Alcove Ideas For Making The Most Of Space!

Alcove Ideas For Making The Most Of Space!

27th Jul 2022

Posted by Alice Ewens on 27th Jul 2022

Need alcove ideas for what to do with your awkward corners, nooks and niches? We got you covered with customer inspo & mood boards!

What Is An Alcove?

An alcove is a small recessed section of a room or an arched opening usually enclosed by walls and/or pillars. In modern homes, these usually appear as the spaces on either side of a chimney breast but can pop up in odd corners without a chimney, too.

Sometimes narrow, sometimes quite wide, often shaded, however your alcove looks, it can be hard to know what to do with one if you've got one! But we've gone through our products and our customer's images to find you the best furniture alcove ideas to make the most of your available space.

Alcove Ideas - Keep It Bright!

Our Moodboards

The size of the alcove you've got to work with will determine the types of furniture you can place within it. But, regardless of size, using bright reflective surfaces will help bounce natural light around a potentially dark corner.

mood board image featuring scrapbook photo of alcove beside fireplace, with glass & silver chrome console table overlaid in alcove. Round glass & black metal side table overlaid to left, square glass & gold chrome side table overlaid to right. 2 round wall mirrors in black & gold frames overlaid at top.

A glass and metal side table or console table would work nicely in an alcove. Our Novara and Leonardo ranges come with black, silver or gold legs. Couple with a stylish round wall mirror like our Emma (available in a range of sizes and colours) for a bright, modern look. Perfect for displaying accessories, plants or a table lamp.

moodboard featuring ripped image of narrow alcove, with mirrored bedside table that has 3 drawers overlaid in alcove, with statement wall mirror above in ornate deco Celtic frame. White bedside table with gold handles overlaid to left, blue velvet stool with gold art deco chrome legs overlaid to right.

If you've got a narrower alcove space, light and reflective surfaces are all the more important. Here we show how our mirrored Venetian bedside table works well with a horizontal wall mirror like our Olympus Large Silver Modern Mirror to bring light to a darker, narrow alcove. A white bedside table with gold accents, like our Taylor, or even a little statement stool like our Oxford blue velvet and gold leg stool, will work well too!

How Our Customers Are Doing It!

Our Venetian Large Round Silver Wall Mirror here above a mirrored console brings all the light to this corner.

Our Diamond Mirrored Bedside/Side Table here, adding some dynamic light to a darker corner. The perfect spot for a gorgeous bouquet.

Another example of a round wall mirror and mirrored console doing the most to bring sunshine to an alcove! That's our Small Starburst Silver Round Mirror

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Alcove Ideas - Make It A Cosy Nook

Our Moodboards

If you have an alcove that's big enough, you can turn it into a cosy little nook with a lamp and some seating! You could opt for an armchair, accent chair or a statement bench/stool to make a lovely feature space.

moodboard image - scrapbook ripped image of alcove with grey fabric armchair - scandi modern style with pale wooden tapered legs - overlaid beside a cream and wooden tripod lamp.

This is our lovely and super modern Matteo armchair with tapered wooden legs, which we've paired with a wooden tripod lamp for a sleek, Scandi-inspired little reading nook.

moodboard image - scrapbook ripped image of alcove with beige fabric scatterback armchair - sweeping winged arms, floral patterned back cushion and 2 pink side cushions on short dark wooden turned feet - overlaid beside a white tripod lamp.

Or, go for something a little more rustic farmhouse-inspired like our Isla Chesterfield scatterback armchair with floral back cushion & dusky pink side cushions. Those sweeping winged arms really invite you to curl up in there with a cuppa!

How Our Customers Do It!

How about one of our gorgeous velvet-topped statement Cambridge benches for your alcove? Sumptuous luxury in a range of colours and metallic leg frames in gold or silver. Add a cosy throw and your perfect coffee, just like at_home_with_the_pells and thedemehome! Or, a stunning statement velvet chair like newroad_newproject (try our Jax velvet armchair, or a Calla velvet dining chair for a similar look!)

Alcove Ideas - Round Dining Tables

A round dining table works reall well in small spaces! If you're blessed with an alcove that's large enough, consider placing a round dining table. It'll make the most of an awkward space, by tucking your dining table out of the way. Being round, the table can be larger than the alcove ad sit angled in towards it, as the lack of sharp corners here will diffuse and blend into the empty space. Our Novara round glass and chrome dining tables are really popular for smaller spaces as we offer them in 100cm diameter. The glass and shiny gold or silver chrome legs help keep the table light and airy, perfect for a darker corner.

Other Alcove Ideas

If your alcove space is shallow or too narrow for furniture, you can add interest with accessories! Candles, pot plants, plinths and lamps all work really well in constrained spaces to soften harsh corners. Lighting works in a similar way by diffusing harsh lines and shadows.

The gold candlesticks and candles on small gold side tables here add a gorgeous glow to that alcove, as well as creating a lovely little feature corner. That's our Novara round 120cm glass dining table with gold legs.

These stylish tall black potplants with soft grasses create contrast with the pale wall and match the black chairs. That's our Leonardo glass rectangular dining table with silver chrome legs.

How Do You Style Your Alcove?

mobile phone on desk displaying hte Furniturebox UK Instagram page

We love to see how our customers style their Furniturebox products, so make sure you're following us on Insta and over on Pinterest (where we've got loads more inspiration for you) and tag us in your photos and Reels!