If you have ever moved into a home with an alcove in the living room, you will be all too aware of how tricky they are to work with for your interior décor. It is like a having a hole in the wall that you can’t figure what would look good in there. You could take the easy route and install drywall to seal it off or you could take advantage of that extra space with a little creative ingenuity.
3 Display Ideas to Make the Most of Tricky-Sized (and Shaped) Alcoves
Install Shelves to Display Standing Frames
Shelves are a practical solution to increase the display space you have; however, alcoves are usually tricky to shelf because most aren’t your typical sizes. Unless you are a dab hand at DIY, able to make your own custom shelves, chances are, you will struggle to find an exact width shelf to straddle the width of an alcove.
A simple workaround for shelving unusual sized areas is to install smaller shelves at different heights. The idea is to have a tiered shelving system. Using this style, you actually increase your shelf space because of a little overlap. The width only needs to be smaller to cover up to ¾ of the width, then the shelves installed at equal heights. Rather than trying to fit in three full-width shelves, you would be able to fit six narrower shelves, three shelves on either side.
Depending on the height you have to work with, you should find the staggered shelving tall enough to sit one 10” x 8” frame per shelf, and where there is overlap reducing the height between shelves, smaller 7” x 5” frames would fit on the shelf ends. Alternatively, mix up your displays with books, paperweights, photo frames and perhaps a nice vase to add some extra colour.
Hang a Vertical Canvas 3-Piece Wall Art Set
Canvas prints give you a more feasible option of displaying your art or photographs on canvas without a frame. They can still be framed if you prefer, but when you are looking to display art in a location with limited space, the frameless printing option can be a great space-saver.
A vertical triptych display can be created by using a theme of smaller sized prints hung one above the other, or alternatively (although more time-consuming and image-editing skill is required), you could break one large digital image up into three parts and print each on small enough blocks of canvas prints to hang them vertically in the alcove.
Depending on the shape of your alcove, it could be possible to install a picture light above the display. For alternative lighting in tight-spaces, LED strips could be an option. If you need to add additional lighting, consider using UV resistant glazing on your photo frames for additional UV Protection.
Hang Frames around the Alcove Frame
Perhaps the simplest of display ideas is to use your alcove space to display a large object, such as a houseplant, vase, statue or other tall ornament and install decorative lighting to make that your focus display. Then take advantage of the alcove being the focal point by hanging your photos around it.
For alcoves with wood trims, an idea would be to paint the trims the same colour as your photo frames so they all become part of the same display.