Integrated features: value-added options or design nightmares?
One way to add character to a home and make better use of dead areas is to add built-in features to your home. There are a variety of options you can add to increase the usable space in your home and really add some charm.
Built-in features can take the form of storage options like bookcases, cabinets, drawers, specialty closets, entertainment centers, and wine racks; These types of built-ins commonly use otherwise wasted space to add richness to rooms and help hide or organize clutter.
Other types of built-ins can give the house additional seating, such as a window seat in a bay window or a banquette, which is a built-in bench added to a windowless corner; any type of seat can be built to have additional storage space underneath.
Built-ins can also be built as work spaces; Many work areas in the home can be transformed with a desk and built-in cabinets, while laundry rooms can be made much more efficient with the addition of a drop-down counter or table, laundry cabinets, and possibly an ironing board. or a built-in clothesline.
However, whatever type of built-in features you’re looking to add to your living space, keep in mind that not all of them will universally add value to your home. Many built-in options can greatly reduce the amount of usable space in a room if they are installed in such a way that you can only fit the furniture in one configuration. Some built-in entertainment centers built in the 1980s horribly date the homes they were installed in and render advances in technology completely useless now.
The best way to use permanent features to add value to a home rather than take away from it is to only add built-ins that use otherwise unusable space, not to let features dominate a room, and try to keep as many of them as possible. with the style of the house.
Some good built-ins can include shelving under stairs or on stair landings; built-in shelving in bathrooms; kitchen pants; cabinets or shelves around fireplaces; and narrow shelves on small walls that you probably don’t want to put furniture in front of.
Built-in features can really add to the charm and curb appeal of your home, but remember that not everyone will love every type of permanent furniture you’d like to install. Keep them simple and basic so that if you change your decorating scheme, you can work with the installation, and keep in mind that if you’re likely to sell your home anytime soon, prospective buyers will generally prefer something that’s easy on them. them to work with them too.