We love our home library to bits but there is one magical addition that I wanted to add to our bookshelves for ages – a miniature book nook. We wrote about creative ways to display your books a while back, but this relatively new feature brings a completely extra level to your book collection and these little scenes would make an amazing gift for a booklover.
You can either buy pre-made book nooks or make your own depending on how handy you are and we explore both routes in this blog post.
WHAT IS A BOOK NOOK?
A book nook is a tiny little room that you position between your books to give the illusion that that there is another world hidden behind your shelves. This is sometimes also referred to as a diorama or a bookshelf insert. If you haven't seen these before, we've shared a variety of different designs and kits so that you can get an idea of the creative possibilities out there.
WHERE DID THE BOOKSHELF INSERT CRAZE START?
Most people trace it back to a Japanese model maker called Monde who posted his bookshelf insert of an old-style Japanese alleyway on Twitter in 2018 after people praised his exhibits at Design Festa, an international art event in Tokyo. He was deluged with orders via Twitter, but at the time of writing, he doesn't have a shop so we're unsure if he's still making these pieces for customers.
But don't worry! If you are hankering for your own bookshelf insert there are plenty of people selling fully assembled dioramas and kits online.
There is also a Reddit subgroup dedicated to book nooks . This now has 53.6K members who post images of their own bookshelf dioramas and share inspiration for new designs.
FULLY ASSEMBLED BOOK NOOKS
If crafting isn't your bag, it's possible to get hold of assembled book nooks but they are more expensive – costing anywhere between £130 and £300 . This is because they are hand-crafted and often sold in small batches. You may have to do a little set up with some of them, but it will be minimal.
Many of the premade bookshelf dioramas are made in the USA, Europe and China so if you live outside of these countries, you need to factor in import taxes, duties and shipping costs which can easily double your price.
