Did you read my blog post on a book nook insert before? In that post, I already mentioned a few of them, but today I am diving deeper into shop number 5 from the seller called KatnookDE.
It turned out, that I got a book nook kit from my family from her shop for my birthday, what a surprise it was!
So, this one was pretty easy to assemble and glue together and I didn’t need to make many changes or paint it, as I thought it was fine the way it is, because of the laser-cut design and quality.
Before we start with the review and some more explanation, do you remember what a book nook actually is? If not, then you can always read my article about them here 😉
Updated 30.07.23
As an Amazon and Etsy associate, I earn a small commission from your purchase, with no extra charges for you.
A Book Nook Insert, Called ‘Winkelgasse’ Or ‘Diagon Alley’.
What is this product?
As you might have guessed, it is a book nook kit, that I got from an Etsy seller as a birthday gift 😉
Most things I have mentioned before about this shop, but today I will just show you the result of my personal work and some more explanation.
The kit contains:
the laser-cut parts are made of untreated 4mm plywood
2 LED-lights
a battery holder
a switch
a hinge (including screws) for the battery compartment
an instructional manual with clear photos (mine was in German, I’m not sure if she has it in English as well, so better ask first)
The total size is 20 cm high, 12 cm wide, and 15 cm deep, and the inner size of the box is 19 cm high, 9 cm wide, and 12 cm deep.
The electronic parts are assembled in a way that only the cables have to be swirled. (I can tell you that this is a LOT easier than the kits from Robotime lol).
This kit was assembled quite easily, with no issues at all, with clear instructions, and pretty fast. I think all together maybe 4-5 hours.
The way it is laser-cut, it doesn’t need any extra painting at all. (while of course you cà n paint it if you want that). I found it pretty as it is, because of the Sepia color.
super fast shipping, my family ordered it for my birthday and it arrived way before the actual date of my birthday
As said before, nice packaging, she really made a big effort to pack everything nicely and very cute (with Valentine’s hearts haha)!
I got a little extra gift, not sure what to do with it lol
seller is very helpful with questions and quick to respond
gorgeous design
The Bad.
I was in doubt of calling this ‘bad’ because that doesn’t seem fair, but then I decided to still mention it. It is a little pricey, at first sight. BUT, I need to nuance this, right here, right now.
In the meantime, I have done some research on laser-cutting machines, and I can tell you: the price is really worth it.
Because damn: those machines are expensive! Not just buying the machine, but also the maintenance, the prices per hour of using such a machine is gigantic!
I will write a blog post on laser-cut dollhouse kits somewhere in the future and go more into detail about this. I am pretty sure that you will understand what I mean by then 😉
My result and my way.
So, this was made pretty easy, as I said above. You just need to glue all the little bits and pieces together, starting with the ‘inner’ box.
The only thing that I changed here, was using black tea bags, to make the “brick”-wall, made from paper, look like it is a little bit “dirtier” (and thus more realistic looking), than the plain white ones.
So I just dripped the tea onto the walls and let them dry before moving on.
When the inner box is glued together (oh yes, I used simple wood glue!), then you can attach the wires and battery box.
Having clamps in the house is pretty handy to have the walls stick together tightly.
Let everything dry well and then attach the outer box.
And here we go: done! All I added, was a bit of brownish ‘weeds’ and some dried lavender to the left front side. That last one gave it some extra ‘touch’, don’t you think? I think that was the only extra color that this book nook kit needed, you might disagree..
After all, it is called a book nook insert, so it had to be put on my bookshelf 🙂
To finish it off, I would like to show you the video I made of my little work on Youtube (not a big success, this video sorry, it was hard to film):
PS, Sadly this book nook kit is no longer on Etsy, but still available on their website.
Some people painted this kit or totally changed it. Some I like, some not so much. But I let you decide for yourself 🙂
Beware of “Anavrin book nooks” and “Binerlay” book nooks!
Just a little side note, as I see many people falling into the trap of book nook companies like “Anavrin” and “Binerlay” !!!
The first one, Anavrin, is a reseller of book nooks, which basically means that they resell book nooks that are much more expensive than the original version!
And “Binerlay” looks like a total scam, so beware!
Myself, I either purchase a book nook on Amazon, Etsy (unique and handcrafted or laser cut book nooks), or straight from Robotime (if you like the ones from Robotime, I loved Sakura Densya).
4 thoughts on “A Book Nook Insert – I Got Me A Fantastic One – A Review”
Thank you for sharing this DIY work. I like the idea of having a book nook. And Making one themed on Harry Potter seems so cool. I already started jotting down ideas and even sketching a little draft. I would like to share with you the finished results. Until then, a huge thank you for this useful post.
Hi Lizzy, I enjoyed so much reading this post. Thank you for this detailed review of the book nook. It is pretty to have and gift. I like to gift this book nook to my niece. She is a student of architecture and loves very much this kind of book nook.
You mention here that the instructions may be in German only. I don’t think it is a problem. You explain everything step by step that I think for everyone it will be easy to assemble.
Thank you for sharing this DIY work. I like the idea of having a book nook. And Making one themed on Harry Potter seems so cool. I already started jotting down ideas and even sketching a little draft. I would like to share with you the finished results. Until then, a huge thank you for this useful post.
Hi Ann, I am looking forward to the finished result, please don’t be shy to share it on my Facebook group!
happy crafting
Lizzy
Hi Lizzy, I enjoyed so much reading this post. Thank you for this detailed review of the book nook. It is pretty to have and gift. I like to gift this book nook to my niece. She is a student of architecture and loves very much this kind of book nook.
You mention here that the instructions may be in German only. I don’t think it is a problem. You explain everything step by step that I think for everyone it will be easy to assemble.
Thanks again
Alketa
Thank you Alketa for this wonderful comment and I wish your niece happy crafting, I’m sure she will enjoy it!
best regards,
Lizzy