Every home has at least one.
A nook, a cranny, an odd spot that cannot be incorporated into the neighboring space and provides a design challenge due to its awkward size, shape, and/or location.
In the above picture, a client of Mercer Floor and Home decided to use the nook at the base of her main stair case as a spot to drop your keys and take off your shoes since it was in her entry way. At it worked perfectly, the pieces she choose worked together to make the space feel welcoming without impeding traffic flow.
Just like in the above situation, when deciding on how to best utilize these awkward little spaces you are going to take note of...
- location - this can help you determine the best use of this space
- size - typically in these nooks and crannies you don't have a lot of space to use so it's often best to use pieces that are scaled down so they fit better visually as well as spatially
- shape - you are definitely going to want to work with the architectural details that the space provides so whatever is placed there looks like it belongs
- style - what is your style, the style of your home, the style of that area? Do you want this spot to be apart of the overall picture or its own separate area?
Recently I helped someone with an awkward space in their basement family room. They had a staircase to the main floor that doubled back upon itself (like in the example picture below) and she had no idea how to use that cranny below the top half of the stairway.
Since it was off of the family room, I suggested a shorter floor lamp in the corner and a folding table placed at a slight angle (this folding table would preferably come with a removable leaf to make it larger if necessary). When not in use, pretty things like a vase of flowers and/or family pictures could be placed on the table.
Typically the space was going to be used by just the couple as their children had grown so nothing extravagant was needed in the way of storage or fixed seating. They would have large gatherings of family and friends over during the holidays, so I thought that the folding table could serve two purposes. It could be left in the cranny to be used as a server. Or it could be pulled out and used either as a place to eat or to play games. I added the floor lamp to brighten the space up and help it feel larger.
Spots around staircases seem to be common challenging spaces. And I thought that the space in the above picture was utilized well with the small office. I have also seen people use the otherwise dead spaces under stairs as storage spots like in the picture below.
The below picture shows a unique take on the crannies below staircases. What a charming little seating spot.
What are some of your challenging nooks and crannies? Have you thought of what you could do with them?
Here are a few other pictures; hopefully they help!
I also highly suggest taking a look at The Not So Big House for additional tips!




















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