Niche in the wall: how to design functionally and beautifully

The original design of a niche in the wall is one of the most favorite design techniques. Recently, there has been a tendency to abandon bulky cabinet furniture, but no one has yet canceled functional shelves. The recess in the wall is an additional horizontal plane that acts as a shelf. You can put and put anything in a niche - from the most necessary things to the interior decor. About how to aesthetically and nicely design a niche space, experts will share their secrets.

The secret of beautiful design is the unusual and elegant design of the niche, which you immediately notice

Multifunctionality of the interior niche

Not our contemporaries came up with the niches; architects find them when excavating ancient artifacts of lost civilizations from different times. Before you think about the design of a niche in the wall, it is better to first understand its purpose.

A niche may well be a central element of a design composition

The main classification of the recesses in the wall:

1. Decorative.
2. Functional.
3. Architectural.
4. Technical niches.

A convenient place to store firewood if the house has a fireplace or stove

A fashionable and rational solution for modern rooms is a folding bed, which is hidden in a niche and looks like a wardrobe

Some openings in the wall are obtained as a result of an architectural project - otherwise it will not work. Further design depends on the functionality of the room, in which there is a finished recess. Often it looks like a box near the ventilation shaft, in which you can place shelves for dishes, household appliances, and other useful items.

The recesses in the wall are a great way to hide a secret door, a safe and everything that should not be visible to strangers. But they do not need decoration, but rather require careful disguise.

It is important that the design of the niche matches the style of the room in which it is located

In decorative niches, decorated with mirrors, glass and lights, you can sit with cosmetics. Women have a need for good lighting in the morning when they put themselves in order, but there is not always a suitable place. But this design of a niche in the wall is suitable for other purposes, if used for shelves with backlight.

A false niche is a purely decorative technique when they want to complement an interior with a believably painted door or window.

The main rule - a niche should fit into the interior of the room, and not overload it

Tip: Before you place a niche in the room, decide on its functionality - what will be in it permanently and temporarily. Souvenirs and handmade, antiques and books, art objects and modern photos - all of them require a different approach to design.

The shape and size of niches depends on your courage and creativity.

When they combine the living room with the kitchen, a bar counter is often put on the border of two squares. To place a niche that has been formed nearby, as a bar for strong collection drinks. This in itself looks like a decent decor for a modern living room.

It has already become clear that any recess in the wall should have not only a decorative, but also a practical function. The design of a niche and the method of its construction depends on this.Multilevel shelves on an accent wall can also be designed as niches, sheathed with sheets of drywall. The construction itself needs reliable supports so that the shelves do not collapse with all the contents that have a decent weight. Especially when there is expensive equipment or dishes made of fragile glass.

A narrow niche along the entire wall of the bathroom serves as a decorating element and is very convenient for placing everything you need

Types of Niche Space

All niches are divided depending on their purpose into the following types:

Comfortable and functional shelves near the bed

What can replace a niche?

Let us consider in detail for what purposes it is possible to use different types of recesses in the wall. Voluminous decorative niches often replace cabinet furniture - built-in shelves are easily adapted for homogeneous objects or collection souvenirs.

In the kitchen, niches can replace cupboards

Actually, the false window is also formed in the niche of the rooms devoid of natural light. It is possible to place murals in them with an imitation of a beautiful panorama of the city, and the soft light of fluorescent lamps and LED strip will create the illusion of sunlight.

A niche for collections is a great solution in any room. Rare tomes can be stored in it, as part of the inherited library. No less interesting is the opening in the wall of the children's room, filled with an exhibition of Barbie dolls or replicas of rare cars. Knitted toys amigurumi - a modern trend of needlework, they also need a decent exhibition niche.

Niche as a place to place collectibles

In some styles, a large number of cabinet furniture is not supposed. Many people know from Turkish TV shows that several centuries ago, niches in the wall were used very widely, for example, for lighting and hiding places. The same trend has persisted today in interiors decorated for the Arab East.

Another type of niche is applicable in the interior of a living room in a minimalist style. With an “ascetic” organization of space, replacing cabinets with practical niches gives its advantages:

• noticeable savings in free space;
• shaping your place for all kinds of little things that should always be at hand (glasses, mobile phone, charger, wallet, tablet);
• Convenient placement of small equipment and apparatus (here you can bring an electric cable and build in sockets);
• significant savings on bulky cabinets, a great idea for lightweight built-in furniture that resembles a bookcase.

Niche space is filled with ordinary and transparent glass shelves. They perfectly transmit light if there is a diode strip, light bulbs or decorative illumination in the designed doorway.

Painted decorative false niche in a frame of polyurethane moldings

Niche design in a bedroom

Sometimes the doorway of the passage room after redevelopment is not walled up, but re-issued. Here you can make a small dressing room, and the doorway to do in another place.This is an affordable design of a niche in the wall with your own hands.

In the recess on the accent wall, you can install a large plasma panel, a spacious aquarium or an imitation of a fireplace. Having placed an island with upholstered furniture so that the people sitting were facing this object, it is easy to arrange a guest area without additional costs for interior design.

An interesting solution for bookshelves and TV

In general, there are many great ideas on how to adapt a niche, it all depends on the functionality of the premises, the needs and lifestyle of the owners.

Benefits of Niche Space Management

One cannot fail to mention a number of other advantages that functionally designed niches provide. But even if they do not have a special purpose, this is an excellent decorative technique that will modernize any interior.

Functional niches will provide:

• replacement of overall furniture and unaesthetic shelves;
• visually expand the wall;
• become a design accent for audio and video equipment;
• They help to collect homogeneous objects in one place (a great solution for those who scatter things everywhere and cannot find something necessary).
• a closed niche will hide communications.

Arrangement in a niche of a corner for rest

Important! An interesting design technique will be not just the decor of parallel niches in the wall of the same format, but some kind of multi-level design. Open storage is more popular today than placing it in bulky cabinet furniture, creating a sense of piling and bad taste.

Niche instead of hanging shelves in the bathroom

When the recess constructively and functionally matches the interior design, it is also an opportunity to emphasize the excellent taste of the owners of the house.

How to position a niche

There are not many ways, but there are options:

• symmetrically;
• asymmetrically;
• vertically and horizontally;
• parallel and symmetrical;
• in parallel with a shift to the side;
• 2-3 identical niches by "floors" with different or identical content;
• different sizes, but with the beginning at the same distance from the vertical line of the interior (doors, windows, furniture walls);
• chaotic location;
• in the form of a geometric pattern - for a dynamic interior, as in the photo of decorative niches.

Narrow vertical niches visually increase the height of the room

There is still the opportunity to place them on an empty wall or a small free space. You can also vary with the same shape of the openings:

• backlight;
• external framework;
• interior design and content.

A room with a high ceiling will become much more comfortable if niches in warm colors are made upstairs

Do I need lighting in the recesses of the wall

A good interior design involves the illumination of all areas without dark corners. At the same time, with the help of additional illumination it is easy to focus on an interesting object or create a niche in the wall of the hall or living room. Competent lighting design creates an atmosphere, hides design flaws. For example, when the wall opposite the window is darkened in a long narrow room, especially on the north side of the house, it is like a headlight.

If there is a niche in the wall, it is important to know how to design it beautifully using an additional light source. Any recess in itself looks darker than the rest of the room if rays do not fall into it.

Niche with light for storing a small collection of figurines

Important! In the daytime, you can do without emphasizing artificial light, in the evening it is simply necessary!

Mirror niche adds light and heat to the room

In rooms without windows, a niche with a backlight is a must. The corridor, hallway, bathroom or bathroom can be left without general lighting when bright light is not needed, but some mystical glow can be created from a niche. This is not only a special design technique, but also a fully functional solution, as in the photo.

Spectacular illumination of white niches against a background of black walls

The following elements are applicable for functional lighting and decoration of a niche in the wall:

1. LED Strip Light.
2. Fluorescent lamps.
3. Flexible luminous tubes (for advertising, inscriptions and design objects on the wall).
4. Point diodes.
5. Small spotlights (such as spotlights and spotlights) with rotating projectors.

The lamps, in which you can change the color of the backlight, turn on and turn off gradually, and also cast a patterned shadow, have a special charm.

Built-in lighting gives the niche extra volume and serves as a highlight of the general background of the room

Tip: In multi-level niches, it is recommended to use glass shelves that transmit rays well anywhere.

Highlighting focuses on niche content

Instead of sconces and bedside lamps in the bedroom, niches with lighting look good, which can be equipped with economical light sources. It is not worth reading under such lighting conditions, but viewing messages on a tablet, laptop or phone before bedtime is quite possible.

An important condition is that niche lighting should organically fit into the style of the interior and be in harmony with the main and local lighting. Experts recommend ambient light and universal fluorescent lamps. It is more convenient to read in the "warm" light of economical lamps combined with an incandescent bulb. In the bathroom and other rooms for relaxation, sources of the "cold" spectrum, giving a white, blue, green or purple glow, will be appropriate.

In the recess, the spotlight looks luxurious

Diffused lighting softens the niche space and puts the decor in a favorable light

Summing up, we recall that this design element can be made practical and aesthetically pleasing. About how to decorate a niche in the wall, design ideas and inspirational examples are carefully selected for our photo gallery.

Video: how to make a niche from drywall

Photos of beautiful and comfortable niches