Drywall is a fairly popular building material today. It is used not only for the technical elimination of wall and ceiling imperfections, but also for the creation of structures that carry a decorative and functional load. Niches from drywall with a well fit into almost any interior, and to make them yourself is not difficult.
Varieties of Niches
There are several main types of grooves in the wall.
- Wide and shallow are great for placing paintings and other interior items, often complement the design of the bedroom, living room.
- Niches for the TV have much larger dimensions, as they must fit the equipment.
- Corner niches - located in the corners of the room and can replace bookshelves or perform purely decorative functions.
- Drywall ceiling with a niche for lighting.
In addition, there are multi-level multi-functional niches that can replace cabinets. The choice of design depends on personal preferences, functionality and location.
Schema creation
Before proceeding with the manufacture of a niche from drywall with lighting, you need to decide on the design of the future design. After that, you can start drawing the diagram.
It is a drawing of a niche made of drywall with backlighting indicating the dimensions of the future design. The drawing helps to evaluate the future result of the work, to see the dimensions of the niche relative to the wall. In addition, a detailed diagram is needed to calculate the required amount of building materials.
Necessary tools and materials
How to make a niche from drywall with your own hands? This will require the following tools:
- hammer drill;
- drill;
- putty knife;
- sandpaper;
- fasteners: dowels, screws;
- building level;
- hacksaws for cutting;
- roulette;
- pencil.
It is also necessary to purchase such building materials:
- drywall sheets;
- guides and building profiles to create the frame;
- putty, primer.
Niche finishing materials should be provided after installation. This can be wallpaper, putty, paint, self-adhesive.
Preparatory work
Before installing a drywall niche for LED backlighting or its other varieties, it is necessary to carry out preliminary preparation, which consists in the following:
- removal of all irregularities from the working surface;
- priming the wall;
- marking on the wall for fastening profiles.
It should be remembered that marking should be carried out only with the help of a building level, otherwise the risk of curvature of the future structure is high.
Frame mounting
Installation of a niche from drywall under the backlight begins with the assembly of the frame from metal profiles. The installation algorithm is as follows:
- a metal profile must be attached to the marking lines applied in advance, then drill holes in the wall and profile with a puncher;
- through the holes made, you need to attach the metal profile to the wall using self-tapping screws;
- similarly, it is necessary to form the entire structure of the niche, guided by the drawings.
To remove the light of the wire, it is important to stretch between the profiles of the frame in order to hide communications.
Drywall Installation
After the frame of metal profiles is fully assembled, it is necessary to proceed with plasterboard casing. Installation is carried out in several stages:
- Building material needs to be cut into pieces that will fit the right size.
- Finished parts are attached to profiles and attached using self-tapping screws.
- Installation should be carried out, starting with the outer part and ending with the inside.
Since lighting is provided in the niche, it is necessary to make holes for the lamps in the drywall sheets before installation. In some cases, an LED strip can be used that attaches directly to the material.
Installation of fixtures is as follows:
- lighting fixtures must be inserted into the prepared holes;
- then connect them to the wiring that was installed on the frame of the structure.
It is important to remember that the screws of the screws during installation should not protrude above the surface of the drywall and be too recessed into the material, otherwise the final finish will not work out quite smooth.
Exterior finish
In order for the niche made of drywall with a backlight to take on a finished look, it is necessary to do its final finishing after installation. Design should be chosen so that it does not contradict, but complements the interior of the room. Exterior finish is carried out in several stages:
1. Putting putty on the surface of the entire niche. In this case, special attention should be paid to the joints and places of fasteners, they should not have differences in level.
2. Coarse, and then fine-grained sandpaper, it is necessary to rub the putty to a perfectly smooth state.
3. Putty should be treated with a primer layer of deep penetration.
After carrying out these manipulations, it is necessary to arrange a niche from drywall with LED backlighting in accordance with the interior of the whole room. It can be pasted over with wallpaper, overlaid with artificial stone, painted or made of decorative stucco molding from plaster. Photos of the niche made of drywall with lights in it show a variety of finishing materials that are applicable to decorate the structure.
Choice of fixtures
If lighting devices are provided inside the niche, then their choice must be dealt with even at the stage of development of the design drawing. The most commonly used fixtures come in several forms.
- LED bulbs. They are a universal option, as they give a sufficiently large amount of light, consume little electricity and require extremely rare replacement. During operation, they practically do not emit heat, which is an advantage. Their light is similar to the light of fluorescent lamps.
- LED strip is a great option for fans of custom solutions. It has more decorative functions than lighting, but it is able to give a niche unusual.
- Discharge lamps are extremely rare. They can be neon orange, argon blue and xenon violet. Suitable for decorative purposes.
- Fluorescent lamps have a fairly strong light, so they are used to illuminate paintings. Their disadvantages include the fact that they are very hot.
Lamps can be mounted in spotlights or have an external mount, depending on the design design conceived.
Design Tips
Niche lighting is selected based on its purpose, but experienced interior designers recommend that you follow these rules:
- the brightness of the light should not be more intense than the main sources of lighting in the room;
- the color scheme should also be consistent with the overall interior and emphasize it, and not contrast;
- LED strip does not have to have one shade; colors can be switched using the remote control;
- lighting is required in niches that suggest the presence of paintings or other objects of art.
Also, when choosing a shade, it is important to pay attention to whether it is warm or cold, since combining them can spoil any interior.
Niche on the ceiling
In addition to the usual recesses in the wall, they can also be located on the ceiling. At the same time, illumination goes along the perimeter of the structure, it can be both LED and using spotlights.
Installation is carried out similarly to the installation of wall structures. However, the design at the same time is most often neutral, since such a ceiling in itself attracts a lot of attention. Today, the contour lighting of a niche on the ceiling is especially popular. At the same time, the design is assembled so that the LED strip is hidden from the eyes.