Whether it's a living room corner, a kitchen recess or even a tricky nook in a bathroom, these clever designs for alcoves will maximise your available living space
You may not have thought too much about them when you moved in. Then grown frustrated as you tried to arrange furniture around them. But the time has come to embrace your alcoves!
Alcoves are usually associated with period properties, where they are created by a chimney breast jutting out in the centre of a room. Typically, these double recesses either side of the fireplace are reclaimed as storage space in living rooms and bedrooms, with built-in shelving being a popular way to utilise the space.
But this isn’t the only way to use the nooks created by an alcove. Nor is it the only type of alcove you’ll find in a property. Under-stair areas, awkward corners in loft-extensions and odd spaces created by renovations and extensions can also create alcoves. But, rather than ignore them or hide them, you can make these tricky structural recesses work in your favour.
Read on, and you’ll discover some exciting opportunities to be smarter with space. From much-needed storage, to cool decorative features and even functional family areas, we have all sorts of clever ideas for alcoves that you’ll love.
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Give them the classic treatment with built-in bookcases
The go-to solution for living room alcoves is to fill them with built-in storage. It’s a no-brainer if you live in a period property, although there are better solutions if you prefer a contemporary look. By painting the chimney breast in the same colour as the furniture, the owners have created a grander, country house feel.
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Build in a bed
Attic spaces can be incredibly difficult to furnish – especially when you have to negotiate a sloping roof. Bu this space proves that the task is far from impossible. This deep alcove is the perfect spot for a bed, and the narrower nook within it has been filled with shelves. Extra bedding can be stashed in the large drawer under the mattress, and a simple wall-mounted light negates the need for a bedside table. As examples of maximising space go, this room is up there with the very best.
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Measure it up for a dresser
Building kitchen furniture around an alcove can be tricky. So why not make things easy for yourself and pop a dresser there instead. You might be lucky enough to find an off-the-peg design that fits perfectly into the gap. Failing that, you could contact a carpenter or bespoke kitchen company to build a made-to-measure piece.
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Put together a loo-side stash
No giggling at the back! Because the reality is, a little bit of storage next to your WC can be extremely practical. Start with a basket or bucket of loo roll so that you’re never caught short, and add a few reading materials for – erm – longer sittings. This might also be a good spot to store nappies, extra hand towels and wet wipes.
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Opt for freestanding storage
Built-in alcove storage can look quite traditional in a period property, which is great if that’s the look your after but if you want a more modern finish, freestanding storage might be a better fit for you (excuse the pun). Use smart paint choices to recede your shelving into an alcove recess – visually, if not physically. For instance, here a dark grey paint on the shelving contrasts with the lighter dove grey shade on the chimney breast; the lighter area comes to the forefront, keeping the focus on the rest of the decor, as opposed to the stacks in the alcoves.
Get the look
Buy now: Form Mixxit Grey Cube Shelving, £60, B&Q
Buy now: Draper Armchair, £999, John Lewis
Buy now: Art Prints, from a selection at Society 6
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Make space for homework
The combination of a bay window and a fireplace alcove needn’t cause excess design difficulties. Work through it by creating a neat little work area like this, which benefits from the natural light filtering through the adjacent window. A pale wood desk and metal tolix chair combine for a smart country-style feel, while a single large art print on the wall behind the desk enhances the sense of this being a separate space.
Get the look
Buy now: Reims Desk, £535, Graham & Green
Buy now: Isaac Iron Gunmetal Chair, £110, Graham & Green
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Move your bed into the alcove
Make bedtime extra cosy by positioning your bed within an alcove. Painting the wall behind in a feature colour makes it appear almost as an extension of the headboard. Instantly, a simple divan becomes so much more.
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Be practical in a guest room
Attic spaces are always a bit awkward, but you can turn these odd angles and alcoves created by boxed-in pipework to your advantage. Here, they make up a natural room divider between a cosy guest bed situated under the eaves and a handy bedroom basin and dressing area. Painting the alcoves in different colours enhances the zoned feeling still further.
Get the look
Buy now: Victorian Cloakroom Basin, £149, Bathstore
Buy now: Elegant Metal Hooks,£30, Cox & Cox
Buy now: Chateau White Bedside table, £325, Cotswold Company
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Indulge in your favourite pastime
If you’re taking the traditional route and building furniture into your alcove, why not turn it into a dedicated space for your favourite hobby? You could create a craft corner for knitting and sewing, or keep your record collection here. Add a turntable, a decent pair of headphones and a comfy chair, and you’ve got the perfect easy listening spot!
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Display artworks in their own space
Don’t leave your alcove walls empty – they’re practically begging for statement artworks to be hung on them. Whether you create a personal gallery with multiple pictures, or go bold with a single piece that continues your colour scheme – as here – your living room will benefit.
Get the look
Buy now: Mortimer Corner Sofa in Shadow Indigo, £1,199, Made
Buy now: Cyanotype Botanical Wild Flowers Art Print, £35 for set of 8, Etsy
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Raise your wine game
If you don’t have space for a cellar, but do have a penchant for wine, why not make way for your bottles in the most sociable of spaces – the living room. This alcove housing a tall stack of bottle racks is far better than a floor-standing drinks cabinet – mostly because, well, look how many bottles you can slot in between the floor and ceiling! Plus the seals make a colourful Damien Hirst-like polka dot feature…?
Get the look
Buy now: Dark Oak 90 Bottle Wine Rack, £120, John Lewis
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Camouflage awkward recesses with pattern
Don’t need extra storage, and want to pretend your alcoves don’t actually exist? Use a wallpaper to camouflage them into a feature wall, with a fireplace at the centre of the scheme. Retro prints like this one work well – light enough in tone to keep the energy up but busy enough to distract you from the different depths of the wall, pair it with block colours elsewhere for a crisp, smart finish. Oh, and don’t go hanging pictures or shelving on it – this will just confuse things!
Get the look
Buy now: Plexus Wallpaper, £30 a roll, Wallpaper Direct
Buy now: Mimi Sofa, £549, Swoon Editions
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Take a classic country approach
Take a leaf out of the book of early 20th-century houses, which often featured built-in bedroom storage like this. Floor-to-ceiling, flat-fronted wardrobes streamline the space, look crisp and clean and keep clutter hidden away. What more can you ask for?
Get the look
Buy now: Cotswold Fitted Wardrobes, John Lewis
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Mix and maximise kitchen storage
Shabby chic design comes to kitchen alcoves with a simple dresser/ shelving upcycling project. Line the back of each shelf level with a different wallpaper – ideally with a similar style of pattern, for the best effect – and screw in some cup hooks. Not only do your shelves hold more AND look more interesting, you’ve maximised the otherwise dead space, too!
Get the look
Buy now: Bergen Wallpaper, £39 a roll, Wallpaper Direct
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Make space for a shower
Use a bathroom recess to your advantage and install a streamlined shower enclosure (in an ideal world, it’s in addition to a beautiful freestanding bath!). Simple metro tiles and a classic glass shower screen make for a neat unit that adds to the overall feel in this luxurious bathroom.
Get the look
Buy now: Metro White Tiles, £19.50 sq m, Topps Tiles
Buy now: Playtime Walk-in Shower, £629, Bathstore
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Use bold design to turn attention elsewhere
Take a non-traditional approach to your alcoves, by keeping them free of storage – as this deep-coloured relaxing reading room does. The alcove itself is fitted with the same sophisticated black panelling as the rest of the adjacent wall, which in turn complements the gridwork of the bookshelves located on the back wall of the room. That’s what we call turning the space to your advantage.
Get the look
Buy now: Panelling Wallpaper, £70 a roll, Mineheart at Clippings
Buy now: Annabelle Armchair, £499, John Lewis
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Refashion brickwork into a seat
In an old farmhouse kitchen, where the stove has been removed, turn a brick chimney into a casual seating area – ideal for guests to sit and chat with you when you’re cooking. A wooden beach seat, a scattering of comfy cushions, and this dead space takes on a whole new lease of life.
Get the look
Buy now: Appliquéd Character Cushions, £39, Graham & Green
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Use a deep alcove to make a snug sleep space
It might seem counter-intuitive, but this pretty little girl’s room uses furniture to increase the sense of the alcoves’ size. While a large pastel-pink wardrobe draws attention to the space by the door, a dresser ‘widens’ the wall behind the bed frame, making the recessed sleeping space seem even more cosy and cocooned.
Get the look
Buy now: Oliver Children’s Bed, £275, Feather & Black
Buy now: Ballet Shoe Wallpaper, £40 a roll, Sanderson at Wallpaper Direct
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Create a grown-up work space
If you’re building or renovating an extension, why not make space in the plans for a grown-up work area. This little nook takes up barely any space, features storage for books and files, and feels like a private space in an open-plan area. Subtle and chic – one of our favourite design combinations.
Get the look
Buy now: Cult Living Archie Dining Armchair, £99, Cult Furniture
Buy now: Lyon Beton Concrete Shelf, £129, Amara
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Create a romantic hideaway
Back in the day, an arched alcove could well have held a romantic loveseat, but nowadays the impact of a period feature like this can be multiplied with some smart spatial design. In an all-white room an unusual alcove papered in a pretty, decorative wallpaper makes a striking backdrop to a centred sofa. A console table behind holds mood lighting and a statement artwork, just to add the finishing touches to this glam space.
Get the look
Buy now: Caprifoglio Wallpaper, Designers Guild at Wallpaper Direct
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Point the way with an alcove coat rack
When space is at a premium, utilise an in-between wall space like this to create additional storage. A neat wall-hung coat rack will keep coats, scarves and bags handy, and free up space in a wardrobe – a pretty fab solution for an otherwise empty nook.
Get the look
Buy now: Hornbeam Wallpaper, £97, Farrow & Ball
See? Those alcoves do have a design benefit, beyond your standard storage solutions. It’s time to get creative and update your space… Question is, which room of the house are you going to tackle first?
