“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” — Cicero
Here is some questions to help you design your reading space.
Is your reading space bright enough?
Ensure Comfort: When people talk about comfort, we often tend to invest in their seating accessories, such as pillows, a soft-woven throw, a side table, or even a footstool. However, in a reading space, the first and foremost thing we need to take care of is our eyes. Proper lighting protects our eyes from glare and helps us avoid fatigue. So we can fully immerse ourselves in our reading world.
There are three zones when light reaches the reading material: Zone 1 is the surface light for visual tasks, Zone 2 is the immediate surrounding, Zone 3 is the general surrounding, similar to ambience. Generally speaking, we need about 500-1000 Lux at Zone 1 for handwriting, reproductions, or investigating poor copies; and about 200-500 Lux for reading books, magazines, or newspapers. We also need 1/3 to 1/5 of the recommended luminance of the visual task at Zone 2, and 1/5 to 1/10 of the luminance at Zone 3.
If our reading space is small, a proper and well-positioned task light can not only make our eyes comfortable, but also help us reduce energy consumption.
Does your reading space have enough shelves to organize your books?
Ensure Orderliness: If you are a big Kindle reader, you can skip this section. However, if you enjoy reading your childhood comic books, a unique set of encyclopedias, or lingering on nostalgic photo albums, then you definitely need an orderly shelving system to organize your reading material.
But how?
Other than freestanding bookcases, the safest and most durable shelf installation would be anchoring your bracket directly into wall studs. Studs are the vertical framing members behind the drywall, typically spaced 16 inches apart in most residential homes in the U.S.
When installing, first you need to locate the stud: use the stud finder to locate the 2x4 (or 2x6) framing member, and avoid hitting electrical wires. Secondly, plan your bracket positions based on the type of shelves you want to mount. For the decorative light shelves, you can use a single stud per bracket. For the heavy shelves, you need additional heavy-duty anchors for mounting. There are a variety of types of anchors, from as light as a plastic expansion anchor (10-25lbs), to a molly bolt (25-50lbs) or toggle bolt (70-200 lbs). You will find them helpful for your reading environment.
Does your reading space include soothing ambience to help you focus?
Ensure Quality: There are many ways to make a soothing ambience to your liking. Music, fragrance, or greenery will all enhance our reading environment and boost our reading mood.
By the way…
What is Lux?
Lus(lx) is the measurement of how much of the light actually illuminate a specific area or surface. For example, a flashlight might have a high quantity of lumens, but if we shine it on a surface 100 feet away from it, the lux will be much lower than if we shine it on the desk 2 feet in front of us.
Want more creative planning tips or brainstorming a moodboard? Why not shoot Hepburn a message and let's get your reading sanctuary started!