While nooks may be finding their way back into our homes, they are far from a new idea. Larger Victorian and Edwardian homes often made space for a separate breakfast room—a more intimate alternative to the formal dining area. As homes became smaller and life less formal, these rooms began to give way to something cosier, more lived in. Our beloved ‘nook’.

Perhaps part of the nook’s return lies in our collective fondness for nostalgia. As we find ourselves looking towards the past for a sense of a slower, simpler way of living, the nook feels wonderfully familiar. There is something restaurant-esque about slipping into a banquette or booth. Sitting a little closer, pouring another glass of wine and allowing conversation to wander.

It is a space that lends itself just as easily to stories shared between friends as it does to a board game spread across the table, a quiet cup of tea or an afternoon lost in a good book. Few corners of the home can become so many things throughout the course of a day.

The beauty of a nook is that it needn’t begin with architecture. More often than not, it is the layers and furnishings that make a space feel like somewhere worth settling into.

Interior designer Sarah Lederman demonstrated exactly this when she transformed a previously overlooked staircase landing, into a reading nook. As mentioned in Architectural Digest, all it took was an “extended cushion, a set of pillows, and a pair of ottomans” to turn what had once been a passage way into a much loved place of comfort. . 

To support our case, we went looking for a few spaces that had already found their own version 

of a nook, and asked how they'd personalise them with our new season cushions. 

Flowing directly from the kitchen, Jill McCormick's (@__Mewdy_) dining nook feels made for company. Layered with a considered selection of rust and golden hued cushions, the nook transforms into a sunny paradise; a place for long lunches, late dinners and all the stories shared somewhere in between.

At Camilla’s (@camillashouse), the home seems to unfold around its breakfast nook. Morning light filters through the expansive window, allowing warmth and sunshine to wander through the space as the day begins.

In summer, it is place to linger over breakfast on a slow morning. Come autumn, a sanctuary to curl up with a book and a cup of tea while the leaves begin to fall beyond the window. With her garden always within sight, the line between indoors and out begins to soften, turning this little corner into its own verdant retreat. 

At Picket House (@picket.house), the nook takes on another form entirely. Two benches cocoon the central fireplace, enveloping the space in it's warmth and transforming what could have become a forgotten space, into one of the most inviting corners of the home.

With the crackling fire at its heart, our soft layers of cushions invite you to linger a while longer. Somewhere to stretch out at the end of the day, gather when the weather turns cool, or simply bask in the quiet delights of a home well loved. It is proof that sometimes the most charming spaces are found in the corners we might otherwise overlook.

Creating a nook of your own doesn’t need to involve a renovation. Instead, step inside the corners you already gravitate towards. The window that catches the morning sun, the forgotten space beside the fireplace, or the chair that always seems to draw you in at the end of the day.

Begin there, and make it softer.

A nook is only ever as good as what’s in it. Layer it with some colourful cushions, a throw or a table just large enough for the days activities, and it becomes somewhere you look forward to spending those sacred moments in your home.

The homes above are each different, yet what makes their corners feel special is much the same. It isn’t a particular floor plan or a perfectly built bench, but the layers that invite you to stay and the life that unfolds around them. 

Photography by Martina Gemmola