Situation: I put down my backpack by a chair and sat on that chair. There is a bookshelf behind me.
Alternative situations: I am sitting on the chair near the bookcase so that I can control the stereo and watch the kids play games in front of the TV. I am sitting on a brown chair and I can see my hot coffee steaming on the coffee table in front of the couch in front of me.
Question: What is nearer to me the bookshelf or the coffee table?