Find Your Niche

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 Built-in niches, bookcases and window seats can add architectural value to a home and they make the perfect early spring home-improvement project just about any of us can tackle

Art niches, recessed panels designed to hold and feature a piece of wall art, bookcases, home theatre walls, and window seats are all great built-in projects.

Built-ins are a fantastic idea for turning a dead space into a useful, feature area. Built-in shelving, bookcases or window-seat feature will make a room feel seamless and less awkward than if you simply employed a large piece of furniture such as a freestanding bookcase or armoire.

We often have odd corners or shallow spaces in our rooms and we can turn these less-than-desirable areas into wonderful architectural features.

Light is an essential element to making a built-in art niche, shelving unit or recessed panel truly shine. We often build our niches around a specific art object, such as a treasured vase, painting or mementoes carving.

The goal is to ensure this treasure is in harmony with its space. Glass shelving used inside the built-in bookcase allows you to shine light down through the shelves and not to just light the top shelf.

Consider using exotic veneers to give a built-in shelving unit or the back of a recessed panel the feel of custom furniture.

Problems with balance and proportion?

Perhaps a built-in can correct the problem.

If you have a bedroom with a smaller-than-desired window, you can compensate by building a window seat with a hinged lid for additional storage. Flanking the window and the new window seat, build a pair of bookshelves.

Now, rather than having a wall with a small window, you have a focal point wall that commands attention and gives you a wonderful reading and storage area. 
 
Looking for more potential built-ins?

Try a storage bench at the back entry way or built-in bookcases along an entire wall or two in a small home office (bookcases on either side of the room will actually help to expand a smaller space). Create visual interest down a long narrow hall with a series of recessed art panels.

In the basement family room, build a four-sided bookcase around a support column or build bookcases into your pony walls (stair railings).

By adding the bookcases, you not only gain valuable storage, but you also create visual interest in a space that you would have otherwise simply passed through.

The nature of great built-ins is that they are equally as functional as they are handsome.

A built-in should pick up the esthetic details of the home, such as the trim and the molding, and add to the architectural integrity of the room.

Employ built-ins to maximize and personalize your rooms.