I built a miniature world for my bookshelf
4.12.2025
Translation: Elicia Payne
Pictures: Debora Pape
Just a few centimetres of shelf space are enough to create a tiny world between your books. Book Nooks are a DIY eye-catcher for your shelf. I dared to venture into model-making and, to my surprise, loved how it turned out.
«Woaaah, that’s so cute!», I think to myself when I first come across a Book Nook on Pinterest. There’s a gap of a few centimetres wide between a row of books on a shelf – and it’s as if a hobbit has set up his cosy cave there. Plus it’s illuminated! Turns out, these kind of miniature scenes are called Book Nooks. The idea’s so cute I can’t get it out of my head.
Book Nooks with magical alleyways, alchemy laboratories or cosy garden houses are a trend among book and craft enthusiasts. Of course, you could create the entire thing myself. If only I was good at crafts... Fortunately, for people like me, there are lots of prefabricated kits.
I’m definitely up for trying that out. And so I order a Book Nook from the French brand Figured’Art. The Library of Wisdom is spread out on several levels and presents itself as a cosy reading corner with stacks of books piled up on ornate furniture and classic paintings hanging on the walls. Like most Book Nooks, the mini-library is lit up.
Usually I can’t handle glue and the like. Arts and crafts isn’t one of my hobbies. Still, I managed to assemble a Revell steam locomotive last year. So I’m feeling optimistic. The difficulty of the Book Nook kit is rated four out of five. With 181 parts, it shouldn’t be so challenging that I lose interest along the way.
First disappointment: the electrics don’t work
When the parcel was finally delivered, I had a look at the kit. It consists of seven wooden panels with pre-cut, numbered individual parts. There’s also a sheet of stickers, two glue tubes, a mini file and the electrics. The electrics consists of four LED lights, a touch sensor for switching them on and a battery box.
The multilingual operating instructions advise me to test the lights before starting the assembly. The reason being a practical one: if they don’t work and you’ve already assembled the entire thing, replacing them would be agonising. I tested the lights and no luck ... no light. Even when I changed the batteries and plugged the cables in and out again, the situation doesn’t improve.
It’s a good thing I followed the instructions and understood them to some extent, which isn’t so easy given the sometimes lousy translation in the introductory section.
If you have a reference to a parcel and recognise partial loss or wrong, you can be served with the customer purchased in your store or contact the post office box.
Disappointed, I packed everything up again and wrote a complaint to the manufacturer. I received an answer soon after in flawless German – which I didn’t necessarily expect considering the instructions. The employee apologised and promised to send me a new light set immediately. The only problem was that the lights come from China and areexpected to take six weeks to be delivered.
After four weeks, I’d lost patience and took a closer look at the LED set. I noticed a pin in the battery box was broken. So I reached for the soldering iron and five minutes later the problem was solved. Cool, I can solder now too.
Simple, rewarding construction
I was finally able to start. There was absolutely no reason to be concerned about the level of difficulty. The instructions, which fortunately don’t rely on many words, guided me through the assembly in 75 steps. Most of the steps have a similar process: you break the pre-cut individual parts out of the plates and put them together according to the instructions.
You rarely need the glue to secure them – only for example for the small windows. Most pieces are already printed but some book shelves only fully come into their own when the stickers are put on.
I was pleasantly surprised by the assembly of the Book Nook. Thanks to the labelled plates and coloured instructions, I could find the parts quickly. With the Revell kit, I’d be searching for ages and the structure wasn’t always clear to me. It’s a completely different situation here.
In just a few steps I had assembled my first shelf with books and a brush on. I was so excited and realised how much fun I was having being crafty. I never felt frustrated. The kit even comes with replacements for very small components that are easily lost.
Even pulling in the cables for the LEDs is straightforward. Two of the four lights are assembled in the middle of the building phase, the other two along with the the touch sensor come at the end. There was enough space for the cable routing and the instructions told me exactly where I should put the cable. The cables are attached using connectors and small transparent adhesive pads.
Small problems hardly spoil the fun
Sometimes I had to apply a bit of force when putting parts together, and I was worried about breaking or bending something. Unfortunately, I couldn’t save the pendulum weight of a clock: it broke off when I exerted a little too much pressure. But everything else remained intact.
I only needed to use glue in individual cases, as per the instructions. Although all pieces are well cut, sometimes gaps form. This bothered me. So I reached for the glue tube. It’s just a shame that it takes so long to dry. Next time I’d prefer to use modelling glue – it sets faster.
The manufacturer’s website states that the construction time is three to four hours. I needed longer. It took me about five hours.
The result’s impressive
The finished Book Nook is an all-round closed box. The flap for changing the batteries is located on the back. You can open the door at the front. To reach the sensor for switching on the light, I have to poke my finger around the top left-hand corner. But that doesn’t bother me too much.
I’m really happy with the result. The tiny, lively reading corner looks fantastic. I’m amazed at how you can conjure up your own little world with just a few individual parts.
In a nutshell
This is my kind of crafting
I don’t normally have much patience for crafting or puzzling. But the Book Nook assembly kit is perfect. The instructions don’t leave me wondering at any point. There’s just a bad translation at the start, the actual instructions are easy to understand. I quickly see it unfold when I’m assembling it, and what I was initially skeptical about turned into a relaxing crafty weekend.
On two evenings I spent around five hours working on it. And it was definitely worth it because the finished product looks wonderful. I did fear the worst because the lights didn’t work at first. But I was reassured by the quick response from the manufacturer – though the delivery of spare parts could be a lot quicker.
Pro
- Instructions easy to understand
- The pieces fit together perfectly
- Assembly doesn’t take too long
- Wonderful, high-quality result
- Manufacturer responded quickly to complaint
Contra
- Battery box pin broken
Header image: Debora Pape
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
Books
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Arts and crafts
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
These articles might also interest you
11 comments
later