Hemingway's Home - DIY Wooden Book Nook Kit

I am absolutely enamored with the level of detail in this kit. The research done to give it precious bits of accuracy absolutely delights me. It is definitely one of my absolute favorite miniature kits that I have ever done. ❤️The only minor disappointment I have found so far is that the wiring on the lights seems to have been mis-measured. Since the positive and negative wires are lumped together and have a connected split off a few centimeters above the battery box, they can't be attached properly according to the instructions, pic included so that if anyone does decide to buy it and has the same issue, they can see my workaround.But overall, this kit has been an absolute delight and very well made. Just, as a note to the company, potentially measure the wiring from the split point instead of the battery box when assembling kits in the future will benefit the customers a bit more.

I purchased 3 to 4 mini kits a month so I’m very familiar with which ones are good quality and which ones are not. Mini city as well as this seller are new to me and I could not be more pleased with everything from the customer service to the quality of the products. I have purchased the Hemmingway house as well as the roaring 20s speakeasy and I cannot wait to start to work on them. As it often happens with these kids that have hundreds of pieces, I was missing a few pieces, but the seller responded immediately, in less than 12 hours, with a plethora of solutions that I could choose from. I cannot stress how amazing the customer service and the products are. I absolutely will be purchasing more kits from them in the future, as they will be on my monthly rotation of kits to purchase.!!

One of my favorite builds so far!Great detail and tons of it!Easy assembly if you take your time. Instructions are great and well printed.I took 7 hours to build it, at a leisurely pace.Great kit!

As someone who LOVES building book nooks, and creepy things, this is an awesome book nook kit! I've previously enjoyed building nookfan's book nook kits, and just like previous ones, this kit is detailed and high quality.The kit came packed in a nice box with a full color sleeve that would make it an excellent gift although I am most definitely keeping this for myself! The kit includes wood part sheets, led light kit, and the tools you'll need to build the kit - glue, tweezers, a file and a metal hammer that is extremely useful for gently knocking stubborn pieces into place. But by far, the coolest parts are the plastic creepy plastic mini figures included with the set. They have detailed sculpts and are incorporated into the build.I just started building the kit, but so far it's been a pleasure. The manual is easy to read and understand, and all the wood pieces are crisp and fit together well without bending, warping or flaking. Based on my experience so far, I would happily recommend this kit to anyone who enjoys haunted or creepy themed book nooks!

HOLY SHA-MOLY!! (Or maybe I should say "UN-HOLY SHA-MOLY! Hahahaha!)I am utterly BLOWN. AWAY. by this kit! When I tried to lift it from the packing box, I said, "Oh my gosh!" This thing is HEA-VY! I had to find out just how much it weighs, so I put it on my scales. FOUR POINT FOUR pounds! Can you believe that?? When you go look at all of the pictures, you'll see why. Speaking of pictures, there are so many details and things to check out that I just had to take beaucoup pictures! I COULD have added about 10 more, but I don't think I can upload that many. Hahaha!!Hang on to your hat, here we go! Ha!You might think it's weird to start with the box. The fact that it isn't flimsy and that it closes the way it does, really makes it handy dandy storing the pieces while you are working on it. You don't have to worry about losing pieces and it keeps the sheets you aren't using neatly organized. That was important enough to me that I had to show it.Speaking of sheets, you have just GOT to check out all of the pictures I took of have THICK they are, plastic AND wood! When you put this together, it is going to STAY together! I'm not going to say which, but another kit I put together wasn't nearly as thick as this one and it ended up being so fragile that pieces broke while I was putting it together! So now it doesn't look nice, plus when I want to move it from one shelf to another I have to be very careful not to mash sections in and pop others out. Sooooo disappointing! THIS one is going to STAY built,There are just SO MANY cool spooky house effects, like the bloody walls and floors, the windows that have ghosts in them, the spider webby wall and all of the resin figures! There is so much detail on every single thing! The figures are made to really look like they are old stone gargoyles and headstones, etc.The poem you see on the wall reads:Within these walls, where shadows playPortraits gaze in silent array.Sculptures stand, frozen in time,Treasures hidden, in whispers sublime.Weird dolls watch with glassy eyes,Their secrets held 'neath moonlit skies.And a piano, untouched by hand,Plays melodies from a distant land.Doesn't that sound so "WooOOooOoOoooOOOooooOOoo..."Miscellaneous:The instruction book is an instruction BOOK! It gives really clear instructions through pictures on how to put thistogether.You'll need only TWO AAA batteries, too!Now. It mentions a "dust cover." I looked all through the kit looking for something like a dome-type, thin, flexible cover that slips over the whole thing. Look at the picture. It is a rectangular piece of clear plastic that slips into the front, kind of like a display window.Because of the main picture, *I* thought that maybe the top had a hinge and lifted up. It doesn't. Once I looked a little more carefully, I could see the notches that attach it to the walls. (Silly rabbit! Hahaha!)THIS is going to be THE most fun to put together! I would start it this instant if I weren't in the middle of another art project! This is maybe mid-upper price of the different book nooks I've seen, and yet it is one of the most outstanding, heavy-duty and detailed of them AND has the little figurines that go with it, too! It is DEFINITELY WORTH every single penny they are asking!**UPDATE!** Mar 16, 2026I am FINALLY getting time to do it!When I *said* it was heavy duty before, well... I have to tell you what it's like now that I'm making it. I have to admit.... THAT I WAS CORRECT!!HOLY Ka-ZOLY! This is my 3rd one to do, and it is by FAR the absolute BEST!! I added new pictures of the section I put together last night in ONLY about 2 hours, including the light testing. (Which they all work.) Look at all of the cool little things like that infamous scary doll on a rocker. But the MOST IMPORTANT thing is how the tabs are made!! I've not seen this before and they LOCK in place!My last 2, I had to use quite a bit of glue. THIS one, I've only had to use it where the instruction BOOK instructs (for instance: on the clear plastic pieces like the stair railings)I'm so THRILLED! THIS build is going to go FAST plus be STURDY! You will probably have the most "hair-pulling-free" experience, too!YIPPPPPEEEE!!

Fun project and good stress reliever. I probably should have gone for something simpler for my first, so build time was longer. Pieces fit well and they give you extras for delicate pieces that break. Instructions were good. I’m getting another nook soon.

This is both a wonderful project to build and a great item to display. The instructions are straight forward and easy to follow. The pieces fit well, with very few requiring glue. The details are amazing. Highly recommended if you are a fan of Hemingway or just literature in general.

This is a high quality product with good instructions.Why I love this one:Quality. The materials are solid and don't break easily. The pieces fit together well. Adding glue strategically reduces the fragility inherent in book nooks. I had one part break that I could not repair but compared with other products I still rank this one at the top.Design. I love the variety of objects in the design. Each time you look inside there is something new.Detail. There are realistic photos and the book covers are from Hemingway books.Electrical. I have built two of this model and in both cases the touch sensor was tricky to work with. The sensor is not sensitive enough or should be redesigned. It would also help to make the wires longer to make the easier to hide from view.

This book nook has 700 pieces in it, but it is by far the most enjoyable book nook I’ve ever put together me about a week to get it done, but I do love the final product. Also, this was the first book that had glue in the product so that’s also a plus.

*updated 1/2025 due to friendly customer service and being offered a partial refund.When I first opened the box I quickly noticed the top edges of the two side walls arrived damaged right out of the product package. I was willing to overlook it since I figured I could still work around it. I continued on with the assembly and when I was almost finished and had to attach the windows to the outside of the two side walls I noticed a spelling error in one of the quotes. “Beraks” instead of “breaks”. Ugh. I wasn’t planning to cover the sides with anything but now I have to. This is such a frustrating error but I guess I can’t be too surprised since the item is very clearly Chinese. The instructions were not always clear and there were some design flaws in some of the items that were required to curve. Overall it is cute, aside from the horrible misspelling that completely ruined the quote, and I did enjoy putting it together for the most part.

I've been looking for a new mini to do and when I saw the Hemingway house,I knew I had to have it. It is by far the best booknook I've done. All the book and house details are amazing. I wish the theme would have went lighter on all the booze and heavier on the cats. The only piece I struggled with were the arches. I was as delicate as I could be but they both snapped and there are no extras. The only thing wonky in the directions are the wiring. It should go L1 L3(L2 is not long enough) L2 L4 L5 and the touch panel is one of the last steps to the top of the booknook. I would recommend putting all the wiring thru the first two holes all at once instead of by the steps. The space gets very small. I thought I had missed the touch panel step and then my husband found it on the last page. Otherwise buy this it's beautiful!

This puzzle took about 7-8 hours total. If you have a free day you can knock it out in one day. The pieces were high quality and didn’t break. The only time I had one break was on the plastic light fixture, there were plenty of backups, and none broke on the wood. There was some unclarity on the lighting but what I set up seemed to look and work fine. The instructions were pretty well clear and there are 172 steps. If you love a wood puzzle, you’ll love this one. Of course your fingers will hurt and turn a bit red after this but it’s worth it. Comes with glue, and wood pointer punch for the pieces so you don’t hurt your fingers or nails and also comes with a metal/rubber mallet that honestly helped a lot. Comes with everything you need except you’ll need to supply the 2 AAA batteries. The hardest part of this was the bent sign and lighting but got it to work. Would recommend this high quality wood puzzle.

I really enjoyed this book nooks even though it did take a bit longer than some others I've completed.That was due to the books which probably took longer than everything else combined. There are a lot of books that need to be filed down, a sticker stuck on and then arranged on shelves or stacked. Thank goodness these were stickers instead of just paper that needed to be cut out and then glued!All the pieces are there and there are even a few repeat pieces for the delicate ones that easily break when popping them out. My son (almost 4) actually assisted by popping out all the pieces which helped a lot. Plus he had fun and was happy to be involved. He didn't break any at all which shows how sturdy and well made the parts are while not being a stubborn pain to take out.The quality of every part, the art, and the details are excellent.The instructions are the best instructions I've seen for any book nooks or miniature build. It's basically a sizeable book showing every step in detail with color pictures and clear part numbers.I am impressed by the whole kit as well as the results. Sometimes these book nooks are hit or miss, but this one is exceptional and I really enjoyed completing it with my son.On to the next mini build! And yes, I can almost hear my husband groan at the thought of more scattered book nooks and tiny houses placed lovingly around the house. But to be honest he actually really liked this one and thought it was very neat. :)