Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

  • Shop Our Houses
    • Our Current House
    • Our Richmond House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
  • Before & Afters
    • Our Current House
    • Our Previous House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
    • Our First House
    • Our Second House
    • Our Showhouse
  • DIY & Decorating Tips
    • Most Popular
    • Home Improvement
    • Painting
    • Cleaning & Organizing
    • Crafting & Art
    • More . . .
  • Painting Projects
  • Plants Guides
  • Shop
    • Our Fav Home Finds
    • Our Lighting Line
    • Our Books
    • Book Club Picks
    • Black-Owned Businesses

Young House Love » Reader Redesigns » Turning An Empty Wall Niche Into A Bookshelf

| By Sherry Petersik | March 19, 2009 | 24 Comments

Turning An Empty Wall Niche Into A Bookshelf

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

art-niche-before

art-niche-demo

bookcase-under-construction

bookcase-after

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.

More posts from Young House Love

Filed Under: Reader Redesigns

Sometimes We’re The Last To Know…
How To Paint Terra Cotta Pots

Comments

  1. katie says

    March 19, 2009 at 11:39 am

    love love love it!

    Reply
  2. Jess@thehomebound says

    March 19, 2009 at 11:44 am

    wonderful idea! this looks fantastic.

    Reply
  3. mhb says

    March 19, 2009 at 11:58 am

    Oh, WOW. This is fantastic.

    Reply
  4. jbhat says

    March 19, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    What vision. What execution. The bookcase and the sconce, which is adorable, just MAKE that space. Yay!

    Reply
  5. Hima says

    March 19, 2009 at 12:23 pm

    Happy birthday from India…Sherry!

    Reply
  6. Liz says

    March 19, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    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.

    Reply
  7. angie says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:02 pm

    Wow.. amazing! So clean and so very creative. I would never have thought of making that area into a book case.

    Reply
  8. Michelle says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    happy birthday!
    you & my son share the same birthday &
    coincidently, i saw you at lunchtime! :)

    Reply
  9. Ashley says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:08 pm

    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!

    Reply
  10. Hawthorn Inc. says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    Looks fantastic! It’s always amazing what a renovation project can do for the feel of a home.

    Reply
  11. Mike and McGee says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    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

    Reply
  12. Gretchen says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    Congratulations! You guys deserve the recognition. This is a great site!

    Reply
  13. Anna See says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:46 pm

    What a great use of space! I am impressed.

    Reply
  14. Natalie says

    March 19, 2009 at 1:51 pm

    Oh, that is genius! I would have been afraid to remove the niche (so classy) but the bookcase is functional AND fabulous!

    Reply
  15. Laura says

    March 19, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    now that is AWESOME!

    Reply
  16. Averill says

    March 19, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    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!

    Reply
  17. Holly M. says

    March 19, 2009 at 4:41 pm

    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!

    Reply
  18. Tamstyles says

    March 19, 2009 at 9:05 pm

    great job!

    Reply
  19. Kristy says

    March 19, 2009 at 9:26 pm

    This is a fantastic project. I’d love to know where that light fixture hails from?

    Reply
  20. pearls and green tea says

    March 20, 2009 at 5:53 am

    love it! i am also now hunting for a wall to bust open…

    http://pearlsandgreentea.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  21. heather s. says

    March 20, 2009 at 9:17 am

    Looks great!

    Reply
  22. ALVN of WhisperWood Cottage says

    March 20, 2009 at 10:23 am

    This is fabulous!!

    Reply
  23. Wendy says

    March 20, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    I love this idea! I’m sitting here thinking the same thing – where could I do this in my house???? Great share!

    Reply
  24. bungalow_bliss says

    March 23, 2009 at 1:05 pm

    Excellent idea and a much better use of the space. Impressive!

    Reply

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

John and Sherry Sitting On Woven ChairHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
*This site contains ads and affiliate links*
See our disclaimer & privacy policy to learn more

Latest Finds

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SHOP OUR LIGHTING

Young House Love Shades Of Light Capiz Chandelier

GET POSTS BY EMAIL

We’re Digging

Traditional Rug
The “Magic” Rug
Smokeless Solo Stove Firepit
Smokeless Firepit
Outdoor Solar LED Path Lights
Solar Path Lights
Criss Cross Office Chair
Our Desk Chair
Blue Air 211 Air Purifier
Our Air Purifiers
Eufy 11S Max Robot Vacuum
Our Robot Vacuum
Kohler Memoirs Toilet
Our Favorite Toilet
Livable Luxe Book
Fav Design Book
SEE MORE OF OUR FAVORITE FINDS > >

  • About
  • FAQs
  • Press
  • Contact
  • :)

© 2025 Young House Love ® · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · A Fun Wordpress theme on Genesis Framework · Hosted by Liquid Web