Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Creating A Nook

We have lived in our little house for a little over a year now. And you'd think in all that time we'd have put quite a few decorations up on our walls, right? Yeah, not so much. Currently, we had only hung 4 things in our house: coat hooks by the front door, a mirror in the dining area, shelves in the bathroom and a large clock in the basement. That's it.

You see, I blame it on the fact that we've done so much to our casa and have been completely focused on the BIG things that make a BIG impact.

But you know what?

Little things can make a BIG impact, too.

Let's take a peek at our basement/lounge/entertainment area about one year ago, when we were finishing up the majority of the basement remodel and the place was actually liveable for the first time:


Considering what it had been like before (please don't remind me!), the basement after the remodel was like a luxurious lounge.

But it was missing something.

It was missing personal decorations, the little things that show others more about you and your interests, and that homey "lived-in" feel that every loved home has.

Check out our basement area now:


Much better, no? Some of the changes were necessary (such as the space heater on the right of the tv), some we couldn't resist (like Barley's bed - he likes to watch us as we watch tv to see if we've dropped any popcorn by accident), and some were mostly decorative.


To add a little visual balance to the room, we decided to hang up some floating shelves we scored a while back from our favorite place - Target.


Then we did a little shopping in our casa to come up with some decorative items for the new shelves. An acrylic painting I did in college sits by a glass bottle from the Florida Keys. A sculpture given to us as a wedding gift rests besides a cute pleather "M" monogram scored at Michael's for $3. A couple of candle holders and a cute photo with our favorite furry family member completes the new addition and adds a little personality to our entertainment area. What else does it do? The new shelves help create a little nook area.


The new shelves are installed above a brown storage ottoman (also from Target), which currently houses our Xbox 360 controllers and games (yes, I like shooting aliens and zombies with Tom - what can I say? I'm a total dork!). The storage ottoman is great because it hides all our extra game-related items from view while keeping them organized and in an easy-to-access spot. The ottoman also provides extra seating if needed, and now it even has another function: the Nook Seat.


Of course what is a nook without some additional comfort? Our basement gets pretty chilly in the winter here in frigid Nebraska, so having lots of blankets on hand comes in handy on those blustery and snowy days, or even on a cool summer movie night. We already had two blankets on the couch, but having a few additional ones nearby to snuggle up in is a good idea.

But where to put them?


A handy storage basket from Target was our answer. We gathered our extra blankets and Snuggies (we heart our Snuggies!) and folded and placed them in the basket. But the random colors and patterns were a little busy for the area. So we snagged an extra red pillow we had lying around and simply placed it on top. Now we have extra blankets and an extra pillow nearby in an easy-to-reach spot, and it all fits in perfectly with our color scheme!


So there's our roundup of our little Nook in our basement, and how with the right amount of personality, comfort and seating you could really turn any little area into a nook.


What about you guys? Are you diggin' our new nook as much as we are? Do you have a nook in your own place? Any plans of creating a future nook? Let's talk nooks!
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3 comments:

  1. I think that space is very fresh and inviting with great personal touches. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Everybody enjoys a little nook-ie right? I couldn't resist. Sorry! It really warmed up and personalized the space. looks great!

    ReplyDelete

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