Design aspects can magically transform your ‘house’ into a ‘home’. Very often, there are homes that come with alcove spaces. These little recesses in homes many a time turn into an awkward space that is not planned well. A few efforts and a whole lot of creativity can help transform these empty wall spaces into more than just a room for storage.
WHAT IS AN ALCOVE?
Jerry Meshach J, principal architect at Dwellion Architects, explains, “Alcoves are a deliberate part of architectural design these days. But it wasn’t so a few decades ago. Back then, structures had load-bearing walls without columns, the thickness of which would be a feet and a half. If one wished to have access to another part of the house, they would make alcoves. So in the future, when they decided to connect two parts, they would not demolish these thick walls, but just bring down the alcoves, which would be as thick as just a brick.”
MINE OF IDEAS:
It is interesting how such a simple part of the architectural design has become a spot that can be anything, from your personal showcase to an elaborate bookshelf. “The best part is, it is up to you to decide what it can be. It can broadly be a functional unit or decorative (that serves the purpose of highlighting a particular object). If it is shallow and has little space, then you can use it to highlight a single décor piece or, a beautiful piece of painting or photograph. If it is a little large, you can convert it into anything from a book-shelf to a cozy sitting spot,” shares Srikant B, an IT professional. He converted the alcove near the windows into a beautiful area where one can sit and just unwind.
TREE HOUSE:
These niche areas today are spots that can change the look of your room. Designing it in a clever way can grab some eyeballs, and be something that is not left unused. Shobha M, art director with an advertising agency was yet another person who discovered the usefulness of alcoves. She says, “In what is our daughter’s room now, we have a window space that was left as it was since we had installed a window AC there. A couple of years back when we finally did away with the old window AC and installed a split AC in the room, that space suddenly lent itself to creativity. We then converted it into what our daughter calls her ‘tree house’. We built a seat with storage area underneath.”
She placed a simple mattress and a few cushions on top to make the seat comfortable. The walls on the sides have tree decals on them and one side has a small shelf where a few of the daughter’s favourite books and other things are kept.