Reading nook – Reveal - Claire Imaginarium

As I mentioned a little while ago, British new builds have so little storage that you need to be very creative and make the most of any negative space available. In my case, I had the space you can see below that just had an armchair and decorative cases. I really wanted to 1) give that corner of our living more character (mid-century-modern anyone?) and 2)have more storage to be used as a bar/wine cellar.

So did I succeeded in creating a cosy space with decent storage? Well, you tell me! 🙂

My first priority was to balance the proportions of this corner as one side has a double-height wall and the other is a half-height wall. I, therefore, looked for a piece of art that would look big enough on the tallest wall and colour-coordinate with the furniture against the second wall.

The poster is from King & McGaw, it is a quote from Andy Warhol – “I never read, I just look at pictures.”. I went for the 3 cm black satin flat frame. This online art shop is absolutely fantastic and I have since ordered a few other pieces from them. The quality of the print and frame is great and the delivery super fast!

For the furniture, I have been faithful to my love for affordable mid-century modern.

The bookcase and the armchair are both from Ikea.

In order to not come across as alcoholics, I styled the shelves with a mixture of wine bottles, books and spirits.

I got the wine racks add-ons from Ikea as well.

I styled the top of the bookcase with little figurines I got over the years in different countries. The horse is from Sweden, the turkey from Brazil and the elephant from Thailand. I also added some of my favourite coffee books and a Moroccan inspired candle.

For the table lamp, I wanted height and texture, so it would overlap with the height of the wall and pop against the grey wall. I fairly quickly figured out that concrete was the texture I wanted and found this little gem at Oliver Bonas. The shade has a hint of green in it which at first I wasn’t too sure about, but I learned to love it.

I completed the space with a side table. I think this is what really brings the cosiness and make it into a well-defined space. These two little marble and copper tables are from Oliver Bonas too! (I could live in that shop…)

I styled them with a couple of books and the only plant I cannot kill. The pot is from Oliver Bonas too (old collection)!!! Do you think there is such a thing as Oliver Bonas addiction?