The space seems to ask for a bench or chair -- to rest and ponder a selection (or look up a recipe or bit of info in my world) perhaps more than to sit and read, but that spot under the window also seems like a perfect spot for a dictionary stand - something I've always thought would be neat to have. Functionally, the space needs at least a table or bench -- a place to rest one or more books while looking or returning to the shelves. I saw a glass top writing desk yesterday that might work in a spot like that -- minimal visual impact, but very functional with a desk chair.

I do think a different rug could add color and a different texture (I like the rug, but I'd like more color and a different visual texture next to the shelves). Paint on the wall for contrast would be an easy quart of paint with a lot of impact. But that space says functional shelves -- books unless in a butler's pantry area with stacks of dishes, glassware and serving pieces or near Julia Child's kitchen, in which case it would be filled with cookware and bakeware. And the only reason to turn books with the bindings in and pages out is if you are embarrassed by what is on the spines. WHat kind of tacky books are those decorators hiding? LOL

How about putting in an intentional step stool then if you use one in the space often...

Wayfair step stool

Is that an electrical outlet or a switch? I can imagine an outlet being meant for a lamp on a small table under the window - demilune?

I’d put a wall mirror there ,no chair or bench. :-)

Table, chair or both - it needs a resting spot. A step stool that can also function as a chair (there are some that fold over to do both) or the steps provide a landing spot for a book or two -- even that suggested magnifying glass, could be a functional solution. I'd love to have the spot to play with. Pur upstairs bedrooms have dormers and I have thought about seeing if we could go into the walls to create some bookshelves, but I know the roofline will prevent them from going full height.

Whatever color you paint the wall, paint the outlet, too.

Azn has some interesting bookcases. I like this one because it is interesting to look at. However it might not work for your space. There are narrower versions.

https://www.amazon.com/Artswish-Bookshelf-Standing-Bookcase-Magazines/dp/B096RT51F7

I haven't read through replies, but has anyone mentioned a very small writing desk/table and a cute chair pulled up underneath-with lamp and small plant on the table? It would be a place to sit and look through something quickly-recipe etc. and put book right back. So, kind of useful too.

Might want to go back and read...

I would put a seat there that had a shape to highlight the window shape.

I wouldn’t want anything that I have to move to get to a book.

The space is too small for any furniture. You could take a photo with a chair in that tight space, you'd see what I am talking about.

Or maybe just a pic with a human standing there?

Ohhh... I like that just_terrilyn!

I would want a very comfy reading chair like this one chair

I didn't abandon you all. What was supposed to be a simple step of taking books off one shelf and putting them on the top shelf, then put pretties on the empty shelf, has taken a life of it's own. lol The pictures I posted was when I cleaned the area up to take a nice picture. IRL, it had books stacked on the floor until I had time to put them back, it got dustier than I thought, and I noticed it was time to wash all the wood in the space.

I took took the shutter off and cleaned the window inside and out which needed to be done, and of course I had to wash the shutter.

I think I have a couple of days left to work on it off and on because my back gets sore and I have to rest.

Annie, I like the step stool but I don't want to buy anything new because I have several pieces here to choose from.

Carol, that's an outlet when we first built the nook I had a table and lamp in there for nighttime ambience. Used it for a couple of years and then when the grands were born I took them out because they loved the nook for their play area, and their toys were in there. In fact, my almost 12 yo DGD still goes in there & sits on the floor and draw. She's petite and very comfy in that position.

Again, absolutely no chairs. I have no desire to move it each time I need to look at the book on the end of the shelves.

Summers, the space is absolutely big enough for a chair or table as long as they are on the smaller side.

My camera makes every object and space appear smaller than it is. I have no idea how to fix it.

I forgot I had this bar stool that I use in the LR, but not to sit on. I'll post more table options later, if I can move. :)

I know you don't want to buy anything, but I was thinking a kissing bench would be fun. If not that, then simply a low bench placed the long way in the middle of the nook so no furniture need be moved to access the shelves and it would let the window decorate the far wall by itself.

I'm cracking up with your efforts as I can relate...the amount of "spring cleaning" that gets done when I redecorate!

"If You Give A Mouse a Cookie" syndrome.

I know you are anti-chair despite so many of us suggesting one, but I’m not seeing why you would have to move a chair to access the back shelves? If it were no wider than the plant stand and had no arms, you could just sit on the chair ( or bench) sideways to look for a book. I so seldom access ALL, the books in my shelves that it seems to me they could be arranged so those seldom accessed could be placed toward the window. If your granddaugher loves the nook, I can imagine her sitting there with a book!

Yes, breaks my heart to know how wonderful your space is. i would put a cshy chair and an ootoman along with the pharmacy light and a place for a drink. i would snuggle up with the world outside and 'oh the places I would go'.

since the lighting in there is not enough to warrant a planter ... plus the fact that light can degrade books, I concur with a nice sitting bench. You could place it in the middle lengthwise so you can sit in the middle of the room and scan the shelves for the book you desire ...

I love your booknook and can understand you dont want a chair there. but in the pic with a peek of the adjoining i see a floor lamp. i can picture a cozy chair for reading there like an extension of your nook. i love bookcases and i think a few tea pots would look terrific mixed in sitting on books maybe turn horizontally.

I'm probably put a book ladder because I think they're cool.

What's the measurement between 2 bookcases? I am guessing it's about 4'.

Book case with stuff !

To put a stop to the cookie eating and playing ring around the rosie, I marked one of my posts as a featured topic so you can read it again which tells you the ideas I need.

The floor space is still used by my 11 & 12 year old grandchildren, and sometimes I sit with them. There's a drop leaf table in the back of the room so they can sit there and do stuff. But the floor is their home so to speak, since birth. It had all the toys I bought for them when they came over which was often. Just last week I couldn't find DGD, so I walked to the end of the room and found her in the nook playing with the kinetic sand I refused to get rid of. That is her spot.

If I wanted a chair in there, it would already be there.

The space between the shelves is around 5' x 5'.

There is a white bench in the entryway on the left side of the nook wall.

Before the grands were born, there was an even bigger planter in the nook which was a perfect fit with space on each side and it held....plants!

I already have a place to read and when I go in there searching for a book or the containers of photos, I get on my knees and read each title from left to right. I have no desire to move anything so I can do that. But I can do it with a planter or narrow table with one of my plants as center stage. :)

I think the problem is most people think of a book nook as a place to sit and read books. It's actually a diorama between two books. Reading nooks are what people mean. Mine is a book nook, a place to put your books, a small library surrounded by walls.

About lighting. Take a look at the 3 pictures I posted, which were taken at different times of the day with a lousy camera that makes every thing look darker and smaller. Trust me, there is plenty of light in there. I hate low light in such an area.

Bragu, you must not grow house plants because if you did you'd never say such a thing about not enough light for a planter. The window is north facing which is perfect for growing not just low light plants, but plants that need more light, but not direct light. There is about 15 minutes of morning light on a small part of the books. All these years they've been there I see no damage. Only dust.

Sorry for being sarcastic and I don't mean to be, except this has been such a busy week I still haven't been able to finish what I started. There are books everywhere! lol. You should see my kitchen counter where I have all of my house plants after feeding and cleaning so I can do my bi-annual moving of plants because the sun is changing. What a chore.

I don't have time to proof read so there are probably plenty of mistakes.

So, it sounds like you may deep down really want a chair in there.

((((just kidding)))).

It's gorgeous. I have nothing to add except every time I see this subject my eyes read bookmark. Then each time I say bookmark I realize that's not right- it's book NOOK. not Book Mark or reading nook. It's a BOOK NOOK.

The entrance needs a stage built and velvet curtains for puppet shows.

Same as salonva - my eyes want to read 'bookmark', for some reason - every time 😄

Is there any reason not to go back to what worked before?

What about a small storage ottoman for the kids' stuff...?

FOAS! yes!

I really think, something wooden and narrow that can be used as a stepstool or as a place to set books when playing library, or to lean a pillow against when reading on the floor (I used to love reading on the floor, but now I can’t get back up!), or to be the proscenium for the puppet show (tension rod and shower curtain will do for an ad hoc curtain). and wallpaper the ceiling. Maybe a single sconce light on the end wall.

I've got some book nook envy! I love it. I agree with the folks who suggested an angled chair. Whenever I visit a new home, I always to to find the best reading spot.

It sounds like you decided from the beginning that you are putting your teapots in there and no other changes will be considered? What exactly do you want input on? Do you want to post pics of your collection for help with arranging, or???

Sorry Oakley, I grow AVs and they demand more light than what I am seeing. They thrive under my skylights. A dumb cane [dieffenbachia] might like it, tho; mine lives on the N side of my living room just W of a NE window, which only gets am sun. I also grow adenium [desert rose] which demands copious amounts of artificial light five months a year.

Yeah, Olychick, must be all about the teapots. I'm getting the impression that Oakley doesn't really want to change anything...no chair, no step stool, no bench, no lighting, no lamp, keep the rug, don't want to purchase anything new...won't even change how the books sit on the shelves...so that leaves maybe a paint color for the wall? But no dark paint as she wants to lighten it. So I'm out.

IAC, it's a lovely space, and if I were a little one, I'd hang out there too.

OK I get it - no chair but you did say you were bored with it and asked what we would do.

From your photo it looks like you can't really see the decorative items unless you're inside the book nook. Maybe you would consider a small bookcase where the planter is - not for books, but rather to display your teapots. You could still have plants on the top.

Lots of really good opinions and ideas here, and the beauty of these brainstorming threads is that they don't just help the OP. Others can benefit from the collective input as well.

If it were me, and taking into consideration your wants, I would put the tea pots on the shelves, displayed as shown in your example photos. I probably wouldn't put them on a bookcase under the window, only because kids play in there and they could get knocked a bit - though that could be very cute! Just to change things up, I'd remove the cats and add the tea pots. That way the primary purpose remains a book nook with a few displayed items, rather than some books and some decorative items. And then find a fun bookcase or table for your plants under the window, with maybe kid art supplies or puzzles stored below so they are easy access for the kids. (Sorry if you've said those things are stored elsewhere - don't have time to go back up and re-read everything.)

Ding ding ding, Bluebell wins for suggesting what I asked for in the first place! Bluebell, the other side of the nook I have art supplies and other things the kids still use, also chess board, chess men, chess books, chess timer, binoculars, pictures stored in pretty picture boxes that I rummage through every now and then, little trinkets the grandkids have given us for Christmas. :) You know what I wanted in the first place. Thank you.

Annie and Ollie, forgive me for saying this but your replies above are the reason others here have left the other side and now write funny topics on this side how the "Pro's" over there completely ignore what the OP is asking for and instead telling the OP what they want, no matter how many times the OP says NO.

If you read this board you would know I began this project months ago thanks to KSWL's colorful rug I covet. When I bought the nook rug I posted a picture and said how I'm trying to add color to the room.

A few months ago I bought a matching area rug in the LR. Then I did the same for the entryway. So please don't gossip with Oly (which comes across as rudely talking behind my back) saying I don't want to change. Just because I don't want to put your chair in there doesn't mean I don't want change!

Also, this is not about my teapots!! Thank you for making me now feel like throwing them all away, only nasty memories they will hold for me. They were just an example of what to put on the middle shelf. That's where I need help.

I'm old enough to remember when Oakley complained that people did not comment on her posts. Now there are 88 comments about a nook, and Oakley it feels like you are scolding people who tried to help. Yes, people go outside the remit but that is to be expected and more than once I have taken advice about something I said I was not looking to change. It's fine if you don't want to do that but I agree with Olychick and others above.

Below is a classic scene from All in the Family that I've never forgotten. This is exactly how I feel right now. Enjoy!

Here are some photo to get your mind thinking. You could display your teapots in various ways throughout the bookcase, instead of all in one spot I think that would look interesting.

Oakley, take what you can use here and leave the rest. I see nothing but good, kind intention from those who responded. It isn't easy to gauge exactly the input that others seek, especially when trying to do so virtually. One thing about this forum is that the responses to design dilemmas may be all over the map, but to me that's part of the joy. And unlike the few pros who are notoriously unkind to others, those on this side really do seek to constructively help.

Your book nook is a lovely, special place. I hope you find what works best to make you love it even more. I have a number of teapots displayed in the bookcase in my library, and I love seeing them there.

"Annie and Ollie, forgive me for saying this but your replies above are the reason others here have left the other side and now write funny topics on this side how the "Pro's" over there completely ignore what the OP is asking for and instead telling the OP what they want, no matter how many times the OP says NO."

Dang! What did I do? Sounds like you have OJDS (Ollie Jane Derangement Syndrome) to me. Maybe you need to re-read my replies.

You never said, until much later, after I replied, that you didn't want to buy anything new-so I didn't comment anymore after that. To be honest, you should have just posted your small tables (you LATER mentioned) and taken pics of them for us, that you would like to use and already had on hand, like you mentioned LATER on down the thread. But, I didn't mention that, until now.

FWIW, I rarely, I mean rarely go to "the other side". So, I have no idea what you are talking about!

I think Oakley meant Olychick, Ollie Jane.

Below is a classic scene from All in the Family that I've never forgotten. This is exactly how I feel right now. Enjoy!

Wow Oakley. I certainly hope not.

@Olychick where is that first slipper chair from? I love it! Thanks!

Since anything goes now, I would paint the bookcases charcoal, wallpaper, remove the shutter and put a piece of stained glass there. I'd also have a chair. Probably sconces on either side of the window too.

Oakley, your question was ”What would you do?”

You mean this OP?

"Here's a pic, what would you do? I'm bored with it."

To be fair, and not trying to speak for her, but I think Oakley is responding to subsequent replies that appear to completely ignore her followup clarifications to the OP.

Once a thread has this many replies, it's easy to assume not everyone is reading them all.

P.S. The title of thread also asks the question in different words.

Somebody said and it might have been Ida that threads out there are helpful to other people. So actually even though when we start a thread we think it belongs to us, it evolves and is information that's useful in a lot of different ways. So you just have to extrapolate what you can from it and let it go its own course.