Reader Redesign: Nice Niche
This amazing niche makeover sent by Mike and McGee is proof that looking carefully at every nook and cranny in your house can result in added function and eye candy. Here’s their letter:
We wanted to share a recent renovation we did in our Austin, Texas home. We ripped out an ugly and awkwardly shaped art niche and recessed light fixture and replaced it with a custom built-in bookcase and new wall sconce. Total cost: about $50. The only downside to this project is that we realized once it was finished that we had more books than shelves. I had originally planned to artfully arrange some books on the shelves, adding a few interesting items here and there. However, once we started loading books onto the shelves, we realized that we needed all of that space just for books. With the addition of some Ikea expedit bookcases in our breakfast room (recently re-purposed as my office – I work from home), we finally have all the books off the floor. Yay! – Mike & McGee
Isn’t that a great transformation? I love the crisp white trim and the clean-lined sconce… and the fact that they did it with their own four hands! You can check out their blog for more details and information. Thanks so much for sending along your amazing transformation Mike & McGee! Sherry is seriously poking around the house for a place to add a bookcase at this very moment.
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love love love it!
wonderful idea! this looks fantastic.
Oh, WOW. This is fantastic.
What vision. What execution. The bookcase and the sconce, which is adorable, just MAKE that space. Yay!
Happy birthday from India…Sherry!
Wow, the before and after shots for this one are so inspirational!! Who couldn’t use a little more useful storage space, and the sconce was such a great idea.
Wow.. amazing! So clean and so very creative. I would never have thought of making that area into a book case.
happy birthday!
you & my son share the same birthday &
coincidently, i saw you at lunchtime! :)
I love it!! I need to go find a place for one in our house now, too! Actually – I need to finish all the other things on our to-do list before I go adding more. Maybe I’ll file it for the future. Haha!
Looks fantastic! It’s always amazing what a renovation project can do for the feel of a home.
Thanks for sharing this. We feel so famous! LOL. :)
Since we finished the bookcase, Mike has been walking around the house, knocking on walls, and eyes spots for more built ins. He told me the other day, “You know, we have this useless space here in the hall by the dining room. I bet I could bring these columns forward, knock out this part of the wall, build some shelves, and we could have two huge built-in bookcases here.”
I said, “Um, that’s a major project. And it would involve ripping up the tile on the floor too.”
His response, “Yeah. I know. I don’t like that tile anyway. Let’s do it!”
~sigh~
McGee
Congratulations! You guys deserve the recognition. This is a great site!
What a great use of space! I am impressed.
Oh, that is genius! I would have been afraid to remove the niche (so classy) but the bookcase is functional AND fabulous!
now that is AWESOME!
Love it! I’m always wondering how to deal with those niches that seem to come standard in so many new homes…sometimes they’re frankly just bizarre!
Love it! I may just have to share some of my re-design pictures, including some curb appeal I’m working on right now… it’s amazing what a few bales of pine needles and flowers can do to transform your house!
great job!
This is a fantastic project. I’d love to know where that light fixture hails from?
love it! i am also now hunting for a wall to bust open…
http://pearlsandgreentea.blogspot.com/
Looks great!
This is fabulous!!
I love this idea! I’m sitting here thinking the same thing – where could I do this in my house???? Great share!
Excellent idea and a much better use of the space. Impressive!