Master Bedroom Arched Niche

Master Bedroom Arched Alcove

As one enters our home, a door just past the foyer leads to the Master Bedroom Suite. The image at left shows the entry into the Suite. To the right is the Master Bath and to the left is the bedroom. Just past the bedroom is a Sitting Room.

As shown in the image, an architectural arch is built into the wall. For a long while, we wondered what to do with this space. Lynn has a small collection of teddy bears she had sitting there, but we wanted to do something a bit more "upscale" (so to speak).

We toyed with the idea of having a mirror custom cut for the space and possibly adding light and glass shelves for a new collection of glass purses or other decorative glassware. Later, we decided that a wall fountain might be an attractive feature in this space.

The first trick was to find a fountain that fit the space and appealed to us. We wanted something more than just a simple design, but we didn't want something that was too contrived or gaudy.

It took some time, but we finally found a fountain we liked exclusively in an ImprovementsCatalog.com catalog (129.99). We placed an online order and put it aside when it arrived until we were ready to make other decisions for the Master Bedroom. What affected the alcove most was the new wall color for the room. We had Lowe's mix up a green that we liked (American Tradition Montpelier Olive 5004-2A interior satin).

At right, Lynn inspects her work to paint around the alcove.

We had an idea to mounting the fountain on a brick wall that looked like the stucco was wearing away with age. The trick was to find realistic looking brick. I knew I had seen paneling that looked like brick, but we were unable to find any. Eventually, however, we found Lowe's carrying some of the faux brick paneling. The Oviedo store's cutting saw was inoperative, so we drove to the Waterford location so that they would cut it down to fit in our car. We made sure that the largest section of faux brick paneling was at least as large as the opening of the alcove and yet still a bit larger than the size we knew we would need.

By taping up some shipping paper as shown at left, and rubbing the edges of the alcove with a pencil, we were able to create a template for the brick paneling. We cut the paper out along the pencil markings to create the finished template.

By the way, the shipping paper comes in rolls and it is hard to manage because large sheets tend to roll up again as you try to use it. (Rolling it in an opposite direction only has limited benefit.) Since we had to tape two panels of paper together to make it wide enough, we purposely taped each panel so that the tendencies to roll were

opposite of each other. The one sheet would try to curl one way, and the other would try to curl the other way. The result was as we hoped and the entire sheet was easier to manage as we were taping it up.

Using the template that we created with brown shipping paper, we traced out the shape onto the backside of the faux brick paneling. It was important to make certain that we didn't invert the pattern because we knew that no architectural shape is never perfectly symmetric. If we had used the template upside down, then the faux brick paneling would have had to be installed backwards for the shape to fit properly.

When we cut the faux brick paneling, we did so with the brick facing down and cut along the back of the paneling so that the jigsaw would not scuff up the faux brick facing as we trimmed out the shape we needed. We were concerned that the paneling fit snugly, but not too concerned. We planned to use the stucco coating to help hide corners and edges.

Above is how the alcove looked when we installed the faux brick paneling. Since we knew we planned to hang a heavy fountain we used paneling glue and paneling nails to secure it to the wall.

The most daunting challenges of this project were that we had to plan out and cut three substantial holes. One hole was for the overhead light. A second hole was for the pump's power cord to pass through the alcove wall (so that no power cord was visibly distracting) and a third hole was in Lynn's closet located behind the alcove as shown at left.

The planning of third rear hole was important because it would enable us to feed wires for the lighting and the pump to the switches on the bedroom wall. To decide what size to make the hole, we first

purchased a plumber's access panel from Lowe's. They offer two sizes; 14" x 14" and 6" x 9". We chose the smaller of the two feeling it would still be large enough to accomplish our goals. An access panel is a handy way to cover a planned hole when accessing the hole may be important again in the future. In this case, we needed to access the pump plug in case the pump should ever become defective. Fortunately, we were also able to settle on a location that, when closed was virtually invisible behind hanging clothes.

The panels that Lowe's carries are manufactured by Oatey (www.Oatey.com). We were somewhat disappointed that a simple pair of springs were not integrated into the frame in order to (a) enable a glue-less installation or (b) help hold the frame snug while any glue used set. I am sure I have seen access panels sold elsewhere that offer such a feature, but the Oatey product worked out just fine anyway.

Since we a purchased a newly built home, we had taken photographs of where studs were located during construction. By referring back to those images, we knew exactly where to look for studs and we knew they would be metal studs. That helped us to plan where to place the hole in Lynn's closet and to use a metal work box for the electrical outlet we installed inside that space. We felt the metal box was the optimum choice since we could attach it directly to a metal stud.

To prepare for the work in the closet, we covered Lynn's clothes with a new painter's

drop cloth. We then we cut the hole for the access panel (creating a lot of drywall dust) and installed the panel's frame and allowing the glue to dry. We installed the plastic frame first to protect the edges of the drywall as we worked inside the wall. To secure the metal box to the stud, we used rivets.

The final work in this space is shown at left. There are two yellow Romex wires coming through the stud below the utility box. One leads from the light switch and the other from the pump switch in the bedroom so we can control them independently. The black plug is from the pump. The hole through which the wires are routed is protected by inserts made for this

purpose. It protects the wires as they are being pulled through the wall from scraping rough edges on a metal stud. The plastic insert continues to protect the the wires over time should they encounter vibration from the pump or other sources in the home.

At right, is the box for an Emerald 3" eyeball style light by Cooper Lighting of Peachtree City, GA that we found at Lowe's for $18.97. The good news is that the fixture is versatile and can be as easily used in remodel situations as it can be in new construction.

As anticipated, it ultimately was perfect for our alcove project.

The bad news is that we unknowingly picked up one that had been returned and restocked by Lowe's. It appeared to be complete when we examined it in the store (we have experienced problems like this before), but we later found that it was missing a part and instructions.

Initially we determined that how to use an installation bracket was not easy to figure out and we determined that the instructions were missing. We could not find Emerald on the Internet, so we contacted Lowe's Customer Service on their Web Site asking them to simply have the local store fax me the instructions. A Lowe's representative named Susan began sending us wave after wave of messages proclaiming a desire to help us if we would provide contact information and the store location where we purchased the light. This was in spite of the fact that we had provided the necessary information from the beginning. We finally called a supervisor named Norma on the phone. She was polite, but equally unable or unwilling to assist us in any meaningful way. Finally someone named Jay wrote an email to us suggesting we contact Cooper Lighting. Why we needed to supply a phone number and store location for that brilliant idea we will never know.

In frustration, we finally created our own brackets. If you notice the screw heads on either side of the light in the photo at left, they are not supposed to be there. We knew that we could cover them with stucco later as part of the alcove project was completed. The next time we were in Lowe's we examined another boxed fixture and found that not only were we

missing instructions, but also a part. We purchased the new item, copied the instructions and completed our fixture with the missing part. We then returned the newer fixture. We're not happy about the process, but we eventually made ourselves whole with no thanks to anyone at Lowe's.

To mount the fountain, we created a template of the backside of the fountain noting where brackets and the electrical cord would have to be placed. At right, the template has been temporarily positioned to make sure we liked how it was centered and to determine where the brackets would need to be installed.

Finally, we enjoy a preview of how the fountain concept will look. We almost like the brick look so much we consider leaving it without adding stucco, however, the stucco is a necessary step anyway to hide the edges of the faux brick paneling. At a distance it looked great, but up close, the edges of the paneling made the brick look as fake as it truly was.

Before we add the stucco and paint it, we decide to finish the wiring part of the project. At right, the new switch for the light and fountain pump is dangling in the center. You can see that two switches are integrated into one switch housing.

When we moved into the home, there were three switches at this location. One was for a wall outlet to operate a lamp in the room. A second was for a ceiling fan and the third was for a ceiling fan light. Soon after we moved in, we installed a ceiling fan featuring with remote control features. This enables us to control the light and fan from bedside and freed up two switches on the wall. One of the free switches was used for a pin light spot on a Thomas Kinkade over our bed. The second freed up switch location is now used for the alcove fountain and light.

The web of wires created from all these projects would be nothing for a professional electrician to unravel, but we were very proud to figure it out and do it correctly the very first time.

At left is the alcove with the new overhead light turned on. The switches for the light and pump are shown in the lower left and are located just around the corner from the alcove.

We were not sure if adding the stucco could be done in the stucco's natural color, but as it was added, it was clear that it looked unnatural. The brick had its color and the wall was green. The white stucco just did not look well integrated.

Having painted the stucco the green wall color did the trick. The photo may not do the final result justice. It looks elegant and the fountain sounds soothing. We did find that the water was being ejected onto a part of the fountain that cause too much splatter. Through some experimentation, I finally discovered that by inserting tiny squares of aluminum can between the resin of the fountain and the tube where the water is ejected, I was able to change the path of the water to be more centered and with virtually no splatter.

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