The Curious Closet

By: Lindsay Rosa

Creating A Stylish Summer Reading Space All Your Own

With the school year wrapping up in a few short weeks for local schools and college students starting their drive home for the summer, what better time to prepare for relaxing summer reading by making an inviting reading space for those stormy summer afternoons ahead? Whether the readers in your family enjoy picture books or historical fiction, creating an inviting space that ignites the imagination and sparks joy is key.

Building a space with a comfortable chair, pouf, or storage ottoman is a great place to begin. You can shop your home for an unused chair or consider picking up an affordable, yet hip consignment piece. Layering your space with a small antique area rug and plenty of cozy throw pillows will bring in elements of Hygge, known as the quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders feelings of contentment or well-being often regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture. Making your space as inviting as possible will encourage quiet and relaxing reading time after a busy day of sports games, play dates, and bike rides.

To finish off the space, don’t forget to add a good light source for evening reading or some ambient twinkle lighting to a bookcase or vintage wall-mounted plate rack to make the space more magical for story time. Adding thrifted storage baskets for added storage and colorful school supply organizers for markers and crayons for coloring books can keep the space tidy and cheerful too. Spotted some vintage books on your recent antiquing trip? Consider displaying them for added ambiance. Need a few extra dollars to complete your space? Consider taking last semester’s textbooks to Half-Price Books for their buyback program. You can redeem your coupon for cash toward your space or home library.

For adding to your home library, consider buying second hand from Half-Price Books or Goodwill of Central Indiana. You can also search the collections of your local public library for inspiration online. Emailing your child’s teacher for reading level book recommendations is also helpful in maintaining their reading skills over the busy summer vacation. Visiting your local library is a budget-friendly way to encourage summer literacy for everyone in your family while getting involved (and let’s not forget competitive) in their summer reading program this summer!

Helpful places and links to build a cozy summer reading space:

• Noblesville Public Library Reading Program https://www.hepl.lib.in.us/reading-programs/
• Consignment by Design https://www.consignedbydesign.com/collections/chair
• Goodwill of Central Indiana https://www.goodwillindy.org/shop/locations/
• Half-Price Books Indianapolis https://hpb.com/039

– Noblesville native and college writing instructor Lindsay Rosa is back writing for the Times on all things design and lifestyle. As your personal style guide, Lindsay will bring her fashion writing expertise to you each month. When she’s not writing, you can find Lindsay on her bicycle, gardening, baking, volunteering with local museums, and writing her legal book series for children.