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. Illuminated plasterboard niches fit well into almost any interior, and making them yourself is not difficult.
Varieties of niches
There are several main types of recesses in the wall.
- Wide and shallow are great for placing paintings and other interior items, often complement the design of the bedroom, living room.
- TV niches have much larger dimensions, as they must accommodate appliances.
- Corner niches - located in the corners of the room and can replace bookshelves or be purely decorativefunctions.
- Gypsum board ceiling with niche for lighting.
In addition, there are multi-level multifunctional niches that can replace cabinets. The choice of design depends on personal preferences, functionality and location.
Create a schema
Before you start making a drywall niche with lighting, you need to decide on the design of the future structure. After that, you can start drawing the circuit.
It is a drawing of a backlit plasterboard niche indicating the dimensions of the future structure. 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 scheme is needed to calculate the required amount of building materials.
Required tools and materials
How to make a drywall niche with your own hands? This will require the following tools:
- perforator;
- drill;
- spatula;
- sandpaper;
- fasteners: dowels, self-tapping screws;
- building level;
- hacksaws for cutting;
- roulette;
- pencil.
You also need to purchase the following building materials:
- gypsum board sheets;
- guides and construction profiles for creating a frame;
- putty, primer.
It is necessary to provide materials for finishing the niche after installation. It can be wallpaper, putty, paint, self-adhesive.
Preparatorywork
Before installing a drywall niche for LED lighting or its other varieties, it is necessary to carry out preliminary preparation, which is as follows:
- removal of all irregularities from the working surface;
- treatment of the wall with a primer;
- marking the wall for fastening profiles.
It should be remembered that marking should be carried out only with the help of the building level, otherwise there is a high risk of curvature of the future structure.
Installing the frame
Installing a drywall niche for lighting begins with the assembly of a frame made of metal profiles. The installation algorithm is as follows:
- it is necessary to attach a metal profile to the marking lines applied in advance, and 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 niche structure, guided by the drawings.
To bring out the light, it is important to stretch the wires between the frame profiles in order to hide communications.
Drywall Installation
After the frame of metal profiles is fully assembled, it is necessary to proceed with plasterboard sheathing. Installation is carried out in several stages:
- Building material needs to be cut into pieces that will fit the desired size.
- The finished parts are applied to the profiles andattached with self-tapping screws.
- Installation should be done from the outside to 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, which is attached directly to the material.
Installation of fixtures is as follows:
- light fixtures must be inserted into the prepared holes;
- then connect them to the wiring that was installed on the structure frame.
It is important to remember that the heads of the self-tapping 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 turn out to be quite even.
Exterior trim
In order for the backlit drywall niche to take on a finished look, it is necessary to do its final finishing after installation. You should choose a design so that it does not contradict, but complements the interior of the room. External finishing is carried out in several stages:
1. Applying putty to the surface of the entire niche. At the same time, special attention should be paid to the joints and attachment points, they should not have differences in level.
2. Coarse-grained, and then fine-grained sandpaper, it is necessary to wipe the putty to a perfectly smooth state.
3. Putty must be treated with a deep penetration primer.
After these manipulationsit is necessary to arrange a drywall niche with LED lighting in accordance with the interior of the entire room. It can be pasted over with wallpaper, overlaid with artificial stone, painted or made with decorative plaster molding. Photos of a drywall niche with illumination in it show a variety of finishing materials that are applicable to decorate the structure.
Choice of fixtures
If lighting fixtures are provided inside the niche, then their choice must be de alt with at the stage of developing a design drawing. The most commonly used fixtures come in several varieties.
LED lamps. They are a universal option, as they give a sufficiently large amount of light, consume little electricity and rarely need to be replaced. 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 non-standard solutions. It has more decorative functions than lighting, but it can make a niche unusual
- Discharge lamps are rarely used. 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 get very hot.
Lamps can be mounted in soffits or have an external mount independing on the intended design of the structure.
Design Tips
The illumination of a niche is selected based on its purpose, however, experienced interior designers recommend following these rules:
- the brightness of the light should not be more intense than the main light sources in the room;
- color solution should also be consistent with the overall interior and emphasize it, not contrast;
- LED strip does not have to have one shade, it is possible to switch colors using the remote control;
- highlighting is required in niches that suggest the presence of paintings or other art objects.
Also, when choosing a shade, it is important to pay attention to whether it is warm or cold, as their combination can spoil any interior.
A 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, the illumination goes along the perimeter of the structure, it can be either LED or using spotlights.
Installation is carried out similarly to the installation of wall structures. However, the design is most often neutral, since such a ceiling itself attracts a lot of attention. Today, contour lighting of a niche on the ceiling is especially popular. At the same time, the design is assembled in such a way that the LED strip is hidden from view.
