Living

On My Radar | Using Built-Ins to Create Possibilities

Written by: Dena Landon

Photography by: Noted in article

01.27.20

 

Built-in furniture is all the rage. Custom millwork can increase your home’s value, but also contribute to making it more livable. Typically designed to sit flush with your walls and ceilings, a good built-in will look like it’s always been there.

Here are five reasons that every homeowner should consider adding built-ins.

#1

Connect Rooms For Cohesiveness

An open floor plan is great for entertaining, but how do you tie it all together? Built-ins with matching cabinetry or accents bring synergy into your home.

Photographer: Robert Socha

#2

Repurpose Usable Space

Floor vents for heating exchange made the corner of this small bedroom unusable – until designer J. Patryce thought upwards! A built-in floating desk and bookshelves helped her maximize the space. If you’re faced with a spatial challenge, a built-in could help you overcome it.

Previous & Current Slide
Designer: J.Patryce Design & Company
Photographer: Christian Harder

#3

Organized & Well-designed Storage

Belts, necklaces, and handbags, it can be hard for your prized possessions to not turn into a jumble at the back of your closet. Built-ins can add well-designed storage which keeps everything in its place. Built-in bookcases look sophisticated in a study or living room, and also allow you to display some of your treasured objects. See more of this amazing closet here.

Current Slide
Designer: California Closets/Kaja Bolton
Photographer: Robert Socha

 

#4

Intentional Furniture Replacement

Sure, interior designer Karla Goran could have just bought a sideboard and stuck it against the dining room wall. But it would have wasted a lot of wall space and stuck out like a sore thumb. Instead, she went with an integrated built-in along one wall. It sits flush with the wall and molding and gives her a ton of storage.

Designer: KMG Interiors
Photographer: Kristen Francis Photography

#5

Create Multipurpose Living Spaces

Need to keep an eye on your child doing homework while you make dinner, but don’t have a house with an open floor plan? Build a desk into a kitchen corner! Built-ins allow homeowners to make rooms multifunctional. You can even put a desk as part of a bookcase built-in, like this one made by KMG Cabinetry.

 

Designer: KMG Interiors
Photographer: Kristen Francis Photography