I am designing a wood stove niche for the addition. It will have walls on either side of the stove, and I would like to have a storage stand below, similar to this picture. Plan to have a custom one made of steel, closed in the back. My question is, do I want to have the stand go right to the side walls, or allow some space for... not sure what. A broom? Not even sure what the side walls will be made out of yet. I just don't want dirt looking bad that I can't get to. Can the junction between a steel stand and a sheet rock wall be caulked?
