Adding a cosy reading nook to your home is a great way to create intimate corners of leisure and relaxation in your home. Often situated near a window, these little pockets of whimsy offer an escape from the hustle of daily life, and are the perfect addition to any bibliophile's home.
A Whimsical Double-Height Reading Nook
This villa in Pune is a sanctuary of escape for a family of five- a couple and their three children. Spread across 4,000-square-feet and three floors, this home features many pockets of space, both private and personal, that offer a tranquil retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The home offers a seamless blend of indoor and outdoor spaces, and its material palette takes inspiration from organic forms, natural textures, and earthy materials.
Upon entering the villa, one encounters an expansive double-height living room. However, tucked into its left lies a cosy reading nook flanked by two towering bookshelves on either side. A floor-to-ceiling window bathes the nook in sunlight, and a daybed placed in the centre offers comfortable seating, perfect for curling up with a book, or daydreaming while staring out of the window.
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A Nook Surrounded by Greenery
This Bengaluru home nestled in a quiet, residential neighbourhood in Koramangala, is the forever home of a young couple and their two sons. Surrounded by century-old mango and coconut trees, this home weaves green pockets, softness, and serene waterbodies into the bones of this house. “Connection to landscape inspires the layout of this Bengaluru home–incorporating lush vegetation, wooden louvres, and raw natural stones,” principal designer Kavya explains.
The transitions between indoors and outdoors are seamless across both levels of the house. The master bedroom and children's rooms are both located on the upper floor, and open into the family area through hidden wooden doors. One of the children's bedrooms has a custom desk in the corner of the room which transitions into a window seat that overlooks the lush scenery surrounding the home. The window seat serves as the perfect spot for relaxation and unwinding after intense studying sessions.
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A Bibliophile's Home
When a familiy of bibliophiles, consisting of a couple in their 50s and their young daughter, moved from Singapore to Surat, they wanted a home that reflected their love for books, as well as their love for entertaining people. The result is a home that is neither minimalist nor maximalist, but simply serves to unpack the life journey of the people within it.
Upon entering the apartment, one immediately spots the contrasts at play. The ceiling of the house is dull concrete, and the walls are rendered in lime paint (which also keeps the apartment cool). This allows the warm brown of the Valsadi teak wood, as well as other element like rugs and memorabilia to shine. “This sense of juxtaposed coherence, using natural materials, creates the perfect neutral canvas for introducing splashes of colour," says Pooja Shah, one of the architects of the project. In one of the various reading nooks of the home, a dull yellow reading chair nicely compliments the brown of the wooden shelves, and the muted white of the walls.
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A Modern Jharokha
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In the every expanding city of Mumbai, it is hard to find homes which allow a glimpse of the sky. This home located in Matunga is surrounded by patches of green, and designer Mahek Lalan of SML Architects uses that to its full advantage to create a home that celebrates mindful pauses and relaxation in the midst of the maximum city. "Existing structural elements, like deep beams, and original features such as flower beds, were thoughtfully incorporated into the redesign, blending the apartment’s character with its natural environment,” Lalan says.
Mahel Lalan brings the outdoors inside by widening and elongating the windows of the house, which ensures that plenty of natural light enters the home. This is seen most in the bay-window seating of the living room, which is a modern spin on the design of ancient Indian Jhorakhas, “Traditionally, jharokhas are ornate, overhanging enclosed balconies found in Indian architecture, particularly in palaces and havelis. We have simplified these features, embracing sleek lines while preserving their core functionality. Our design maximizes natural light, allowing sunlight to fill the space and creating a warm, inviting atmosphere,” says Lalan.
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A Rustic Terrace Gazebo
The reconstruction and renovation of this 90-year-old Mangalore villa was a personal affair for architect and founder of Mangalore-based Hiraya Design Studio, Apeksha Naik. “Since my father was very attached to this villa, in 1987, my grandfather decided to buy it for his son. This is where my brother and I have grown up,” she shares. The home was long overdue a makeover on account of its weakened structure, creaking mud walls, and inadequate lighting among other problems.
The terrace of the house has a rustic corner that is mainly used to entertain friends and family, but can also become an intimate, sun-soaked reading nook when the family is not entertaining people. The walls of the gazebo have consist of a terrocotta jaali combined with a stucco finish. The seating is made from concrete, and the space is anchored by an elegant stone pillar that has a laterite stone base and a sadarahallu stone top. The flooring of the gazebo features blue and white patterned tiles, which are complimented by the wood-finished stip tiles of the rest of the terrace.
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