A COZY READING NOOK

I’m so excited to show y’all the first project of many in our master bedroom makeover. Well, really it’s the second project if you count the master bedroom closet redo. Check it out here.

I wrote a post about all the Master Bedroom Plans that are running through my head. You can go visit then come right back to see our progress.

Our second project we tackled was the reading nook which is where the LOML’s desk was situated. It’s a small alcove on the half of the huge bedroom that I didn’t know what to do with for the longest time until I saw this beautiful inspiration picture from Love Grows Wild.

Love Grows Wild

Isn’t it beautiful??!!

I was going to post the whole process in one post but it was way too long so I decided to break it up into four different posts. The first post is how we built the bench. Here is a before of the space. We moved the LOML’s desk (it broke apart in our hands!) to the dump.

And here is my inspiration for the space.

Source

I love the book storage under the bench and the wood plank wall. I love the reading light and the idea of a large picture that breaks up the dark background. I love everything about this space. That’s why I’m adding one like it to my new master bedroom!

The first thing we did was remove the LOML’s desk. I bought it for his birthday about ten years ago from Office Max and it was a nice desk. I wanted to put it in my college son’s bedroom for a part office part bedroom makeover coming up soon.

As we were moving it, the whole desk fell apart in our hands. We stood there just laughing until we couldn’t breathe. Then to the dump we went! Oh well, best laid plans!

We cleared the space.

We removed the carpeting, carpet pad, the tack strips and the million nails.

Then we removed the base molding very carefully so we can reuse it on the front of the bench.

The plan was to use materials we already had to keep the cost as low as possible. For the bench, we used a black cubicle that we bought at IKEA that I found in the damaged section in the front of the store. I think I only paid about $15 for it.

We built an 8 inch tall box and attached it to the bottom of the cubicle so the bench will be a little taller.

How we built the box:

Step 1 ~ Trimmed 1x10x6 piece of pine board to an 8 inch width.

Step 2 ~ Cut board into 6 pieces to build the box to fit the measurement of the cubicle.
Four pieces to make the box and two pieces for the cross members for support.

Step 3 ~ We bought a Kreg Pocket Jig to drill pocket joints to attach boards together;

Step 4 ~ Connected each board using Kreg #2 2½” screws and a cordless screwdriver.

Step 5~ Used Kreg #2 2½” screws to attach the box to bottom of cubicle.

We also nailed a piece of ¼” plywood as a backing for the cubicle.

Before we started the next step which was to attach the bench to the wall, we called our electrician to install these sweet babies!

We bought two of these great lights from Lowes for $39.98. I love them! They come in two different sizes. We bought the bigger of the two at 8 inches.

I love them in the space!

Next we had to fill in the back section from the bench to the wall. We attached a 2×4 to the wall, taking care to find studs first, and another 2×4 to the back of the cubicle. Then we cut four 2×4 cross members and attached them between the wall and the cubicle. The final step was to cut a piece of ¾” plywood to fit and screwed into place to the 2x4s.

I apologize for the quality of some of the pictures. The LOML took them from a video that we’re making of the whole transformation. I’ll show it to you with the last post with the reveal. I can’t wait to show it to y’all. It’ll be our first video project EVER.

The next step to a beautiful cozy reading nook will be the two side bases which will hold the bookcases.

Come back and see!!