Inglenooks

These inviting fireside-seating areas can be physically enclosed and private or they can open wide to form integral components of larger rooms. Either way, they tend to be focal points that architects or builders situate in key positions to be admired from multiple sight lines. Materials usually match those in other parts of the house so that the niche becomes part of the architecture. “Inglenooks are especially nice in larger family rooms because they offer intimate seating within a larger context,” submits architect Barbara Brown. “It’s a great place for two or three people to have a cup of tea or glass of wine.”