By ALEXANDER WEBSTER
alexander@readthereporter.com
Ten years ago, people said books were dying, technology was making paper obsolete, and social media could cater to your interests seamlessly. Now books are going strong as ever. With social media trends like BookTok and Bookstagram, anyone can recommend books to countless people around the globe.
The increase in book readers hasn’t gone unnoticed by local couple Sean and Miranda Armie, who will soon open their own book store named Stella House Books in the heart of Carmel.
“We wanted to bring something special to downtown Carmel, something we could build together, and it turned into this bookstore,” Miranda said.
The pair bought a historic home in downtown Camel dating back over a century and they are about to break ground on renovations.
“I have driven by and walked by this building many, many times, and it’s actually a house built in 1903,” Miranda said. “We’d always envisioned our bookstore being in a house. We like that idea of creating this cozy space for people to meander in and out of.”
Photo courtesy Stella House Books
Miranda and Sean have a love for books that dates back well before they started working on their store.
“I studied English literature at Indiana University and then went on to work as an editor and then a copywriter for a marketing company and then transitioned into teaching,” Sean said. “For the last several years, I’ve been working as an eighth-grade teacher [at St. Maria Goretti, Westfield], teaching English Language Arts. I just left this year to pursue this full time.”
This has allowed them to be better prepared as bookstore owners.
“I have been really loving some more recent novelists like Richard Osman – who’s written the Thursday Murder Club series – and even John Green,” Miranda said. “I love his literature and then, of course, classics like Jane Austen. Through our research our bookstore, we have been really enjoying reading a variety of authors, to be able to be prepared booksellers and be able to recommend books to anyone who wants to come in and have a puzzle for us to solve and find the right book for them.”
The devotion to helping readers find their next book, and their planned cozy atmosphere are why the Armies think readers will choose them over Amazon or a big box store like Barnes & Noble.
Photo courtesy Stella House Books
“People want to go into a store to form a relationship with the booksellers there,” Sean said. “Not only Miranda and I, but also our whole team that we’ll have. People want to support local businesses. Barnes & Noble has a lot of inventory and they’re always going to have the newest and greatest thing, right? Barnes & Noble isn’t necessarily a place that you’re going to want to spend hours in.”
While books were thought to be going extinct, Stella House Books is expected to open in late spring 2026, in the heart of downtown Carmel, providing a calm cozy place for readers in one of the busy spots in Hamilton County.
Stay up to date with their progress at Instagram.com/StellaHouseBooks and Facebook.com/StellaHouseBooks.
I am getting back to Carmel on the 12th & hope to be able to go in before renovations This was our first home in Carmel… upstairs in 31 1/2 South Rangeline Rd it or as someone called it The Nutt House. Will try to reach you hen I get home.
“The pair bought a historic home in downtown Camel dating back over a century and they are about to break ground on renovations.” I held my breath and gritted my teeth with this statement. This well built home belonged to Martha Nutt who also owned the Nutt Hardware store on West Main Street. When people purchase older homes, they always have to renovate and destroy the previous “antique” structure of plaster and lath walls. I hope they don’t tear out any walls.