Notting Hill Bookstore Book Nook Kit

The Notting Hill Bookstore is a DIY book nook kit that builds a vintage London bookshop front in miniature. Warm light shows through mullioned windows, the shelves inside are stacked to the ceiling, and the storefront is painted blue and gold. On a shelf of real books it reads as a book about books, a joke every reader in the room will get.

Verified buyers describe the finished kit as beautiful and nicely printed, and they are just as clear that assembly takes skill. The window frames and shelf rows are the slow parts, and the storefront deserves the most care because it is what everyone looks at. It is rated Steady Hands on the ShelfWorlds scale, which makes it a better second or third kit than a first.

Because it is a full shopfront, it looks best facing out where people can see through the windows: the end of a row, a desk, or a mantel beside a stack of hardcovers. Bookstore nooks are among the most searched kits each December, and this one makes a good gift for the person whose apartment already looks like a library.

Deciding between this and LEGO's new Bookstore set? The LEGO vs wooden book nook guide compares them on price, lights and size.