A similar under-window cupboard could hold linens off a bedroom or extra towels and toiletries outside a bathroom. Positioned directly under the sill, they add visual heft to what the designer considered to be an overly small window that was the sole focal point at the end of a long hallway. The chest-high cabinets provide plenty of space for storing family china. Anthony Vermandois, the architect for this 1920s Craftsman-style bungalow renovation, singles out the window- cabinet pairing as “a mutual coming together” that turns dead space into usable square footage. The area below a window-often given over to houseplants and little else-presents an excellent opportunity for creative built-ins. Thirty-six inches is standard counter height for a stand-up desk, but you can vary the height so it’s comfortable for you. ![]() IDEA: The beauty of built-ins is that you can customize them to work best for the people who will use them most. Floor-to-ceiling shelves on the hallway side of the built-in create even more usable space, while a recessed toekick on the kitchen-facing side helps give the entire piece an elegant, furniturelike look. Cubbies above the desktop are for organizing mail and cookbooks, and the latched doors up top hide phone books. The top drawers hold office supplies, the middle ones are for hanging files, and the bottom ones stow newspapers and catalogs until they’re ready to be dumped into the recycling bin. Eliminating the need for a chair kept the high-traffic area clear of obstacles and also freed up room for three rows of drawers under a 36-inch-high, stained-wood countertop. Smith tucked a stand-up command center into a narrow sliver of wall between the hallway into the room and doors leading to a screened-in porch. Instead of a space-hogging sit-down desk for this kitchen office, designer Scott W. The ability to tailor built-ins to suit your particular needs and floor plan gives them a functional advantage over store-bought furniture. Don’t forget to include power outlets and phone and data lines nearby. Use high-intensity, long-lasting xenon bulbs, and position the light switch within arm’s reach. IDEA: Save desk space by building in lights, such as recessed cans or the pucks used here. “It’s a nice, basic amenity to have in a bedroom,” Haverson says of the built-in homework station, but the same setup also works well in a home office or den. In a few years, though, the top of the desk can be raised and mounted on fillers. For a child’s room, build with an eye toward the future: The desk is sized just right for a youngster, about 27 inches off the ground, as opposed to 30 inches for adults. To retrofit an existing bedroom for a built-in desk, you could colonize a closet or steal space from an adjoining room for a bumpout. In new construction like this, framing out the area is simple. This homework station in a boy’s bedroom was designed by architect Jay Haverson to fit inside an alcove between a clothes closet and a bathroom. Recessed built-ins require more planning and construction than ones that attach directly to the wall, but they are the best choice for conserving precious floor space. Constructed of solid 1½-inch lumber, the shelves are sturdy enough to support heavy loads of art and reference books along with display items. Here, bookshelf units of descending height cleverly make use of the otherwise dead space along a basement-level staircase. We’ll show you a portfolio of carpenter-crafted and DIY designs, all to help you bring a sense of order and distinction to your rooms. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get those good looks and the improved functionality, either. ![]() Fitted with doors, they help maintain the integrity of period interiors by concealing modern amenities like computer workstations or a mini fridge in a wet bar. You can design them to tie in with other architectural elements in the room, such as crown molding and wainscoting. They handily transform the dead zones under stairs and below windows into functional space and help you get organized by adding new storage options without adding on to your house. Whether that means a desk framed within a seldom-used closet or a bookcase tucked into a niche beside the fireplace, built-ins maximize every available inch in your floor plan. ![]() Nothing puts your square footage to better use than a built-in.
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