A sweet little reading nook

It's not as if my kids don't have anywhere to sit down and read a book. I mean, kids will sit anywhere. In the aisle of a toy store. My closet. The bathroom floor. You get the drift.

But when you want them to love reading, I think it's important to create a special place for them to sit comfortably with a book. It was in that spirit that we created a sweet little reading nook last week.

Previously, the carpeted area stood empty, a sunny place for us to do puzzles or play with Legos.

As you can see, my kids' new reading nook is right below the new little art wall I just wrote about here. Actually, it was the new art that inspired me to create this little reading spot for my kids. They enjoyed looking at the colorful new artwork so much that they wanted to put the paintings in their rooms. Instead, I proposed keeping these paintings in the family room to designate their own corner of the room for reading or whatever they feel like doing.

The best part is that I didn't go out and buy anything. The wicker chair had been looking for a good home after I bought it at a thrift store a couple of months ago for $3; the Anthropologie rug (a steal on Ebay a couple years ago) was moved over from another area of our house; the basket holding the books cost 35 cents at another thrift store; and the Bla Bla pillow pal has always been in my daughter's room, usually on her bed. Somehow, everything came together as if each piece had somehow been destined for this spot all along.

(By the way, please ignore those yucky looking child-proofing foam pads on the table in front of the window, but we've had a ridiculous amount of eye injuries from kids running into tables. And no, not while reading books!)

I am blessed with children who do seem to love reading as much as I do so they immediately began using their little nook.

They don't always sit in the little chair, but I'm thinking that merely having a chair there is like an invitation to slow down, pause and grab a book.

Really, it's quite simple to create a reading nook. All it takes is a little chair (or something soft to rest on as shown here) and a container for books. The rest of decorative touches are optional, but certainly do make the reading nook more inviting and cozy.

Remember, to see more reading nooks, click on the "kids' nooks" tab on the upper right or just click here.