Corner Envy

Are you getting the most out of the square footage in your home? Would you like to add a reading nook, a home office or just a cozy place to relax, but don’t know how to fit it in? You may already have a space you can take advantage of!

Here’s a hint: most rooms have four of them. That’s right, they’re your corners! They don’t have to be empty corners; you can make them more beautiful and useful. Here are some angles to take advantage of those right angles, and none of these ideas are square.

Display Corner

Corner the market on style by creating a showplace for your favorite decor. There may be a corner curio cabinet that was just made to fill that blank niche. These tall, handsome display cases take only inches of wall space and many feature internal lighting and mirrored backs. They put the most positive light on your special possessions.

Or use a high, narrow bookcase, either a ladder-style or a standard unit with open sides. Exhibit a few of your best-looking volumes alternated with vases, houseplants are other ornamentations.

Floating shelves are another display choice. They can be triangular or L-shaped. For an especially creative touch, create “broken Ls’” with alternating shelf heights between one wall and the other.

For a more minimalist but still attractive display, place an accent table in that corner. Top it with a runner and maybe a single piece of decor. Above, add wall art, anything from a well-chosen picture or two to a complete gallery wall display.

Media Corner

Always have your Friends in your corner. Or any other favorite TV show, with a corner media console. You can watch from sofas and chairs anywhere in the room, even from a sectional straddling the opposite corner. They come with an assortment of shelves and drawers that provide space for anything from cable boxes to soundbars to a collection of old movies. They’re great for organizing your audio equipment as well. Wires and cords stay neatly tucked out of sight behind the unit.

Office or Hobby Corner

You may not be ready to give over an entire room to office work, but an effective workspace can be right around the corner with a corner desk. An L-shaped desk and credenza combination are perfectly designed to fit such a space. Alternately, build a complete workspace with a standard desk against one wall, a bookcase or file cabinet on the other and a small table in the corner between them.

This concept also works for a hobby space for your scrapbooking, stamp making or other crafty endeavor. Position your work surfaces on one wall or form them into an L around the corner, and store your necessaries in shelves or baskets beneath.

Reading Corner

It takes only a comfortable accent chair and a lamp to turn an unused corner into your favorite spot in the home. Add a side table or maybe even a ladder bookcase to complete the ideal reading site. The chair can be simple or plush, from wicker in a bedroom or den to generous seating you can curl up in. The chair doesn’t have to just sit there. Choose a swivel chair or one of those efficient wall recliners that require only a few inches behind the back.

If your room is an irregular shape, look for a way to make that odd recess an asset. Find your special niche in your home’s odd niche.

And here’s an interesting idea: how about reading corners on opposite sides of the same wall, for his and her (or host and guest) reading nooks.

Comfy Corner

That reading nook doesn’t have to be just for reading. The emphasis can be more on comfort than literature. For an arrangement that beckons you to make it your corner hideaway, choose a large, soft chair and add a big blanket and a lush pillow. It’s just the spot where you might invite the cat onto your lap and make it (dare we say it?) a kitty corner. Add a potted plant or potted tree. If you have the space you might even design your corner retreat around a loveseat.

Don’t let your corners just shrink into the corner. Celebrate them! Make them standout components of your interior motif.