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Saturday 16 April 2016

Nice to have Niches

Most homes have wall niches and people find them a pain to disguise or put to use. Many designers create artificial niches for the specific purpose of creating an interesting aspect in the decor, for displaying artifacts, for storage etc. So are you wondering what Niches are?

Niches are indents or shallow recesses in walls or woodwork. Wall niches which are also known as alcoves are indents in a wall which are either created with a purpose of aesthetic display, storage or as an architectural necessity - like a niche that is formed between two projecting pillars/columns in a room.

Niches can act as the focal point of any room and add the air of elegance and sophistication to your home.

Creating Niches in existing Dry-walls constructions common to countries like USA and Australia is relatively easier. 
DIY Wall Niches in DryWalls 
 
These niches can be created on existing Concrete walls under an architect's supervision, depending on the thickness of the wall (typically an external wall will be about 9" thick while an internal wall may be 6" thick). Niches in existing walls may go to a maximum depth of 3-4" and care and consideration is to be taken regarding the wall's strength before going ahead.

There are also available custom-made pre-cast wall niches that can be fitted as surface mounted or recessed niches - VISIT HERE

On the other hand creating wall-niches in wood is a much easier task. They just have to be mounted in place in case of a an entire wall or they can be made in situ in cabinetry. Cover them up with a gypsum sheet if you plan to paint it and you have a faux-niche ready!

The most important thing to consider while using niches is to pay attention to lighting, use mirrors to increase their depth and the right colors and textures in the form of paints, wall-papers or ceramic tiles.


Check out this collection of Niche ideas I have curated so you get an idea how you can use Niches to add a nice chutzpah to your homes!

1) In Washrooms: Niches work wonderfully well in bathrooms to create that extra bit of storage for your vanities or for creating visually pleasing spaces.

 Image from personal collection





2) In living-rooms: Niches can act as the focal point of the room to highlight your art and curio collection.
 Image from personal collection

Conceal a pillar behind wooden niches - Personal collection


3) In Dining-areas: Niches can be very handy to store nick-nacks or create that special look.

4) In Bedrooms: Again to create a beautiful look while giving you that much needed space for your must-haves without taking up floor-space.




5) Near entrances: To create that WOW feel as soon as one enters the home!
Image credit


6) Creating entire walls with Niches: These can be used as visual partitions for aesthetic or privacy purposes.

 

Hope you got a fair idea on how to make Niches work for you. Go ahead, create these wonderful spaces to showcase your artifacts or flaunt your art work or just cover them up to get additional storage space.



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