Ugly Niche? Cover It up (but Keep the Storage)
3 Materials
$15
20 Minutes
Easy
Do you have a niche in your home that you aren't quite sure what to do with? If you are like me, I've tried for years to find a good use for the space. The niches were huge at 48"h x 28"w but at only 3" deep, there wasn't much that I could really do with them. I've tried tons of ideas, but it wasn't until I read a post on one of my favorite blogs that an idea was born!
Note: The cost is for the drawer glides. You could attach them to art, photos, etc (depending on the size) to get the same results. I chose to make a mirror because I couldn't find any that I liked. :-)
Note: The cost is for the drawer glides. You could attach them to art, photos, etc (depending on the size) to get the same results. I chose to make a mirror because I couldn't find any that I liked. :-)
To begin, I made a custom mirror to fit the opening of the niche.
I purchased full extension drawer glides to attach the mirror to the wall. I attached the bottom glide to the wall...
And the top glide on the back of the mirror.
Next, we attached the mirror to the wall using the glides.
The glides caused the mirror to stick off of the wall a little.
To cover this, I attached trim around the edge of the mirror.
Next I attached quarter round directly to the wall on the top, bottom and right sides.
On the left I attached the trim directly to the mirror (so it could still move along the tracks).
Finally I painted the mirror.
And when it slides open, a storage area is revealed! You could use this area for tons of things - a charging station (if you have an outlet near by), command central for calendars and grocery lists, a place to hold your mail (as I did) - the options are endless. After 5 years of not knowing what to do with this space, those empty niches finally serve a real purpose.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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2 of 220 comments
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I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT OF USING DRAWER HARDWARE FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS. HOW CLEVER!
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These art niches were a hot thing for a while, and as an interior decorator, I hated them. Best "use" for one I have ever seen! Congratulations on a great design!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
I have no niches in my home but using the drawer slides is something I too have been thinking of...yours looks amazing..with the paint did you stain it really dark then white wash it?
Do you have any thoughts on how to “hide” a niche on a curved wall? It’s on my main staircase, so it would need to be something elegant and possibly just a good place to hide things that we don’t need to retrieve often as it really isn’t in a good location to store keys.
What’s behind that niche? If it’s a stud-framed house, you have an extra four inches of hidden, unused space, which means your three inch deep niche could easily be converted to seven-inches deep - deep enough for a bookcase, or storing/displaying all kinds of things.