Finding the Corner Worth Claiming

Every house has one: the alcove beside the chimney breast, the narrow space under the stair window, the end of a landing that catches the last of the afternoon light. For most of the year it holds an ironing board or a bag of things waiting to go to the charity shop. Winter is when it earns its keep.

Start by watching the room for a few days. Notice where the draught runs when the back door opens, and where the sun lands between two and four o'clock in December. A south or west-facing corner will hold a little warmth and light long after the rest of the house has gone grey. If all you have is a north-facing alcove, that is perfectly workable, but the lamp will have to do more of the work.

Measure before you commit. You want roughly 90cm by 90cm: enough for a chair, a small side table and the few centimetres of clearance needed to push the chair back when you stand up. Keep clear of the direct line between the kitchen and the stairs, and avoid sitting within a metre of a radiator or an open fire, where you will either roast on one side or freeze on the other.

The Chair Does Most of the Work

A reading chair is not the same as a sitting-room chair. Look for a seat height of 43–46cm, so your feet rest flat on the floor or on a footstool rather than dangling. A seat depth of around 50cm suits most adults; much deeper and you will end up perched on the edge, which is tiring after twenty minutes.

• Arms set about 20cm above the seat give you somewhere to rest a book without holding it up in the air.
• A high back — a wing chair is ideal — supports the head and cuts down on draughts at the neck.
• A firm cushion rather than a soft, sinking one. You should be able to stand up without help.
• A footstool that tucks under the chair when not in use, so the corner does not swallow the whole room.

Second-hand wing chairs are plentiful and often better made than anything new at the same price. Check that the frame does not rock, that the springs do not creak, and that the upholstery smells of nothing in particular. A washable loose cover in wool or heavy cotton will see you through many winters.

Light for Dark Afternoons

The overhead light is the enemy of a reading corner. It flattens the room, casts your own shadow across the page and makes the rest of the house look like an office. What you want is a pool of light, contained and warm.

• A bulb of around 2700K — warm white — and 400 to 600 lumens is ample for reading.
• A shade that is opaque enough to shield your eyes but open at the bottom, so light falls onto the page.
• A floor lamp with an adjustable arm, or a wall-mounted swing-arm lamp, placed so the light comes over your shoulder rather than from behind the book.
• A dimmer, or a second small lamp, for the hours when you are not reading but simply sitting.

Glossy paperbacks under a bare bulb will glare badly; if you read a lot of illustrated books or magazines, angle the lamp slightly further away and lower.

Shelving Within Arm's Reach

The whole point of a reading corner is that you do not have to get up once you are settled. A shelf at shoulder height, a low bookcase beside the chair, or simply a stack on a side table 50–60cm high will all serve. Keep three or four books there rather than thirty — a small, changing selection you actually intend to read, not an overflow of the main shelves.

Add a notebook and pencil for the passage you want to remember, a spare pair of reading glasses, and a proper bookmark rather than a folded corner. If you take notes or read several books at once, a small book stand on the side table keeps the current one open and your hands free for a mug.

Warmth, Texture and a Place for the Mug

Layer the corner the way you would layer yourself for a walk. A wool throw over the back of the chair, a sheepskin or a firm cushion at the small of your back, and a rug that extends at least 60cm beyond the chair on every side, so your feet land on something warm. The Danish call this hygge; the British version involves slightly damper wool and, ideally, a dog.

Deal with draughts honestly: a door snake along the bottom of the door, thermal curtains drawn at dusk, and a lined curtain over any single-glazed window. And give the mug a proper home — a side table with a coaster and enough room for a book, so you are not balancing tea on the arm of the chair. A wide-based mug is less likely to go over.

One word on air: radiators and open fires dry a room out, which will leave you hoarse after an hour of reading aloud or simply breathing. A bowl of water near the radiator, or a few houseplants, helps more than you would think.

Small Rituals for Long Evenings

Set the corner up so that it is ready before you are tired, not after. Put the lamp on a timer plug so it is already glowing when you come downstairs with your tea. Dust the shelf on a Sunday. Keep a basket or blanket box beside the chair for the throw and the footstool when they are not in use.

Most importantly, keep the phone charging in another room. A reading corner that competes with a screen is not a reading corner. Fold the throw at the end of the evening, plump the cushion, and leave the next book face-up on the side table. Tomorrow's dark afternoon will take care of itself.