I have imagined a reading corner for a long time and I have no idea why I never thought about creating one of my own. The first thing I did in 2019 was to make it happen.

All I did was to realize that sitting at a desk is not my way to enter a creative flow; that I need to be alone and in silence for it to happen and that surrounding myself with something pretty always helps. I immediately knew the right place in the house where to create my cozy corner.
I bought a new plant and placed it next to the Mondrian painting I already had, moved a couple of pillows and picked a yellow blanket to fit with the black and white couch, I opened the curtains and connected two table lamps for the early sunsets and, just like that, it felt ready.
I am sure I will keep on changing details day by day, book by book, but the important thing is that it already feels like the right place where to be.

I am the kind of person who prefers to look at winter from the coziness of their apartment and I have the feeling that this dedicated corner is going to remind me how much I enjoy reading and writing. On the plus side, I just discovered that the wifi signal is the weakest in this part of the house and I decided this is the most positive sign.

How to make your own

I tend to forget that the right conditions make a huge difference in creativity and productivity and that sometimes it doesn’t take much to create them. It’s not easy to give direct tips on how to create your own special reading corner, but if architecture has taught me anything, the space around us can make a huge difference and there are some general directions I can share with you:

The power of a window
Nothing beats natural light and the possibility of contact with the outdoors, so don’t underestimate the power of a big window to choose where to start creating a nest.

Orientate yourself
It may sound weird, but if you place yourself in a way that you can see the entrance to a room, your brain will naturally relax and be able to focus better. This has to do with the fact that we are naturally alert and that having the weak spots in our vision will help us feel relaxed. It doesn’t have to do anything specifically with reading, but it surely applies in this case as well and it can turn out to be handy in many different occasions.

Colors and their meaning
While white helps a room lit up, colors play a big role in stimulating our senses. Each color triggers different emotions and my favorite ones at the moment are blue and yellow. The first one has a calming effect; yellow instead stimulates mental activity and happiness.

Big spaces, small spaces
Generous, big spaces can be beautiful, but also disorienting and distracting as there are many things ready to catch our attention. For this reason smaller spaces are usually better to concentrate and I am personally the biggest supporter of tents and teepees as an adorable and absolutely cool space divider; for kids and adults in the same way.

Value your comfort
Invest in whatever can make you feel comfortable and don’t forget that it doesn’t have to be anything expensive: pillows alone can turn any corner in a cozy one.

originally written for Bored to Death bookclub