Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

The owners of a 1948 home in San Mateo, California, were already midway through a kitchen and living room renovation when they realized they hadn’t made plans for an awkward, 67-square-foot nook between the kitchen and a sprawl of front windows. But being avid book collectors—of cookbooks, in particular, some of which are family heirlooms—they had a dream that, perhaps, they could stop using it as a junk room and turn it into the perfect space for the thousand-or-so books that were occupying their garage and guest room; they could both organize their tomes and provide easier access to their vast collection of recipes.

That’s when their contractor suggested calling Anne Poon, a Bay Area designer who specializes in crisp minimalism. Poon’s challenge was to design for a boxy space that wasn’t perfectly square, and to do so without changing the home’s architectural integrity, all while the adjacent rooms were also under construction.

The space itself was limiting: because of how its ceiling was connected to the roof line, it couldn’t be raised without heavy modifications to the exterior architecture, changes that would have blown up the owners’ budget. So, Poon worked with the existing dimensions, envisioning a flexible, cozy library nook. It has shelving that organizes the owners’ books and built-in benches that are, yes, comfortable for reading, but also for other activities, like playing a Persian setar, as one of the owners likes to do.

How they pulled it off: Building a reading nook in a fixed space

Measure, measure, and measure again: Poon’s first hurdle was figuring out the angles in a midcentury home where the ceilings and floors were not perfectly straight. After measuring three times, she came up with both 2D and 3D modelings showing how a wood structure that was sturdy enough to hold 1,000 heavy books could be built “like a little jigsaw puzzle.”

Use constraints to your creative advantage: Poon designed the nook from nine interlocking pieces, to be installed in four different sections—the bench and back wall first, then two front towers facing out to the living room, followed by the window trim. Poon worked with a cabinetry maker to match the unit to the kitchen’s already-built, solid oak veneer. Each shelf was cut from one piece of solid oak to hold the weight of the books and maximize storage possibilities.

Assemble the right team: Poon’s design required four people to install the bookshelves, plus one or two people to manage the project and watch out for obstacles. It “was complicated,” Poon says, particularly with the tight squeeze between the ceiling and floor in a 67-square-foot space. “I was like, Oh man, what did I get them into! The walls were already finished and painted, so we had to be super careful not to scratch them. The contractor loves me, for sure,” she laughs.

Use vertical wood grain to make a small space seem larger: The homeowners’ kitchen cabinets were already built with vertical grain, but Poon would have chosen that anyway: “Vertical grain is usually more costly and more difficult, but it makes the space feel taller, and for some reason it always feels like there’s more movement, too,” she says.

Stagger recessed lighting: Installing recessed LED lights will weaken the structural integrity of a shelf, so ensuring they’re staggered, instead of in a line, will maintain its strength and help avoid a book explosion later. And to avoid a glare while reading, place lights underneath a shelf, not on top, which will also make it “look very nice at night,” Poon says.

Accessorize with customization: The final touch, Poon says, was a custom-built ladder to reach a row of books that meet the nine-foot ceiling—a special request from the client, who was inspired by ladders in public libraries. “She’s five-foot-three, my height, and if you want to access the books, you really can’t rely on a stool,” Poon explains. “You need something more industrial.” She reached out to Putnam Rolling Ladders to build a custom sliding ladder from onyx-black aluminum with steps in quarter-sawn white oak. Ordering it from afar was a hairy prospect, but when it arrived, it fit perfectly.

The owners now have a tranquil, highly organized library where they unwind. Its bottom shelves are deep enough for two rows of storage, and those just above the benches are covered for back support. The recessed LED lights provide a homey glow at night, and Poon snuck electrical plugs into toe kicks so the clients can work there or plug in a Christmas tree without disturbing their analog mise-en-scène. “I wanted the homeowners to feel like it's been there for them always, not like I forced an add-on or something artificial,” says Poon. “The intention wasn’t to make it super-modern or super cool-looking or minimal-looking; it had to be warm and spacious at the same time, with a very personal connection.”

The effect is that of a separate room in an open space—the alignment of each shelf piece gives one the feeling of looking into a portal. The clients are so happy with the results that now, they’re talking to Poon about designing their next project, a nursery for their first child. And there will be plenty of room for books.

Related Reading:

How They Pulled It Off: Gold Kintsugi Fillings in the Cracked Floors of an Upstate New York Home

How They Pulled It Off: Offcuts and Leftovers Spruce Up a Cozy Victorian Flat

Project Credits:

Interior Design: Annepoon Design / @annepoondesign

Builder/General Contractor: Hike Space / @hike.space

Cabinetry Design: JOHI / @hellojohi

Also Appears In

How They Pulled It Off: A Micro Library in a Midcentury’s Awkward Kitchen Nook