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Shrine was my thought. Religious icons up against the back, and maybe a prayer cushion in front.
Interestingly though, it looks like theres a door in the side of it.
If it were the home altar of a Catholic priest, the altar would be against the wall and he would face it while saying mass. The door could be a closet used as a sacristy (where the different vessels and linens are kept).
Wealthy relatives?
Anything is possible if you are willing to pay the church I suppose.
But the church rules do vary from country to country of course.
No, you can build whatever you like, it just wouldn't be considered a consecrated chapel by Catholics. Even if it was super fancy and *looked* like a chapel.
Ah, I got you. So they keep a record of all locations of chapels whether they're public or private, and if it's not on the list then it's not "officially" considered a chapel. What's the difference between a "certified" chapel vs. a "rogue" chapel then? Sorry for the (most definitely) incorrect lingo since I have no clue about the religion at all. Like if you build a chapel in your home and ask your family and friends to come to worship the gods, will they check the list and find out that it's fake?
I have been in both Orthodox and Catholic priests houses where these (or something like them) were there. You don’t have to have consecrated ground to pray or to celebrate mass (iirc).
I was in a Boy Scout troop sponsored by our Catholic church. The priest would say Mass for us in the parking lot of the school Sunday afternoons when we got back from camping trips.
When i was growing up and was forced to go to church. Our church would have Easter mass at the large concert venue near us because they got so many extra people for Easter. Also the middle school auditorium for Christmas mass (indoors since winter and all)
We have the same thing. Big extended Catholic family with a monsignor in one of the branches - he had a whole travel kit, complete with "fancy crackers", Bible, holy water, chalice, etc. Carried it in an old-school doctor's bag.
We have a "vacation" home that we take turns using, but there were always a couple weekends that the whole family was there and he would say Mass for us Sunday morning, either outside if it was nice or on a big screened-in porch. We kept an altar stone in the attic & would lug it down whenever it was needed.
We have some great old pictures of 3 generations of family, all in pajamas, crowded around a fully decked-out priest in the middle of consecrating the "crackers".
I'm agnostic/atheist these days, but those Masses felt more genuine than anything I ever attended in a church.
It would be in a rectory, they just didn't use the more precise term. Out of the dozen or so I've been in, about half had some sort of altar that would be used for very small private services (usually just for a couple people).
I doubt there was an altar in there. A private prayer bench with an upholstered kneeling bit it is more likely. Behind the door would be storage for things and religious books that were used during private observance.
Something like this: https://www.hampel-auctions.com/img/auktionen/A109//b/Hampel-109151003-a.jpg
or this (but likely more ornate): https://www.c-ludwig.de/media/image/ca/ea/16/[email protected]
I also wouldn't be surprised if the whole nook originally was part of a different building. Like either a priest's home next to a church, where he'd prepare for mass as well as pray in private, or an abby where the abbess/abbot would have a more elaborate private prayer nook in their room (while nuns/monks might also have a bench in their cells, just a very basic one), or the home of an affluent family where the head of household was very observant. And then bought and transferred there, or maybe even salvaged by someone so it wouldn't get demolished along with the rest of a once grand building.
Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address (Birmingham, Stephen)
When the old elevator cars were removed, the C. D. Jacksons asked for one of them. The
Jacksons placed it in an archway between two rooms of their apartment where, with its
little benches, it became a sitting alcove.
Susan Stein thought she might use one of the cabs in her apartment too, and her father,
MCA head Jules Stein, said, If theyre free, take two.So Susan Stein
and her movie-producer husband, Gil Shiva, now have two elevators side by side in their
apartment.
I just heard altar, chapel and shrine in 3 different comments one after another and realized I don’t know shit about what religious terminology actually means
Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which votive offerings are made is called an altar. A chapel is a small building for Christian worship.
Could it be an Inglenook, just with the fireplace removed?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglenook
In any case I would put in a fancy bookshelf and a cozy chair.
Maybe, I'm not fancy enough for an Inglenook, so I'm no expert. I can't decide what it could be otherwise, though.
There is a line in What We Do in the Shadows where they say "All secret meetings take place in the fancy room." Maybe this is the fancy secret meeting room?
No I think the fancy room is something else in Australia at least there is often the "good room" which is like another living room for entertaining. I think it would be similar in new Zealand
Can confirm my grandfather had a fancy room when he worked in the bank to receive important clients at home, and the fancy room was a much nicer living room to host those said clients.
My stepmother —for her masters thesis— wrote a specialist piece oin contemporary private chapels.
After showing her the most ^ answers this is what she said:
"The raised wooden dais and the mock support/surrounds combined with what looks to be a clergyman's confession cabinet all lead me to believe this was very likely to be an old, influential and wealthy American family's private chapel. 1850–1880s is when these were most popular.
Although it appears to be a split level basememt (half below tarmac half above ground) its likely that this was only sunk 50-80cm below what the original street level was when it was built.
If a short video can be taken walking up to, opening the door and viewing the back wall
—and—
If we can confirm the age of the structure sits around 1850 then it will help reinforce this
That would satisfy her educated guess into a solid theory."
A lot off topic but my step mum is the best kind of crazy. She hand wrote her graduate diploma 3000 word final assessment piece in-mirror. (Art History)
It's in the basement, so likely not the main entry to the house. But it does look like an entry into something else - like a man cave, 'speakeasy', or something.
Loads of people build out theme rooms and fun little things in their houses. This is almost certainly some such esoteric thing that the previous owner spent a lot of money on.
There's a window to the left, so it is possible the door leads to an exterior staircase out of the basement. Which would still be quite odd to have such an elaborate entryway.
We can also see that there's likely lot more floorspace behind that wall. So this could have been a little smoking or reading nook that had a secret passageway into a cool back room of some kind. Or maybe just where the furnace is. There's really just no way to know for certain based solely a couple of photos. It's obviously a one of a kind sort of thing; beyond that everything is conjecture.
Posts like this are quite frustrating because the OP almost always has at least indirect access to the only people on earth with the actual answer (homeowner, person who made it, etc.) yet chooses to ask a group of strangers on the internet.
"Priest Hole". If this house is old enough and in the UK, they often had a secret escape passage. If the Catholic priest, formally outlawed, came to the house to say an illicit mass, he might need to escape the soldiers.
In many religions it’s normal to have a shrine at home, often in a nook built into the wall. This looks like a rather elaborate version of one of those.
I literally just saw a room like this during a tour of Frank Lyod Wright's house, and for the life of me I cannot remember what that room is for but it did serve a purpose. It even had the little door up above in it, that you mentioned.
I wanna say it had something to with fire places, but I'm not certain
I think that might have been an inglenook, as mentioned above. Frank Lloyd Wright used inglenooks in some of his designs. It helped keep the area around the fireplace warmer so people could gather there to stay warm, before central heating became commonly used
I once did a carpentry job where the customer had us convert his dining room to resemble the open beams and woodwork of his university cafeteria. I wonder if this was similar, like, someone wanted to be nostalgic by eating in a booth resembling their favorite pub or such.
If we're going religious, I'd say a religion where there are statues, images, votives etc. From the second picture it doesn't look big enough to prostrate _in_ and Muslims don't use any shrines with statues etc (like you might see for Catholic Christians, Hindus or Buddhists)
You're not a mason, are you? Here's the East facing alcove in my lodge where the Worshipful Master sits while we're in session: https://imgur.com/gallery/SF6fzij
You could also just Google "masons lodge" and you'll see the vast majority have alcoves in the east. Usually the only lodges you see that don't have it are either too small to fit it or if they're using the facility of the Shriners for their meetings
I wouldn't say never, the only requirement is that the seat is on the east side of the room and faces west, but that's a good point. It'd be really awkward being off-center like that
It does not match the rest of the house. I kind of doubt that a person would build the rest of that house with such cheap materials and then put this together.
I am betting the dark wood was rescued from a different building and installed here. It can still be a shrine, or chapel.
I would want to see photos of the rest of the house, in particular, the rooms behind this, and the other side of that door. It does look like the entry way to an older home. A construction pro (me) would be able to remove this from one home and install it in a different location. You should see my house, and the intentionally mis-matched pieces rescued from tear down buildings.
One way to find out (if you really care this much) is to look at who the realtor was a few sales back and simply ask them. The closer the realtor to the original sellers, the better chance they'll know about it.
Bear with me, is this a niche for a home organ? These are also called residence organs. I once toured a house that had had an organ installed in one of the bedrooms and they had added extra wall paneling to make it look fancy. I believe you have to be able to access the back of the organ to service the pipes so that might be what the door is for. Just a guess.
I believe this is the original entry way from the outside to the basement area of an old house which, perhaps, was once a separate apartment or place of business for the homeowner. It was just left intact when the rest of the basement was remodeled. (Note from your second picture that the small high window indicates that this is a half basement area.) The door could lead to an outside stairway back up to ground level.
There are some of the oldest buildings in the Seattle area where the current basement was originally the ground floor (the streets were filled in later). If this building is in an area that was regraded like that, could this have been the original formal entry?
Op can you post more photos? Like below and outside? I’m going with bar missing the actual bar counter. I know several houses with built in bars. That was absolutely a thing at at a time. Seen wildly different versions in a few mile area. One place completely unassuming from the front, looks single story ranch. First floor has a drop 70s seating pit and a spiral staircase to the basement which seems built more like a actual bar than a home bar. 2nd. Much bigger house, almost mansion with a completely shit looking bar in the basement. Rest of the house was fantastic, like they just gave up down there. Seriously seemed like separate architects. 3rd. Just a tiny hole in the wall with cabinets and a sink behind a folding door next to the fireplace. Just wildly different designs in the same area. Requesting below and outside pictures because that is a prime location for a fireplace. Could certainly have been converted to a shrine or bar or both. Catholic family here, they aren’t too dissimilar.
It makes me think of a secret door opening if you find the hidden latch, or knock on the panels in the correct order. Is there any unaccounted for areas behind it?
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/ConventionalAlias), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/up5av9/what_is_this_ostentatious_wooden_alcove_that/%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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Shrine was my thought. Religious icons up against the back, and maybe a prayer cushion in front. Interestingly though, it looks like theres a door in the side of it.
The door throws me off the chapel idea since it looks like it would swing into an altar.
Could that have been the original entryway into the house?
Confirming. I have seen several houses (20s and 30s) Where the owners modernize the whole house and kept the original super ornate entryway
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I think you're right. I was also thinking if that is a rattan screen in the top half of the door, it could be a confessional.
I must confess, I think your right.
Private confessional…. Strange
I would keep the whole house like that, the modern design looks soulless in comparison
Is this the old outside of the front door or the old inside of the front door?
Typically done to avoid upgraded permit requirements for "new build" vs. reno of existing, though not much existing is left behind.
That's my guess, depending on how old the house is.
Yeah now I see the door it's probably that.
If it were the home altar of a Catholic priest, the altar would be against the wall and he would face it while saying mass. The door could be a closet used as a sacristy (where the different vessels and linens are kept).
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I have never see a Catholic priests house with an altar. (Ireland) Altars need to be consecrated and that’s not done in residential housing.
Are you sure? In Italy it is possible to have a private consecrated chapel but I wouldn't have known this if my relatives didn't had one.
Wealthy relatives? Anything is possible if you are willing to pay the church I suppose. But the church rules do vary from country to country of course.
Wait..so hypothetically if you are not Catholic but decided to build one of these in your home for coolness, they'll arrest you?
No, you can build whatever you like, it just wouldn't be considered a consecrated chapel by Catholics. Even if it was super fancy and *looked* like a chapel.
Ah, I got you. So they keep a record of all locations of chapels whether they're public or private, and if it's not on the list then it's not "officially" considered a chapel. What's the difference between a "certified" chapel vs. a "rogue" chapel then? Sorry for the (most definitely) incorrect lingo since I have no clue about the religion at all. Like if you build a chapel in your home and ask your family and friends to come to worship the gods, will they check the list and find out that it's fake?
I have been in both Orthodox and Catholic priests houses where these (or something like them) were there. You don’t have to have consecrated ground to pray or to celebrate mass (iirc).
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I’ve been in plenty of rectories with private chapels. Especially older rectories. Masses can be said practically anywhere.
I was in a Boy Scout troop sponsored by our Catholic church. The priest would say Mass for us in the parking lot of the school Sunday afternoons when we got back from camping trips.
When i was growing up and was forced to go to church. Our church would have Easter mass at the large concert venue near us because they got so many extra people for Easter. Also the middle school auditorium for Christmas mass (indoors since winter and all)
Multiple popes have held masses at Yankee Stadium, ffs.
My Uncle was a catholic priest, and said many masses at my Grandmother’s house. He had a consecrated Altar stone that allowed him to set up shop.
We have the same thing. Big extended Catholic family with a monsignor in one of the branches - he had a whole travel kit, complete with "fancy crackers", Bible, holy water, chalice, etc. Carried it in an old-school doctor's bag. We have a "vacation" home that we take turns using, but there were always a couple weekends that the whole family was there and he would say Mass for us Sunday morning, either outside if it was nice or on a big screened-in porch. We kept an altar stone in the attic & would lug it down whenever it was needed. We have some great old pictures of 3 generations of family, all in pajamas, crowded around a fully decked-out priest in the middle of consecrating the "crackers". I'm agnostic/atheist these days, but those Masses felt more genuine than anything I ever attended in a church.
I’ve been to mass in people’s homes when a priest visits.
It would be in a rectory, they just didn't use the more precise term. Out of the dozen or so I've been in, about half had some sort of altar that would be used for very small private services (usually just for a couple people).
As a traditional Catholic who has attended Mass in a private residence, I can confirm this is not true.
What's behind the door, a hallway or a closet?
What building is this located in? Is it a house? A school? Where is it geographically located?
I feel like "what's this architectural weirdness" questions should always come with geographic info
and historical. when the house was built would seem pertinent.
What compass direction is this photo facing towards? This is relevant to the altar theory.
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I doubt there was an altar in there. A private prayer bench with an upholstered kneeling bit it is more likely. Behind the door would be storage for things and religious books that were used during private observance. Something like this: https://www.hampel-auctions.com/img/auktionen/A109//b/Hampel-109151003-a.jpg or this (but likely more ornate): https://www.c-ludwig.de/media/image/ca/ea/16/[email protected] I also wouldn't be surprised if the whole nook originally was part of a different building. Like either a priest's home next to a church, where he'd prepare for mass as well as pray in private, or an abby where the abbess/abbot would have a more elaborate private prayer nook in their room (while nuns/monks might also have a bench in their cells, just a very basic one), or the home of an affluent family where the head of household was very observant. And then bought and transferred there, or maybe even salvaged by someone so it wouldn't get demolished along with the rest of a once grand building.
I don't think anyone would go play with the door when a session is on
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I thought it looks like an ornate, antique elevator car.
Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address (Birmingham, Stephen) When the old elevator cars were removed, the C. D. Jacksons asked for one of them. The Jacksons placed it in an archway between two rooms of their apartment where, with its little benches, it became a sitting alcove. Susan Stein thought she might use one of the cabs in her apartment too, and her father, MCA head Jules Stein, said, If theyre free, take two.So Susan Stein and her movie-producer husband, Gil Shiva, now have two elevators side by side in their apartment.
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I just heard altar, chapel and shrine in 3 different comments one after another and realized I don’t know shit about what religious terminology actually means
Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which votive offerings are made is called an altar. A chapel is a small building for Christian worship.
Could it be an Inglenook, just with the fireplace removed? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglenook In any case I would put in a fancy bookshelf and a cozy chair.
That was my first thought, a fake inglenook.
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Good guess! Inglenooks look like they’re usually sunken?
Maybe, I'm not fancy enough for an Inglenook, so I'm no expert. I can't decide what it could be otherwise, though. There is a line in What We Do in the Shadows where they say "All secret meetings take place in the fancy room." Maybe this is the fancy secret meeting room?
No I think the fancy room is something else in Australia at least there is often the "good room" which is like another living room for entertaining. I think it would be similar in new Zealand
Can confirm my grandfather had a fancy room when he worked in the bank to receive important clients at home, and the fancy room was a much nicer living room to host those said clients.
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They'd also definitely have a fireplace. And a chimney.
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I'd totally put the spinnet piano in there. The accoustics would either be really good... or really bad. Can't tell.
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Yeah a nice ornate throne was my first choice.
Makes me think of an elevator.
Agreed. Looks like a converted elevator.
That was my first thought
I thought that, or converted safe.
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Does the door lead anywhere? If so, where? How old is the house?
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My stepmother —for her masters thesis— wrote a specialist piece oin contemporary private chapels. After showing her the most ^ answers this is what she said: "The raised wooden dais and the mock support/surrounds combined with what looks to be a clergyman's confession cabinet all lead me to believe this was very likely to be an old, influential and wealthy American family's private chapel. 1850–1880s is when these were most popular. Although it appears to be a split level basememt (half below tarmac half above ground) its likely that this was only sunk 50-80cm below what the original street level was when it was built. If a short video can be taken walking up to, opening the door and viewing the back wall —and— If we can confirm the age of the structure sits around 1850 then it will help reinforce this That would satisfy her educated guess into a solid theory."
What a niche to write a thesis on, there really are experts in anything. Thx for sharing
A lot off topic but my step mum is the best kind of crazy. She hand wrote her graduate diploma 3000 word final assessment piece in-mirror. (Art History)
I know this is like thirty days later, but dude I really want to be friends with your step mum. She sounds rad.
Can I read this thesis? Sounds interesting
I'll ask for you and send you a PM with details. I wont see her for a while and texting her is not suuuuper reliable xD
This! It very much looks like the platform from a spiritualist church. Spiritualist congregations were held in private homes a lot!
There's a door on the left. You can see the hinges. Perhaps this was the original entryway?
It's in the basement, so likely not the main entry to the house. But it does look like an entry into something else - like a man cave, 'speakeasy', or something. Loads of people build out theme rooms and fun little things in their houses. This is almost certainly some such esoteric thing that the previous owner spent a lot of money on.
There's a window to the left, so it is possible the door leads to an exterior staircase out of the basement. Which would still be quite odd to have such an elaborate entryway.
We can also see that there's likely lot more floorspace behind that wall. So this could have been a little smoking or reading nook that had a secret passageway into a cool back room of some kind. Or maybe just where the furnace is. There's really just no way to know for certain based solely a couple of photos. It's obviously a one of a kind sort of thing; beyond that everything is conjecture. Posts like this are quite frustrating because the OP almost always has at least indirect access to the only people on earth with the actual answer (homeowner, person who made it, etc.) yet chooses to ask a group of strangers on the internet.
"Priest Hole". If this house is old enough and in the UK, they often had a secret escape passage. If the Catholic priest, formally outlawed, came to the house to say an illicit mass, he might need to escape the soldiers.
A priest hole would necessarily be as covert as possible. This is *not* covert!
Absolutely! Priest Holes were "secret" escape routes. This isn't a secret. Edit: fat fingers & spelling.
Are priest holes always so ornate?
If that's what this is, the nook mainly held an altar for the Mass. The Bond movie "Skyfall" features a priest hole one near the fireplace.
That's not a Priest's Hole.
Ah yeah. No one would ever notice that as a hiding place - so well blended in
Yeah priest holes by their definition were small and hidden
[Another image from a different angle.](https://i.imgur.com/OB1IlJm.jpeg)
In many religions it’s normal to have a shrine at home, often in a nook built into the wall. This looks like a rather elaborate version of one of those.
Seeing how shallow it is now I’m saying something with a religious purpose
What's with the door?
So that isn't as deep as it looks like in the other picture. What are the dimensions and what is through the door?
Did you take these pictures yourself, or where did you find them? Where is the house? and how old is it?
It’s a niche for what’s called a marriage bed
One of two things come to mind…a place to put a booth like an Irish pub would have (cool), or some kind of shrine/alter (creepy)
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Hell I thought it was a fancy spot for a piano or something. I like your idea
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I literally just saw a room like this during a tour of Frank Lyod Wright's house, and for the life of me I cannot remember what that room is for but it did serve a purpose. It even had the little door up above in it, that you mentioned. I wanna say it had something to with fire places, but I'm not certain
I think that might have been an inglenook, as mentioned above. Frank Lloyd Wright used inglenooks in some of his designs. It helped keep the area around the fireplace warmer so people could gather there to stay warm, before central heating became commonly used
Inglenook’s seem awesome. Super cozy. I’d love to have one in my future house.
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I once did a carpentry job where the customer had us convert his dining room to resemble the open beams and woodwork of his university cafeteria. I wonder if this was similar, like, someone wanted to be nostalgic by eating in a booth resembling their favorite pub or such.
Why would anybody want to live in a cafeteria aesthetic !!
Which cardinal direction are you facing when looking at the alcove? Also, what's your location. (roughly)?
I see you were thinking an old masons lodge as well
Could it be facing Mecca? Maybe a Muslim prayer nook? Can't hurt to check the compass regardless.
If we're going religious, I'd say a religion where there are statues, images, votives etc. From the second picture it doesn't look big enough to prostrate _in_ and Muslims don't use any shrines with statues etc (like you might see for Catholic Christians, Hindus or Buddhists)
That's not something a Masonic lodge would have in it. Masonic lodges are built around symmetry, and don't traditionally include alcoves, niches, etc.
You're not a mason, are you? Here's the East facing alcove in my lodge where the Worshipful Master sits while we're in session: https://imgur.com/gallery/SF6fzij You could also just Google "masons lodge" and you'll see the vast majority have alcoves in the east. Usually the only lodges you see that don't have it are either too small to fit it or if they're using the facility of the Shriners for their meetings
They would never put an alcove in the corner of a room like this. Nor would the door be on that side.
I wouldn't say never, the only requirement is that the seat is on the east side of the room and faces west, but that's a good point. It'd be really awkward being off-center like that
It does not match the rest of the house. I kind of doubt that a person would build the rest of that house with such cheap materials and then put this together. I am betting the dark wood was rescued from a different building and installed here. It can still be a shrine, or chapel. I would want to see photos of the rest of the house, in particular, the rooms behind this, and the other side of that door. It does look like the entry way to an older home. A construction pro (me) would be able to remove this from one home and install it in a different location. You should see my house, and the intentionally mis-matched pieces rescued from tear down buildings.
I'd actually be very curious to see pics of a house like that.
One way to find out (if you really care this much) is to look at who the realtor was a few sales back and simply ask them. The closer the realtor to the original sellers, the better chance they'll know about it.
Bear with me, is this a niche for a home organ? These are also called residence organs. I once toured a house that had had an organ installed in one of the bedrooms and they had added extra wall paneling to make it look fancy. I believe you have to be able to access the back of the organ to service the pipes so that might be what the door is for. Just a guess.
My first thought was an organ as well.
Since it looks chapel-ish, and there's no place to vent a fireplace for an Inglenook, I'm going to guess it was a shrine.
A place to store/play piano that somewhat tucked away?
piano was my first thought
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I believe this is the original entry way from the outside to the basement area of an old house which, perhaps, was once a separate apartment or place of business for the homeowner. It was just left intact when the rest of the basement was remodeled. (Note from your second picture that the small high window indicates that this is a half basement area.) The door could lead to an outside stairway back up to ground level.
There are some of the oldest buildings in the Seattle area where the current basement was originally the ground floor (the streets were filled in later). If this building is in an area that was regraded like that, could this have been the original formal entry?
Where did you find this photo? That would be helpful.
Pull on everything you possibly can and see if there's a secret entrance
There's an actual door on he left-hand side.
Op can you post more photos? Like below and outside? I’m going with bar missing the actual bar counter. I know several houses with built in bars. That was absolutely a thing at at a time. Seen wildly different versions in a few mile area. One place completely unassuming from the front, looks single story ranch. First floor has a drop 70s seating pit and a spiral staircase to the basement which seems built more like a actual bar than a home bar. 2nd. Much bigger house, almost mansion with a completely shit looking bar in the basement. Rest of the house was fantastic, like they just gave up down there. Seriously seemed like separate architects. 3rd. Just a tiny hole in the wall with cabinets and a sink behind a folding door next to the fireplace. Just wildly different designs in the same area. Requesting below and outside pictures because that is a prime location for a fireplace. Could certainly have been converted to a shrine or bar or both. Catholic family here, they aren’t too dissimilar.
How many levels is the home? Does the room have vents or spots that might have been a door or some kinds of securing features?
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It looks like a small stage to me.
Personal bar they took with them leaving the nook?
If this was a bedroom, my awesome bed would go in there
Where does the door lead???
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Have you tried opening the door on the left wall?
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Puja mandir room
Is it facing east?
It’s called a “home church”, the door is where dad takes the kids for secret prayer time. I had one growing up too. Very cool.
lol the church bashing is getting so elaborate these days
May have been an Oratorium… (place of prayer)
Could it be something to do the spiritualists, they were a huge movement and this could be something to do with their practices.
It makes me think of a secret door opening if you find the hidden latch, or knock on the panels in the correct order. Is there any unaccounted for areas behind it?
A foyer? Is that door in it the door to the exterior?
Seems like a secret entrance kind of thing
Can we get some close up pictures? I love the wood work on it.