I could be cozy.
• Space: Enough space to put a small bookshelf, a couple of seating options and a place to put down my beverage of choice.

Picking Bookshelf#2

Now this was a little tricker since I had acquired the chairs and ottoman first. After the first bookshelf, we had to take a little bit of a break since we were saving up for some other important bits. We did go ahead and buy the chairs( STRANDMON from IKEA) and the ottoman(Homesense)

• Size: I did not have too much real estate to work with here. Neither did I have a big budget, so I went looking on Amazon.
• Colour: With my chairs and ottoman bringing in a lot of lightness, I needed something a little darker to go with the floors and sort of carry that warmth into the space.
• Lighting: Again, I needed the bookshelf to be structured in a way that gives me options when it comes to how I wanted to use lights/lamps.

This turned out to be a difficult task. Countless hours and days were spent looking through copious designs, reviews, and colours, taking measurements again and again. After 4 days of intensive search and several discussions with my husband, we landed on this cute little piece for $110.49(there was a sale on the item).