We love the way Tanis and Terry transformed this alcove into a semi-built-in bookshelf. The space is just the right size for framed family photos and a few favorite books. Whether large or small, these types of cutaway spaces offer lots of possibilities for storage, seating, and even bedrooms (if they're big enough). Click below for 5 ways to maximize an apartment alcove...
- Frame a bed like this or like this
- Designate a spot to display artwork and arrangements
- Create a reading nook to curl up in
- Install a home office complete with desk and shelves
- Install a banquette for extra seating
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Depending on where it's placed - and if it's at least 20" wide I'd install cabinets & shelves for a built-in electronic media center - and the flat screen TV could be mounted on the adjacent wall.
wall it up and hide bodies in it..
like that columbo episode.
"wall it up and hide bodies in it..."
There's a new AT "How-To" question:
"How do I rid my apartment of the smell of decaying flesh?"
;-)
Shrink wrap helps, too, in theory, of course.
A messy picture of my bedroom alcove (It's much neater since the Fall Cure!). I use it as a desk/vanity:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84661963@N00/2944906584/
What a well-timed post! I recently made a custom desk & bookshelf for my own little alcove.
I wrote about it just a couple days ago at my blog, Making Places. That post, complete with pictures, is here:
http://making-places.blogspot.com/2009/02/making-place-to-make-things.html
What WOULDN'T I do with an alcove?
If it was big enough, put a bed in it - I'm the opposite to claustrophobic (what IS the right word for that?) and enjoy cozy spaces I can curl up in. So long as it's not COMPLETELY closed up, I could happily cope with the the walls surrounding me.
If it wasn't quite that big, I'd probably line it with shelves and use it as a display area. Or put a desk in there! Of course, I'd need a laptop first...
ryttu3k - agoraphobic, I have it too
Personally, I'd create an office area or a vanity - maybe bookshelves if I needed the space.
My only closet is in the living room, so I used my bedroom alcove to make a makeshift closet. It was juuuust deep enough for hangers, and I could build it all the way up to the ceiling (and I have high ones), to store off-season clothes up high and what I'm wearing now at eye level.
Laura - that was a cool idea. I wish our apartment had alcoves but it's a newer complex, so it's more uniform and box style (besides the open floor plan that I love).