Becoming an empty nester seems to spark the energy to complete long-awaited home improvement projects. Such was the case for my former neighbors. They had always wanted to add more visual interest and organization to their great room, but it was not until their last child went off to college that they took the initiative to do it. Adding custom built-in cabinetry to their 90’s era home was not only a bit of a homecoming for me (our sons used to ride the school bus together!), but also a perfect solution for my clients’ needs.

Like many homes of the time period, their great room is adjacent to the kitchen and has vaulted ceilings, but not much else going on architecturally. We created a design that complemented the look of the kitchen cabinetry, with crown molding, linear cabinet doors and special detailing on the face trim. Because the ceiling has many angles to it, we kept the cabinetry lower to keep it from fighting the natural site lines in the space.

The design was created to include book and decorative storage, TV placement, and closed cabinetry. Choosing the spacing for the open shelving is always a mix of the size of the things to be stored and the available space. For this project, my clients wanted fixed shelving, so I created the standard bottom space to allow for coffee table books and taller decorative pieces, and then built the remaining shelves to be book height within the rest of the available space. Sometimes homeowners want the uppermost shelf to be a bit smaller since people usually store pieces that will not be accessed often up there, but for this design, we kept all three even.

The audio/visual area was designed to provide room for a larger TV down the road and to store equipment, all while hiding the ugly cords. I cut holes into the back of the shelves and cabinetry to allow the cords to fall behind the unit, reaching a power source within the bottom cabinet.

The decorative edge around the insides of shelves matched the architecture of the house and added both a custom look and visual interest.

When designing custom built-in cabinetry, it is typical to have the lower closed cabinetry set deeper than the open upper bookshelves. This layout creates visual interest as well as a handy ledge. For this project, I took the extra step to bump out the TV area as well, adding even more heft and dimension to the piece. The great room is large, so I had to make sure it would not get lost in the space. Finally, the poplar wood was finished with a water-based acrylic trim paint for its durability and washability.

I have been an empty-nester a few years now, so I completely understand the impetus to complete long-wished for home improvements. If you are looking to take on one of those dream custom woodworking projects, I’m ready to help. Send me an email or give me a call at (317) 679-5890.