Built Ins Add Space to Small Homes
One of the things clients worry about most when designing and moving into a small house, is storage. By utilizing small areas that would otherwise be empty or dead space, you can add shelves, drawers, and open display areas for prized possessions or things you want to hide.
Closets - The largest impact can often happen in the closet. The old days of one simple shelf and one bar for hanging clothes are long gone. Built in closet systems can be designed to fit your clothing and accessories so there is no wasted space and everything is organized.
Stairs - Stairs can take up a large portion of a room, and while there are alternatives such as spiral staircases or cantilevered stairs to minimize the space, convenience and safety sometimes demand a standard staircase. The area under the stairs can be used in many different ways including as a bookcase as seen above, a built in desk area, storage or coat closet, display shelves, pantry or other built in. Get even more creative and design the stairs to hold CD’s and books under each step, or create drawers that open by flipping the step tread up.
Furniture - When you are designing a small house plan, there may not be many places you can place furniture in a room, so it can be beneficial to build the furniture into the house in order to take advantage of storage areas. For instance, building a custom bed with storage underneath can save space that would otherwise be taken up with a dresser, and the space under the bed is no longer wasted. Dining areas are another good choice. Built in benches can be comfortable, save space and provide storage under the seats.
Photo by StairPorn
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I love the idea of the built in book cases/shelving especially under the side of the stairs. I could see making a shallow bookcase into a door so there is deeper storage behind it under the stairs but in front of that would be a place for books, magazines and some seasonal ornamentation.
As for built in furniture I can see this working wonderfully for beds with drawers built in for clothing or linens and a longer opening on the other side for surf boards, body boards, kids skooters, skateboards and skis.
I think a built in booth in the kitchen would give a nostalgic feel and also provide storage in the seats if built that way.
I don’t see built in furniture working in my living room but then that’s my comfort overstuffed couch zone, so to each his own there.
Built in furniture in the living room is a bit difficult for most people. Frank Lloyd Wright used it a lot in his home designs, but I think in some instances it makes the room feel too open as everyone is shoved outwards towards the walls and have to sit in a line. I’ve seen it work where a low wall is created to form an L shaped seating area with bookcase storage on the other side of the wall.
Very slick. So many good design sites out there that can help with this, love the way to can use all the space in small houses to create all you need.
Great designs try Design Milk, and Design for Mankind for some great design sites,
Jay
I love the way that stairs became a bookshelf… however, the low rows of the bookshelf would be hard to access. It’s just for decorative purposes I hope.
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