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What would you do - an interior design question...

29 replies

Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 10:31

So, we have a living room with two alcoves around the fireplace. In the far one, the bigger one, we plan to have fitted, floor to ceiling cupboards with double doors that open from the middle.

However, the arc of the right door means that when open, it will hit the 115cm yellow Danish table/desk we have against the window (currently placed centrally under window).

Would you:

  1. Consider having sliding doors? Even though you lose about 50cm depth


  1. Alter the size of window - make it smaller - so that the desk can still lie centrally -


  1. Or accept the table will be positioned more to the right, and balance it out with more going on at end against the wall.


I can't believe this is causing me such strife! Thanks all
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Kaz2200 · 16/03/2017 10:40

How about shelves or drawers at the bottom and a cupboard above which will clear the top of the desk.

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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 10:47

We've thought bout that but the drawers still have to roll out properly to be useful?

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suzyrut · 16/03/2017 10:58
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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 11:03

No, the alcove is too long and thin for bifolds, alas

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GinAndOnIt · 16/03/2017 11:17

Can you post a picture? Does the desk have to stay in that position, or can it go somewhere else in the house?

What are you hoping to store in the alcove cupboards?

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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 11:29

Can't post a picture as the room is being renovated, so nothing will make sense.

We need to put something under the window - that's why we took it back from a door - and anything you put under will incur the same issue.

Hoping to store shit loads of stuff! Toys and stuff. On one side a space for broom. Maybe even an area of Henry Hoover.

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SailAwaySailAwaySailAway · 16/03/2017 11:32

Could you get gorgeous fabric and make a curtain over the alcove?

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Kaz2200 · 16/03/2017 11:54

Or shelves with nice baskets

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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 11:55

I hadn't thought of that...i could look into it but tbh, it doesn't immediately appeal...

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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 11:56

I don't want shelves. We've had shelves. And it didn't work.

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Floggingmolly · 16/03/2017 11:58

Are you serious about putting a broom cupboard in your living room alcoves? Confused

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namechangedtoday15 · 16/03/2017 12:06

Couldn't you just have one large cupboard door (rather than two) which is hinged from the right hand side so that the arc of opening is the opposite way round - so when the door is fully open, its on the opposite side of the alcove?

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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 12:12

It's over 110cm wide, so that would be a massive door...

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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 12:12

A broom slot. Yes.

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GinAndOnIt · 16/03/2017 12:22

What about the alcove on the other side? Does that have any restrictions on opening doors? I know you've said it's smaller, but if you could put cupboard storage that side, you wouldn't need as big a cupboard in the other alcove (if one at all)

Or you could do like a PP said with a curtain, but have the curtain part as window sill height, and then a cupboard above?

Is the room generally quite big? We thought about cupboards in our alcoves, mainly to hide the tv, but we thought it would make the room feel a lot smaller, and be a bit in-your-face having such huge cupboards. Our alcoves are around 200cm though so floor to ceiling cupboards would have been ginormous.

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senua · 16/03/2017 12:23

2. Alter the size of window - make it smaller

A definite 'no'.

I've tried googling alcove cupboards and I'm afraid to my eye they don't look good. The combination of cupboard below / shelving above looks OK but full cupboard looks like you've got a pair of wardrobes in the sitting room.
Does it have to be fitted, could you find a nice free-standing piece and fill the rest of the alcove with something like a statement plant, lampstand or large ornament.

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namechangedtoday15 · 16/03/2017 12:25

Well what about the doors being offset then, so divide the gap say 0.25 / 0.75 - so the door on the left is 0.25 of the gap and won't hit the desk and the other is 0.75. If you have fairly modern / clean lines push close doors it would look great. Or maybe divide the gap into 3 and have 3 identical narrower doors?

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GinAndOnIt · 16/03/2017 12:26

senua I'm inclined to agree - full length cupboards can look a bit 'bedroom'

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kingjoffreyworksintescos · 16/03/2017 12:36

Do you need anything there ? , can you leave the alcove back to the original wall giving a sense of space , I've done this on several properties I've refurbished , taken out outdated cupboards and opened up the room , the depth of the cupboard is rarely deep enough for any significant storage anyway

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wowfudge · 16/03/2017 12:47

Move the desk to elsewhere in the house or consider turning it round ninety degrees.

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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 13:10

Currently, in our two living rooms - terraced house, no doors between what should be a dining room and the TV/sofa bit - we use the end with the TV well, but not the other bit. We have two fireplaces, one in each room, and across all four alcoves we currently have lower cupboards, a space for shit and hung pictures, and then two fixed shelves high up, across all, for books.

Because we have a big dining table in the kitchen, we don't have another table in the second room. It's become a cut through - you can get through to the kitchen, we knocked down a wall - and a dumping ground for kids stuff.

The purpose is to change it, and make something of the space. Currently there are three 'circulation points' coming off this one room - door to the hallway, walkthrough to the kitchen, door to side return. That last door is stoopid. We never use it as we have doors to the garden from the kitchen.It's a waste of a wall in a room that has no walls to really play with.

We plan to take the door to garden back to a sash window, put a nice danish table beneath it. We want to use that near alcove for cupboards because it's better aesthetically - on the other side of the alcove will be a vintage medical cabinet and plants. It would look wrong to have the cupboard that side. Hence, having it in the far corner - and we'll have push close doors in line with our kitchen cupboards.

I'm now wondering whether we have two large drawers on rollers, taking up to about 70cm, which is the height of the table. That way it might be less of an issue. Then starting the cupboards at this height. The plan is to have soft grey spray painted doors, same colour as room, and then a bright yellow spot colour inside.

In that corner, we have previously attempted just shelves, and an old cool chair, shelves and a low cupboard (now) and it doesn't work.

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Allthebestnamesareused · 16/03/2017 13:32

Pivoting sliding doors?

Here the door opens out to 90 degrees and then slides back into the alcove when open.


See link here www.locksonline.com/Finetta-Spinfront-30-50-pivot-sliding-door-system-9348.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjw76jGBRDm1K-X_LnrmuEBEiQA8RXYZ7ycVvvjSe_PpqD9MSUDiZFgVOQr4Er_glTKvQpEvpYaAoA78P8HAQ

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minipie · 16/03/2017 13:52

I think I would go with namechange's suggestion of having different width doors - wider left door narrower right door. The wider bit could match the width of the other alcove and the narrower bit would be what's left over. Hopefully it would be small enough that it wouldn't hit the desk any more.

In fact I'd probably have 2 separate cupboards, a wide one matching the other alcove and then a skinny one. That way the wide one could have shelves inside which will make it much more useful for toys etc. The skinny one would have no shelves and be for broom and other tall stuff.

I like the pivoting sliding doors from Allthebest, however my parents have these, and I'm pretty sure you have to open the door all the way before you can slide it backwards into its little slot, so the OP would still have the hitting the desk issue.

Definitely don't make the window smaller!

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Irritationcity · 16/03/2017 20:41

Thanks all, really helpful

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StarCrossdSkys · 16/03/2017 20:52

Usually in terraces the door that you are changing to a window is not central, it's closer to the alcove wall than the other wall. If this is the case then I wouldn't worry about the table being central to the window, everything is offset anyway so just put it where it fits.

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