Whimsigoth Reading Nook and Library Room Makeover

Aug 8

Ever since we moved to our rental home a couple years ago, we’ve had trouble deciding what to do with our spare room upstairs. It’s been an office, Obie’s kitten room, and a guest bedroom and storage space over the years, but we’ve been wanting to find a solution to make it more functional. After some brainstorming, we decided to turn it into a reading nook and library room—and the makeover began!

Lately, I’ve become enamored with the whimsigoth aesthetic—the rich colors, botanical and magical themes, and the combination of textures are so beautiful and perfect for a cozy reading nook. So I wanted to pull from the whimsigoth aesthetic when choosing the colors and design elements for this reading nook.

It was a long process but we are thrilled with how it turned out—and I wanted to share the steps and materials I used with you. It’s been such a fun project and whimsical, cozy room makeover.

You can watch the full video, along with DIY tutorials for this makeover, on my Youtube channel.

Note: This blog post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission for any purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Please click here to read my full disclosure policy. Thanks for supporting the blog by buying through these links! - Haley

BOOKSHELVES AND FURNITURE

We arranged three IKEA Billy bookshelves in a row along the wall to create a “library” look. We added doors to create cabinets, then placed our stacking twin bed (also from IKEA) up against one of the shelves. While this blocks access to this cabinet, we’re using it for deep storage of items we don’t use often. The cabinet doors also created a “headboard” to lean back on.

Stackable Twin Bed Frame

BILLY Bookcase

BEDDING AND PILLOWS

For the bedding, I wanted to incorporate the rich jewel tones common in whimsigoth design, so I went for deep burgundy and plum as the main colors of the bedding and pillows. I used moss green, dusty mauve, navy, and cranberry red as accent colors. Overall, I think this color palette brought so much whimsy and fun to the room.

Burgundy King Duvet

Purple Sheet Set

Green Velvet Pillow Covers

Botanical Embroidered Pillow

Throw Pillow Inserts

Round Velvet Pillow

CANOPY & FAIRY LIGHTS

I draped sheer panels over the beams and tension rods in the room to create a dreamy canopy over the bed, then added clustered fairy lights on top of them. The effect was ethereal and celestial. For a pop of greenery, I hung some artificial ivy vines from the canopy as well.

Hanging Ivy

Tension Rods

White Canopy Curtains

Fairy Lights

DECOR & BOOKS

I already had a lot of whimsical decor pieces in my home to use for this makeover, but I also bought some new items that were perfect for the reading nook. Overall, I wanted to incorporate botanical and magical elements, and keep the color palette dark and colorful. And of course–the most important part was adding all my favorite books to the shelves!

Firefly Floor Lamp (out of stock)

Moon Wall Hanging

Flameless Candles

Similar Firefly Floor Lamp

Sun & Moon Hanging

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Flower Candle Warmer Lamp

The Knight and the Moth

DIYS

I made a paper mache full moon lamp and some apothecary jars to decorate the reading nook. I was inspired by this video and followed this tutorial, and I used orange fairy lights inside the lantern to make it look like a ‘blood moon’ with a deep orange glow.