Bookshelf Design Ideas with Themed Book Nook Kits

Building book nook kits is a hobby and one that doesn’t require an entire workshop like most types of woodcraft hobbies. It’s a great tech-free hobby for small spaces. The caveat is the display space. Although these are a 3D puzzle, some of the parts are glued in place during assembly, so unlike standard jigsaw puzzles that can be built, dismantled, packed away, and then redone whenever, when you build a book nook kit, you need display space. In that respect, these are both a puzzle activity and part of home décor. For that reason, it helps to keep the theme of your bookshelf décor in mind when selecting the types of kits to buy and build.

It’s worth remembering that book nook kits are different from book nooks. Book nooks are a place to read. Book nook kits are miniatures designed to sit on bookshelves. The original intent is to use them as bookshelf inserts, meaning to slot them in between books on shelves... To create a fantasy world within a book. When you open it (or in the case of open-fronted book nooks) look inside, you get a glimpse into another world. Total fantasia. Make it as whimsical as you want. It’s your world. Your fantasy vision could be a futuristic city, or for memorabilia, an eye-stroll down memory lane.

Example of a bookshelf with a music theme.

Themed Book Nook Kits Blend Literature with Art

As book nooks are intended to be used as bookshelf inserts, they’re a perfect pairing for blending literature and art. With themed book nook kits, you can take your bookshelf display to never-before-imagined detail. Romance novels set in Paris or Italy could be lined up on a shelf with a European-themed book nook such as a French Bistro. Fans of YA fantasy books could use book nook kits to help segregate the sub-genres, such as having a steampunk book nook on a shelf with titles by H.G. Wells, and/or the complete series of Kate Locke's Steampunk Chronicles.

Travel-inspired books on display don’t need to be limited to travel guides and itineraries. They could slot in with classics with a travel theme such as many of the titles by Jules Verne, like Around the World in 80 Days, The English at the North Pole, and for fans of Japanese sci-fi, a copy of The Undersea Warship by Shunro Oshikawa would slot in well seen as the character “Captain Sakuragi” is the Japanese version of the wests’ Captain Nemo. To go along with a Japanese travel theme, our Tokyo Alley book nook kit can give a sense of adventure and a taste of Asian culture.

These can be further personalized with any number of Japanese art forms and styles, including miniature landscapes that are ideally sized for decorating bookshelves. Essentially, with themed book nook kits, the idea is to make a personalized space on your shelves with the mini fantasy worlds indicating the theme of the books around them.

Tips for Showcasing Your Assembled Book Nook Kits

Themed book nooks have a more dramatic impact on the visual aesthetic on your shelves when similar decorative items are on display nearby. When decorating a bookshelf, lightweight items are crucial. If all you had were rows of books, shelves would likely sag eventually. Shelves last longer when the weight is distributed, and the shelves aren’t fully loaded to the maximum weight they can handle, or even the supporting anchors in the walls that keep the shelves mounted. Put an excess load on those, and everything will come crashing down.

The books you have on either side of your book nook can enhance it. Consider this aspect of blending art and literature. The art is the book nook, the literature is the books that are on display on either side of it. With paperback books, since most are going to have different color schemes, fonts, and graphics on the binding cover, it can detract from the aesthetic value the book nook could be adding. In most cases, book nooks look best when surrounded by lush leather-bound books. That’s because book nooks are made of wood, and leather has a similar dark and glossy texture to that of wood. If you don’t have classic collectibles in your book collection, consider DIY bookbinding. That way, you can make your books into art décor.

Make art for your shelves from the books you no longer read

There can come a point when you have more books than you have the space to store them. When that happens, the usual go-to is to either gift them or donate them. Instead, why not turn them into book décor? Origami is a simple enough hobby to make from any type of paper, or for a more authentic piece of shelf décor that retains the typeprint, consider making literature art from old books like carving hidey-holes in books to store miniature mementos or turning a thick hardback into a music box. If you need some wall décor for the back of your shelves, tear out some pages and run them through your printer to create prints with literature as the background image.

Miniaturize books to use as décor inside of book nook kits

All book nook kits are customizable. All you need is the right miniatures to match the theme. For any design that has shelves in it, be that a reading library book nook, a café, or a street alley with a bookstore window display, some scrap leather and old pages are all you need to make little books from old books.