How to Make an Arched Wall Niche

Steps

1. To build this niche's frame all you have to do is cut 2 - 52" long and 2 "“ 20" long pieces from your 2x4 boards.
2. Next, screw the 20" inch boards between the 52" boards on both sides. One board at each end.
3. Now, try to determine what kind of angle you want for the arched top of your niche. Just hold scrap pieces of wood up to the top of your niche's frame until you find the desired angle. Keep in mind that the drywall can only bend so much. So be realistic in the angle you ultimately choose.
4. Once you decide on the angle, mark the scrap boards at the point where each side makes contact with the niche's frame. These marks will be used to make your cuts.
5. Now with your miter saw, or any saw you feel comfortable with, cut those scrap boards at the marks you made in the previous step.
6. Screw the angled boards into the frame.
7. Measure the interior depth and height of your frame. The height of the frame in this instance is measured from the bottom of the frame to where the bottom of the angled board meets the side of the frame.
8. Now using the interior depth measurement (should be approx. 3 5/8"), measure out a piece of the 3/8" drywall of the same width. Score the drywall with your utility knife and snap it at the score you just made. Now cut the paper immediately behind where you just snapped the drywall to free the 3 5/8" strip of drywall. Using the same process, cut your thin drywall piece to the proper length. Repeat for the other side of the niche.
9. Now cut another piece of drywall of the same width as your side pieces (3 5/8") and make sure that it is about 1 ½ times as wide as your niche. This will be used for the arch of your niche.
10. Take this last piece of drywall and prop it up the long way with one end resting on the wall, the other end on the ground with something at its base so it cannot slide. Make sure the white paper side is facing up.
11. Using your water spray bottle, spray both sides, in the middle of the drywall strip, until you start to see the drywall start to bend.
12. Gently force the drywall to bend just a little more while continuing to spray both sides. Don't push too hard or you will break the drywall.
13. Now just leave it alone for a while. The weight of the drywall will continue to bend itself into an arch. Once the drywall is dry again it will become somewhat rigid and it will be ready for the niche.
14. While the drywall is bending itself you can prepare the wall for the niche by drawing a box on the wall the same width and height as the outside dimensions of the niche frame. In this instance I drew a box that was 52" tall by 23" wide. Use your level to make sure the lines you draw are level and plum.
15. Using those lines as guidelines, begin cutting with the drywall saw until you can remove the piece of drywall where you are going to place your niche. (Be careful not to damage the drywall that is attached to the other side of the wall since it will be exposed as the back of your finished niche.) You may have to reframe the wall to accommodate the niche size/position you want. Unfortunately, wall framing is a little beyond the scope of this article but there are plenty of good resources for basic home improvement skills, like wall framing, all over the internet.
16. Your bent drywall should be pretty much dry by now. So with your drywall frame laying flat on the ground, place your arched drywall strip on top of the frame and mark the drywall where it comes in contact with the inside edge of the niche frame.
17. Using those marks cut and snap the drywall like described above.
18. Place the bent drywall inside the niche frame so its back makes contact with the angled boards. You can gently push the drywall to achieve the proper arch radius. If for some reason the drywall will not bend as far as you would like it to you will have to add a filler piece of wood to accommodate for the shallower arch.
19. Mark where the top of the drywall arch lines up on the angled boards of the niche frame.
20. Measure the distance between those marks and cut a ¾" scrap piece of wood to the same length.
21. Screw into place.
22. Once the arches frame has been completed and the filler piece has been added, place the bent drywall inside the niche frame and screw in place with drywall screws.
23. Now take your niche frame to where you are going to install it and place it in the hole you had previously cut.
24. Using your level make sure the frame is plum and level and attach it to the wall studs through the sides bottom and top of the frame with wood screws. If necessary, use shims to get the frame plum and level before screwing to the wall studs.
25. Once the frame is securely in place, attach the side drywall pieces you had cut earlier, using drywall screws.
26. Now measure and cut pieces of 5/8" drywall, using the process described previously, to patch all exposed parts of your wall. I used a bunch of scrap pieces of drywall, which is not recommended. But I was in a hurry since my wife didn't't know the niche was going in and she was going to be back very soon.
27. Now take your flexible corner bead and bend it around the inside edge of your niche, cut to size and screw into place with drywall screws. You can cut the corner beading a little in order for it to bend properly where the side of the niche meets the arch. Try to keep the corner bead as flush as possible to the drywall when screwing it in. It will make mudding the wall much easier later on.
28. Now mud and tape the drywall as necessary. Mudding drywall is also outside the scope of this article but you can find tons of resources about the process and techniques all around the internet.
29. Here is a hint though. If you made the edges of your drywall pretty straight you can use painter's caulking to fill in the inside, back corners of the niche and save some trouble. This works just as well as taping the joint on a project like this.
30. Once the drywall mud is dry and sanded you can prime and paint the niche and wall. I chose to paint the wall a darker color and the inside of the niche a lighter color. It helps bring attention to the niche and whatever is being displayed inside.
31. Now that the niche is all but complete its time to make the display shelf.
32. Measure the inside width of the niche. Keep in mind that the drywall may not be straight so you may want to take a few different measurements. My niche measured 19" wide.
33. I decided to have my shelf extend 2 ¼" wider on each side of the niche so, using my miter saw, I cut the 1" x 5" board to a length of 23 ½".
34. Then measuring 2 ¼" in from each side I cut notches from the board with my jigsaw to allow the shelf to slide into the bottom of the niche. The size of the notch will be the same as the depth of your niche (approx. 3 5/8").
35. Now to add a little extra to the shelf, I free hand drew a curve on the outside corners of the shelf and cut the curve with my jigsaw. The reason I did this was to avoid anyone (my wife) from running into the sharp corner and hurting themself.
36. Now sand the whole shelf smooth paying particular attention to any cuts you have made.
37. Make sure the shelf fits in the niche. If not, make adjustments as necessary.
38. Now for a little extra, take a piece of moulding (I used basic door casing) and cut it to be the same width as the inside of niche with a slight angle on each end. Again, mine measured 19". This will add a little substance to your niche shelf and hide any imperfections that may have come about during mudding. Now sand the moulding smooth.
39. Paint or stain and finish the shelf and moulding as desired.
40. Once dry, install the shelf and moulding by nailing into place. Make sure the shelf is as level as possible so things don't fall out.
41. Fill the nail holes with wood filler.
42. There you have it. A cool little niche to display something fancy or special. And if nothing else it will make whatever you put in it look a little more fancy and special.

• drywall mud knife
• stud finder
• miter saw
• level
• water spray bottle
• jig saw
• utility knife
• drywall saw
• cordless drill

• 1 - small sheet of 5/8" drywall
• 1 - small sheet of 3/8" drywall
• 2" drywall screws
• 3" wood screws
• Wood shims
• 2" Finishing nails
• painters caulking
• paint or stain
• wood filler
• drywall joint compound
• drywall tape
• flexible drywall corner bead
• 1 "“ 1" x 6" x 2 ft. clear pine board
• 2 - 2" x 4" framing studs
• 1 "“ 2 ft. piece of decorative moulding

• If you want to display a larger item like a big vase. Use a 1" x 8" board for the display shelf for more surface area.
• If you plan on putting something unusually heavy in the niche you may have to reframe the wall for added support.
• Keep in mind that the back of the niche is just the drywall from the wall behind it so don't think you are going to screw something into the back of the niche. If you would like to hang something in the niche, use a stand or attach a horizontal board or molding to the sides of the niche going across the back and hang your item from that.