Why a builder installs a niche is beyond me. Hang some art over it.

I would remove the trim and drywall over the hole, so that I could have a nice uninterrupted wall for my art.

If I had a niche, I’d put either one piece of art (framed or canvas) or a cool sculptural piece in it. Embrace the niche! :D

You should’ve asked about putting a mirror in one. It would've been like kicking a fire ant nest with a bare foot coated in honey. 😄

Keep your eyes peeled for something interesting that is three-dimensional.

A wood or metal sculptural piece (but not word art!), textile art or vintage beautiful fabric.

An ethnic doll or mask if it would fit.

A piece of stained glass if you could figure out how to back-light it. (Something battery powered?)

Some beautiful or striking specimens from nature in frames or on pedestals, like sizeable sea shells, fossils, butterflies, turtles, bones, driftwood, cultural artifacts, etc.

Maybe put a few hooks there for hats, coats or scarves and a small basket for keys? Or as mentioned above hang art over it or it might look good if you had something painted inside and the outside would act as a frame maybe? Or another thing that might be cool is to find a few photos or pieces of art you love and place it there with lighting drawing attention to it. Similar to how they did these.

A Special Display of Art · More Info

Hallway & Art Niche · More Info

Fremont - Maple & Wange Flooring · More Info

wall art niches · More Info

@loobab Wait; I have to return my "Live Laugh Love" metal art to Home Goods?? Come on..... :D

Will be on the lookout for sculptural art; thanks for the ideas! I hadn't thought of something that mounted to the wall; I was wracking my brain trying to think of something that sat on the sill. This should be a little easier to find. Maybe more expensive, though. :P

Also had not thought about installing shelves.... hmm.

Emily, we are all very good at spending other people’s money. :D

Ooo, I like that tile idea. ^^^

OOH I like the tile!! I also like the idea of building out the shelf -- but they put in this super chunky beast and I don't think I can stick anything on top of it without it looking dumb. :/ They made some questionable design choices, for sure -- but I do not have bags of $$ to change it all, so here we are. ;)

While I'm thinking about tile... I actually very strongly dislike the existing talavera. I'm thinking of ripping it out (fireplace surround + step risers in living room, staircase) and replacing it with a more Art-Deco-esque tile I found on Etsy and *love*. It's matches the existing blue tiles, so I wouldn't have to take those out. I know the purists are dying a little inside, including my good friend who's been helping out with design, but...

[Also note Craftsman-style dining set that moved with us; we'll replace it eventually, when we feel less poor.]

I wish I loved it, but I do not.

I *do* love these ones (one's matte; one's shiny). Gingko leaves. And the vendor is really nice. Here they are on Etsy.

Emily- You aren't getting rid of all your floor tile, you are just embellishing it.

omg, your dining set is beautiful if I am seeing correctly.

Unless it is poorly made, you might fetch a pretty penny for it!

Well, if that is the look you are going for, why not try a wrought iron thing-a-ma-bob in your niche?

Look around online for decorative wrought iron things, candle sticks and candelabra for example and they would fit right in that space. So would some sort of hat rack.

Oh, of course Beth thought of it first!

Unnecessary niches in the home remind of that British comedy show Keeping Up Appearances. Its character Hyacinth Bucket (who pronounced it Bouquet, she thought it sounded more sophisticated) had many niches in a basic suburban house. I could watch it in re-runs over and over, those shows made me laugh every time.

I like a tokonoma in a niche, with a scroll or piece of art, and a plant or something else to display, but it wouldn't be consonant with what else you want to do.

Emily- not a full shelf- a small pedestal, even a glass one or a simple black one on which to display an objet d'art or natural find. A beautiful decorative plate on a stand or hung with a plate bracket would be great too.

Another thing, no clocks!

I love those tall "lucky bamboo," (which isn't bamboo at all, it is dracaena) and you can get several (an odd number), some straight, some curlicue in whatever shallow vessel you like. The brownest thumb can do well with those. Just use some quake hold on the bottom of the vessel, so whoever comes barreling down the hallway won't knock it over.

@loobab We got this dining set off of CraigsList years ago!! It looks... funky here. :( But it's really high quality, and everything I've seen in the stores is either $5K plus, or not nearly as well-made as this set.

Maybe I can start a new design trend: Art-Deco-Spanish-Colonial-Craftsman. I'll call it Emily Bouquet. George Rennie Mackintosh would be proud. :D

Oh, and no, I'm not getting rid of the Saltillo! We had it stripped and resealed, and it is beautiful now -- I really like it. It's that Talavera with the colors that don't go with each other or anything else that I object to. ;)

Love the new tile! And love your Saltillo. Fabulous.

so sorry you dislike that talavera tile! I do love it. I have saltillo and spanish tiles on my patio. I love the colors.

what if you did the black and white talavera? diff look but same family?

Or, something like this tile? it all works

or, what if you switched to moroccan and did the Zellige tiles?

just a sample of some in black, but they have gorgeous shades. I have these tiles in a beautiful blue and green shade

https://www.ziatile.com/zellige/

Or?

https://www.ziatile.com/blogs/fireplace-hot-new-trend-cement-tile/porto-fireplace-from-sarah-joy/

unless you want to go craftsman tile.

Oh man -- I love that blue craftsman fireplace!! And it would look so good with the Saltillo... But I want to save the solid blue tiles in the risers -- so I need something with a pattern that will coordinate with them.

I think I would have custom mirror put in and call it good. I would not use it as a 'shelf' at all.

Another vote for drywalling it up. Niches seem only truly useful for the homeowner who asked that it be included during the initial build, or the builder for whatever reason.