What's Trending: Wall Niches

If you’ve looked at the local home interiors scene of late, you’ll have noticed that a lot of spaces are employing wall niches. These are recessed shelves and alcoves that are often used as a décor accent or a focal point. But they can also be used for proper storage. Because they are recessed, they also feel less bulky and seem to help contain clutter. Wall niches aren’t new, but they are making a huge comeback and they are more stylish than ever. We show you some of our favourite ways to use them.

1. Living Room Feature Wall

The wall niches on this feature wall take on two roles: the one below the TV functions as a way to store miscellaneous media units, while the ones by the side provide a platform for displaying décor pieces. Notice that adjacent wall niches also feature wood bases, which add a little extra something to the minimalist display. Design: Kuro + Kagi Similarly in this pared-back living room, rows of wall niches provide room for displaying décor. Design: Forefront Interior Here, a wall niche allows the TV and sound bar to be recessed into the clean, all-white TV wall for a gallery-like feel. Design: Right Angle Studio

2. Curved Wall Niches

As one of the hottest décor trends this year, curves are seen in everything, including wall niches. We've seen a ton of examples, but we love these ones best. Use a contrasting colour to highlight your niche and the items on display. Design: Design 4 Space [gallery link="none" columns="2" size="full" ids="153458,153459"] Design: Insight.Out Studio For larger niches, including shelves will help to increase storage and display space. You can even go with contrasting shelves for that extra visual pop. Designs: BuildBuilt Design: Fifth Avenue Interior Design: Ascend Designs

3. Bunch wall niches together to make a cluster

We love these tiny wall niches that sit in a cluster by the pantry area of the home. Rather than have things feeling too uniformed and sterile, employing different sizes of niches keep things more visually interesting. Design: House of Chais Or go with identical double wall niches for a more symmetrical and timeless appeal. Design: Styledbypt

4. Circle Niches

If curves aren’t your thing, you might want to go full circle. We love them in Zen style interiors, but they work with all sorts of interior design themes from Scandinavian to beach resort. Design: House of Chais Design: Forefront Interior

5. Shower Niches

Bathrooms are getting the wall niche treatment too. Niches are usually tiled to prevent water from seeping through. Use the same tiles for your alcoves for a more seamless look, but if you want to have them stand out, juxtapose with different tiles. The spa-like bathroom below employed mosaic scallop tiles for the wall niche to contrast against the marble grain ones seen in the rest of the space. Design: Lemonfridge Studio Design: Notion of W

6. Kitchen Backsplash

Framing the sink area in this kitchen is a shallow curved wall niche that is tiled stylishly in grey-hued glossy tiles and kitted out with a wooden shelf. It also serves to break up the hard architectural lines in this space, helping to soften the overall vibe. Design: House of Chais

7. Bedside Alcoves or Headboard Feature

Instead of a standalone nightstand, a recessed alcove in the bedroom below helps to channel a clean, minimalist aesthetic, while providing enough room to stow away bedside essentials. Design: Three-D Conceptwerke A shallow wall niche was used as a defining feature in this warm and charming bedroom. Design: BuildBuilt A wall niche was carved out on the wall behind the bed to serve as catchall for bedside necessities. Its asymmetry adds a quirky twist to this minimal space. Design: D’ Initial Concept

8. Dining Nook

Deck out a wall niche with a bench and you’ve got a cosy seating nook. Below, wall niches were used to house dining benches. Design: Karpentree Studio Wallpaper your niche for that extra dose of personalisation. Design: House of Chais Will you be incorporating this trend in your home?