How To Create a Cozy Reading Nook - 3 WAYS!
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Jul 9, 2025
📚✨ Create your dream reading nook! In this video, I’ll show you how to turn any corner of your home into a cozy, inviting space perfect for curling up with a good book. Whether you have a small apartment or a spacious house, these simple tips and creative ideas will help you design a nook that’s beautiful, functional, and oh-so-relaxing. | CHAPTERS | 00:00 Intro 00:50 The Essentials 03:01 The Cozy Corner 06:12 The Cozy Window Seat 09:07 The Cozy Canopy 12:26 Styling 13:55 Outro | LINKS |* Best Seating for a Cozy Corner COLAMY Sherpa Accent Chair with Storage Ottoman Set - https://amzn.to/4lHx6St Sofa Accent Chair, 33" Reading Chair - https://amzn.to/406pkcK 49" Chaise Lounge Corduroy Fabric - https://amzn.to/4nJTM6G
View Video Transcript
0:03
Hi, it's Linda Diane from diannecor.com.
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In this video, I'm going to share with
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you three ways to create a cozy reading
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nook in your home. Whether you are an
0:13
avid reader or you just want a place to
0:16
unwind and escape from all the busyiness
0:19
that's happening in your home and just
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scroll on your phone or work on your
0:23
laptop, this video is going to have an
0:27
idea that's going to work for you. Now,
0:29
creating a cozy nook is really simple
0:32
and you can style it up a variety of
0:34
ways, but there are a few essentials
0:36
that make the cozy reading nook work.
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And you're going to need these no matter
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which option you choose. So, let's jump
0:44
in and talk about the essentials, and
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then I'll share with you three different
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ways to create a cozy reading nook in
0:49
your home. So, let's start with the
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essentials. Number one is that you need
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a place where you can at least stretch
0:56
out and reposition yourself. So, you
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want your seating area to be large
1:00
enough so that you can actually change
1:02
positions and get comfortable because
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this may be a space where you're going
1:06
to be spending multiple hours at a time
1:09
in. If you want to sit there and read
1:11
for maybe 2 hours, odds are you're not
1:14
going to sit in the same position the
1:16
whole time, right? So, you want to make
1:18
sure that the seating that you choose
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allows for you to have that flexibility.
1:25
Number two is you want a place where you
1:27
can hold a drink or a snack. Now, this
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does not have to be an elaborate setup,
1:32
usually with a reading nook. This is
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just a small little side table or tray
1:36
table, but we'll get into those options
1:38
a little bit later. But for sure, you
1:40
want to have a place where you can set
1:42
down your book at the very least. A
1:45
snack, a coffee, an iced tea, something
1:48
like that. You need some sort of
1:50
horizontal surface that's stable where
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you can set some items on. Number three
1:55
is task lighting. So, by this I mean
1:59
your task in this zone is to be able to
2:02
read or work on a device. So, you need
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light that is sort of directional and
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aimed directly towards your seating
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area. There are a few different ways
2:12
that we can go about doing this, and
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again, we'll discuss that with each of
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the options, but for sure, you need some
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type of task lighting around this
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reading nook zone. If you have dimmable
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or adjustable lighting, that's going to
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be even better. And number four, you're
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going to want to have some nice soft
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cushions and pillows and possibly some
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throw blankets to make it really, really
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comfortable in that space. You want it
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to be warm and inviting and cozy and
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nice plush textures and pillows are
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going to not only provide you with
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support and warmth, but they're going to
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add all of that extra style that you're
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looking for to your reading nook. So,
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now that we've gotten the essentials out
2:55
of the way, let's jump into the three
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ways to create a cozy reading nook in
3:00
your home. Number one is the cozy
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corner. Now, the cozy corner you can
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place in just about any room in your
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home. So, whether it's your living room,
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your bedroom, a home office, you can
3:15
even create a cozy corner at the base of
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a stairway, or even a playroom. There
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are a lot of opportunities in a home to
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create a cozy corner for you to be able
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to read in. This space is really going
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to be defined by the junction of two
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walls, right? So, where your two walls
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meet perpendicularly and they create the
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corner, this is what is defining your
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nook area. So, let's talk about the best
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furniture choices if you're going to
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create a cozy corner. a chair and an
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ottoman, an oversized armchair, a lounge
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chair, a chase, a papaon chair, or a
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rocking chair is going to be your best
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choice for a cozy corner. These are all
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pieces of seating furniture that are
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going to give you that ability to sort
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of move around and reposition yourself.
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They're large enough for one person to
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really feel comfortable and luxuriate.
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They aren't necessarily made for two
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people, although you can always create a
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cozy corner with two chairs, but for the
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most part, it's usually only one sort of
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piece of furniture. It's a little
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hideaway and nook for one person at a
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time. And all of these types of
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furniture would work wonderfully in a
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cozy corner. The best lighting options
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for a cozy corner are going to be a
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floor lamp, wall sconces, or a table
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lamp. The best side table options for a
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cozy corner sort of run the gamut. You
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can choose just about anything. So, you
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just want to make sure that you're going
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to keep it small so that is not taking
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up too much space. Really, it's your
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piece of seating furniture that you
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choose. So, your chair, your chase, uh
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you know, whatever it is, that's going
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to be your largest element in this
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space. And then the side table is just
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going to be supplementary to that. So,
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look for something that's like a small
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round end table. A side table with maybe
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a charging station worked into it. A
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tiered side table is also another
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choice. A C-shaped side table is really
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great if you have a smaller space to
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work with. So, if you do not have the
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room to set yourself too far away from
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the corner, like your furniture and your
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table lamp is really pushed into the
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corner because you don't have a lot of
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space around you, a C-shaped table is
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going to be best. Those are the ones
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that will tuck underneath your furniture
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and really slide right up to you.
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Another option is a narrow rectangular
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side table or even a TV tray table.
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Specifically, the ones that are
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collapsible so that they can kind of
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fold down and tuck away out of the way
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when you need the extra space. Number
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two is the cozy window seat. Now, you do
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not have to have a built-in window seat
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to do this. In fact, you will have more
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flexibility if you don't have a built-in
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window seat. Now, in contrast to the
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cozy corner where the corner is defining
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your nook, here it is going to be the
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window that defines your nook. Your
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seating area will be placed directly
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under the window. And ideally, it should
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span the entire width of the window as
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well. Some homes have built-in window
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seats or built-in like bay window seats
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as an architectural feature. And if your
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home has that, you want to make sure
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that you go ahead and add in the cushion
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padding for your window seat. That's
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going to be really key for your comfort.
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But if you do not have a built-in window
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seat, these are the furniture options
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that you're going to look for. A bench,
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chase, seti,
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banket,
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or a love seat are going to be the best
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choices when you're creating a cozy
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window seat, reading nook. Your best
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lighting options are going to be either
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wall sconces or a pendant light or a
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mini chandelier light. So whether you
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have that built-in setback window seat,
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your wall sconces would sort of be on
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either side of you facing in or if you
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are building out your own window seat
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and you're placing like a set tee in
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front of your window or you're placing a
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chase in front of your window, you would
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put the wall sconces on either side, but
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they're going to be facing out into your
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room. Either way, flanking your window
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seat with lighting is really your best
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option.
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Also, you can go with a pendant light
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that can hang down directly over your
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seating area, or you can swap out that
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pendant light for like a mini chandelier
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as well. Your best side table options
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when you're going with the cozy window
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seat are actually going to be a tray
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that you can just place on the seat
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itself. Or you can go with a very small
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round side table or even a stool.
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Sometimes a C-shaped end table will work
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here as well depending upon whether or
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not you have like open legs at the
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bottom. So, if you have some like
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built-in drawers or your window seat is
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built in, you might not have the space
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to slide the legs of a C-shaped table
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underneath. In this case, I would go
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with the tray or I would go with the
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small round side table. But if you do
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have something like you just putting a,
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you know, a bench that has four legs
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there or you have a seti or a love seat
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where you can still use that C-shaped
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table, then go for that. The third
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option is the cozy canopy. Now, this is
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something that can be done indoors or
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outdoors, and it's defined by your
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overhead covering. So, this could be a
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canopy, a tent, an umbrella, a sail
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shade, or even the top of an egg chair.
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It's this covered area that is really
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defining the nook. And so with that,
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these are the furniture choices that
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you're going to go for. Your best indoor
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furniture options for the cozy canopy
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are going to be a dayb bed, a floor
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mattress, a papaon chair, a floor
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pillow, a round chase lounge, or an egg
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chair. For the most part, you're looking
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for pieces of furniture that are sort of
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more squat. They're low to the ground.
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They're a little bit wide. This is why
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you can get away with like a giant floor
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pillow or even a pile of pillows.
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Sometimes you can use those sort of
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convertible day beds that sort of fold
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up into a chair and fold down into a
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bed. All of these are really great
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options if you want to do the canopy
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because you need the head space for the
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canopy. And so the lower to the ground
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that you are, the easier that this is
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going to work because you're going to be
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hanging that canopy inside the house
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from the ceiling. So you're going to
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have a little bit of a drop height going
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on anyway. And then usually your canopy
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is going to fan out. So by the time you
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get to a height where you have the
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maneuverability in the room that you
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need, you're already sort of lower to
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the ground. And so it makes sense for
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you to lower your seating down to the
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ground as well. Now, when it comes to
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the indoor canopy, we most often see
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this with kids rooms. This is an easy
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way to create a little cozy nook for a
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kid. Whether it's meant for reading or
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just meant for playing, kids love these
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little canopy areas, but you can
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certainly do one for an adult as well.
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If you have a dayb bed or if you have
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like a papaon chair, you can set this
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same thing up in your home for an adult.
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Now, if you want to create this cozy
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canopy outside, here are the best
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furniture options. A dayb bed with a
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retractable canopy, an egg chair, a
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papaon chair, a club chair, a hammock, a
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porch swing, or a bench. The best way to
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light a cozy canopy reading nook is
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going to be with string lights, fairy
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lights, or curtain lights. And the best
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side table options are going to be a
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small round side table or a stool or you
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can go with a tray for this. Uh wall
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sconces may work, but odds are your
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canopy or your umbrella, whatever
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overhead covering you have is probably
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going to get in the way of that lighting
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unless you put it really really low to
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the ground. So, it's really better to
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just utilize some sort of string
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lighting that you can string along
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either the trim of the canopy or the
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inside of the canopy roof so that you
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have this illuminated space underneath
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the canopy. And then, of course, no
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matter which option you choose when it
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comes to styling this up, think about
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things like small area rugs underneath
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your space. Add in maybe a little tiny
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vase with some flowers on your side
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table. Consider adding in some wall
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decor on either side, throw blankets,
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pillows. Style it up the way that you
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want. But these are sort of the the
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fundamentals of these three different
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space options. And again, you can
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achieve any one of these in your home.
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It does not matter whether you have a
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built-in window seat or not. you can
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still create a cozy reading nook around
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a window. The same with a corner.
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Everyone's got corners in their homes.
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So, just a free corner will do that.
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Preferably one that's lower traffic
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area, but certainly you can carve out a
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corner in your home to create a cozy
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reading nook. And then, of course, the
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canopy option. I would say indoors is
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best for kids. Outdoors would be best
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for adults. So, if you want to carve out
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a little space on your patio that's
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going to be a nice little reading nook,
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you can do that with just an umbrella or
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a sail shade. Or you can invest and get
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in one of those day beds that has a
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retractable canopy already on it. Or you
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can have your egg chair. These are all
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really great options just to create a
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little enclosed space for yourself where
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you can escape and relax in and just
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read a book. So, that's it for this
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video. I hope you found it helpful.
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Don't forget to visit me at dianor.com.
14:01
I post all about home decorating ideas
14:04
and inspiration over there. If you like
14:07
this video, please give it a like and
14:08
consider subscribing to my channel. And
14:10
I'll see you in the next one. Bye.
14:14
[Music]
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