The secret library: designing for disconnection

If you’ve ever sat down after a long day and felt your eyes turning square, you’re not alone. Only today, it’s not the TV set, it’s our always-attached smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Over a third of us recognise the negative effect that being online has on our wellbeing, and are actively trying to reduce screen time as a result, with the aim to spend the time saved doing offline activities.

It should be as simple as putting the phone down or leaving it in another room, but many of us find our attempts to reduce our screen time backsliding.

How are we disconnecting?

One of the most popular replacements for the social media algorithm is the good old-fashioned novel. The UK’s most popular hobby is reading, with 35% of people saying they read regularly – ahead of walking and baking at around 30% each.

However, for many people, it’s not always as easy as putting down the phone and picking up the book.

Digital life gives us an endless stream of dopamine-driving, attention-hooking, limitless-scrolling content designed to keep us on our phones, which may be a contributor to the fact that despite being the UK’s most popular hobby, reading rates nationally – and particularly among children and young people – are in sharp decline.

While younger adults tend to report feeling the most negative effects of consuming digital media, nearly half of adults age 55+ report spending more time than intended online, and almost 20% report feeling “information overload” and sleep disruption. While young people have grown up with mobile phones and the internet, the drawbacks of digital screen time are not just for them.

Breaking free of the cycle can be difficult. It can require re-training the brain so it doesn’t crave constant stimulation, or putting specific routines in place to help build the habit. Reading makes a great first step away from screens, as you can still listen to music or other sounds while reading, and – particularly in fast-paced novels like fantasy, crime, or thriller stories – the book creates an exciting world we can immediately imagine and immerse ourselves in.

The library as an offline sanctuary

For lots of readers, even with the popularity of e-readers growing, the vision of a full-height library stacked and perfectly organised with your favourite tomes is a lifelong dream.

Readers often say a space like that would mean they read all the time, and that’s exactly what designing for disconnection aims to do. It creates a space where screens are superfluous, and the offline is engaging – these are just some of the tricks our designers use to make it happen.

Making offline interesting

While storage is important, having a space that looks and feels special is key to making it appeal enough to beat the artificial dopamine draw of social media.

To do this, our designers work around the things that bring you joy and are important to your home. We create libraries and reading nooks that line up with windows so you can see out while cosied in, or we can create feature shelves around the books, artworks, or sculptures that are special to you.

These extra touches turn a home library into more than just a storage room, into a place that you actively seek out at the end of a long day.

Comfortable seating for a book nook

A cosy spot to sit might seem like an obvious detail to include in any reading space, but there’s more to consider than you might think. You need a piece that is inviting while still being supportive, easy to flop into, and with a feeling of warmth and comfort. Chairs should be angled towards each other if you’re chatty, or slightly further apart if you prefer some quiet time.

The reading light

Having enough light to read in your seat is a must, but it’s not the only spot that should be lit.

Built-in lighting in shelving can help illuminate your collection and make sure nothing gets forgotten about in a dark corner, while also drawing focus to the decorative pieces.

Creating a collection to admire

It’s one thing having enough shelves and storage in a library space; it’s another having them designed and arranged in a way that makes sense for you. Whether you’re a strict alphabetical-by-author-surname type of person, or leave a special space just for your favourites, the storage layout should reflect the way you use the space.

At Neville Johnson, every library is made to measure, so we can even create shelves the perfect height, depth, and width for your most important books, without making the space too cluttered.

More than just the library

The same principles that turn a library into a sanctuary can transform any spare room into a space that pulls you away from your screen. A home gym benefits from the same thoughtful lighting that makes a reading nook glow, while a craft room or music studio thrives when storage is designed around how you actually work, not just what fits.

Whether it’s a window seat for painting, built-in shelving for a record collection, or a cosy corner for board games, the goal stays the same as it was for the library: create a space so well suited to you that it becomes the natural alternative to scrolling, somewhere offline life feels just as rewarding as online ever did.