Even if you're not out to impress anyone, it's nice to have some wide-open spaces where people can spread out and circulate, and the most common public areas in a house – the entry, living room and great room – are often designed to offer just that opportunity. But for most of us, these "social" circumstances represent a mere fraction of the time we spend in our homes, and it doesn't make sense to create spaces that work only when entertaining.

When that happens, an impulse to indulge in a good read or a quiet conversation leaves you with few alternatives aside from retreating to a bedroom or that small table in the corner of the kitchen. This just creates a different kind of imbalance, one that equates privacy with isolation or even punishment.

Because spaces such as bedrooms and bathrooms need to remain private in nature, the surest way to create or restore that balance between solitary and communal urges is to introduce pockets of shelter into larger, more public areas of your home. Large older homes that haven't been thoughtlessly renovated typically have several of these features.

Alcoves, window seats, exterior bump-outs, fireplace inglenooks, even stair landings with built-in benches – these all represent subspaces that provide a high degree of psychological comfort. Situated mostly at the perimeter of large common spaces, they are natural nesting areas that individuals instinctively seek and inhabit, providing a degree of solitude or privacy while leaving the possibility of social connection intact.
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