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Imagine this…you’ve just made a hot cappuccino at home, and you make your way to your library room. It’s filled with your entire collection of books. You sit down in your cozy reading chair and pick up where you left off in your current read. Life could not be better.
If you’re like us and you love to read, have a lot of books, but don’t know where to put them, then creating a cozy library room (or space) is a great idea. Whether you have an empty wall in your bedroom, a long hallway, or an entire room to transform into a small library, taking the time to make it a space you’d love to curl up with a book will help you cherish the storytelling process even more.
Today, we’re sharing 14 small library room ideas to inspire you to create your own space you will never want to crawl out of.
More Cozy Home Ideas:
16 Cozy Small Library Room Ideas
1. Natural Modern Bookshelf Wall
There’s just something so calming about a natural and equally cozy design aesthetic in a home. If you love natural woods, mid-century modern style, and cozy, luxe fabrics, like velvet, then creating a similar look in your home is something to consider. Make the bookshelves the focal point with a medium walnut stain and add cozy touches like sconces and a comfortable accent sofa to add character to the space.
2. Organic Library Room
Wouldn’t this room just be dreamy to recreate in your own home? The organic aesthetic that’s created from the wood bookshelves to the oversized cream lounge chair, large woven rug, and picture window creates the most magical space to get lost in a book.
3. Small Moody Reading Nook
If you have a small corner or wall space in your home that you’d like to fill, then take inspiration from this gorgeous small library design. The caramel-stained wood shelving units add a moody feel to the space, and the camel leather pouf chair and small table create the perfect monochrome design that stands the test of time.
4. Modern Home Library with Lit Shelves
Modern home design is one of our favorite design styles, and we love how this home library space captured the design aesthetic while making plenty of room to showcase its literature. Not to mention, the lighting installed along the bookshelves elevates the space in a cozy way. We can just imagine how warm and inviting this space would be at night.
5. Breakfast Nook Library
Creating multi-purpose spaces in your home has a way of making your space feel lived-in and intentionally styled. When we saw this breakfast nook with a built-in library above the banquette seating, we were instantly obsessed. This space would be perfect for gathering to eat and at other times a great spot to sit, read, and work.
6. Calming Sea Foam Library Shelves
There’s just something about a bookshelf encased in a calming sea foam paint that makes it the perfect feature in a living room or study. It’s subtle, but adds the perfect pop of color. If you already have bookshelves you want to make the feature of your small library room, grab a few paint samples from your local hardware store, test which color you like best, and paint your bookshelves as a fun DIY home project.
7. Lime Green Bookshelf Units
To be honest, we don’t think we’ve seen this green color used anywhere since we painted our room lime green in the early 2000s. However, we are surprisingly drawn to this pop of color in this home library. It’s fun, youthful, and unexcited — which we love!
8. Abstract Library Shelves with Modern Seating
Library shelves don’t always have to be symmetrical shelves on a wall; they can also be abstract. We love this idea of miscellaneous-sized shelving. It creates a feature wall and an opportunity to display books and art of all sizes.
9. Mauve Library Shelves with Ladder
Looking to create a more feminine aesthetic in your home library? Mauve may be the answer. The paint color adds a cute, girly touch, while still creating a calming, neutral vibe. Add some picture lights at the top of the shelving unit for a cozy, classic library feel.
10. Modern Bookshelf Unit for Small Apartment
Do you live in a small apartment, but still want to create a small library room in your home? If so, this is when you have to learn to be creative and use the space you have to create the design you want. Adding modern, open-shelf units will make the space feel more open and maximize the space you have. You’ll most likely be surprised at how many books you can fit on a small wall!
11. Use Awkward Corners for a Library Showcase
Whether you live in an apartment in a big city or an older home in the suburbs, you may have awkward spaces to fill. Maybe you don’t even know how to use the space. Does this sound like you? If so, this is your sign to make the most of the tricky alcoves and make a cute, small library room. Add as many shelves as you can to the walls and maybe even a small reading chair to complete the space.
12. Clean, White Library Floating Shelves
We love how bright and airy this small library room is. If you have the luxury of an empty room in your home, but don’t have the need for a designated office space, then a library room like this one could be wonderful to recreate. Not only will the wall paces add additional storage for books and other items, but the open floor space gives you room to add cozy seating, too.
13. A Bold Hallway Library
Maximizing your space in a small rental apartment or home is super important. That’s why we love the idea of creating a moment for a hallway library. Not every library has to be in a “room”. It can still create a bold moment, too — especially if you choose to paint it a gorgeous color, like apple red.
14. Cozy & Modern Library Room
Now, this is the optimal space for curling up with a book and relaxing on a day you don’t want to escape your home. The modern open shelves are the perfect space to store your book collection, and the L-shape couch fills the floor space with a large space for you to rest and read all day long.
15. Library Alcove
How neat is this idea to use a hallway alcove or other nook space to wrap in built-in bookshelf units? It would create such a magical moment and a fun feature in your house. Add a fun chandelier to define the space as well.
16. Small Library in Living Space
If you don’t have a small room or big wall space to make use of, then even a small library can still be a feature in your home. Add a couple of low shelf units to your living room. You most likely have a comfortable sofa or sectional to relax and read on, so having a place for easy-grab books is a wonderful idea.
