Add Value to Your Home with Built-In Storage Units

Think back to when you were shopping for a home and the one thing most home buyers want: plenty of storage. Unfortunately, not all homes offer the same amount of storage. You may have passed over some homes you really liked just because they lacked the storage you required.

However, had the owners thought about adding built-in storage units to their homes before putting them on the market, it could have made the world of difference for potential buyers. Not to mention, they could have added value to the sales prices because their home offered more storage spaces.

What Is a Built-In?

A built-in is any type of solution that increases storage spaces inside a home while simultaneously helps homeowners address problem with excess clutter. These types of solutions are permanently installed and become a part of your home. They help increase available floor space in various rooms AND help save space.

To illustrate, you have a fireplace in the center of the wall in your living room. Next to it you have your TV and electronic devices on an entertainment stand. On the other side of the fireplace, you have a box for storing wood that sits on the floor and takes up space. Then you have a few knick-knacks on top of the fireplace mantel and another end table with more collectibles sat on top.

You could have a custom built-in storage shelves and entertainment center built along the sides and above the fireplace. Once complete, your TV could be mounted to the wall above the fireplace. Your electronics could be placed on shelves on either side of the TV and wires run behind the built-in to keep them out of sight.

All of your knick-knacks and collectibles could be placed on other shelves. You could even have a wood storage “box” built into the new built-in for storing firewood. Your new built-in solution would get the TV and entertainment stand off the floor, along with the box for storing firewood. Now you would have added floor space in your living room.

You could also get rid of the end tables to open the room up more since you no longer need them to display your collectibles. Aside from increasing floor space, you have also increased the value of your home because the built-in makes the room more charming and elegant.

Where Can You Have Built-Ins Added to Your Home?

Ask any homeowners, and they will tell you they never have too much storage. Yet, adding new storage to your existing home requires you to start thinking “outside the box.” Most people overlook valuable spaces in their homes that can be converted to a built-in storage solution. To help get your creative juices flowing, consider the following locations you could transform with our custom designed built-in storage solutions:

• Windows – If you have large gaps in between your windows, you could add built-in storage around your windows. You could frame the window with shelves and add cabinetry at the base. Not only would you have more storage, but you would also have a nice window seat to sit in on those rainy days when you enjoy reading.
• Doorways – Adding built-in shelves and cabinets around doorways is a very “trendy” thing to do. It allows you to take advantage of the space and add some unique architectural features to the home.
• Under Stairways – Unless your basement and main stairways are on top of one another, you have a bunch of “dead space” underneath the main stairs to the second floor of your home. Why not convert this “dead space” into built-in storage for seasonal items, and other things you do not use that often?
• In Hallways and Along Stairway Walls – As long as there are at least six inches of depth available into the walls, you could have shelving added to display collectibles, artwork, books, or other such items.
• Along the Top of Walls – You can have a built-in installed about a foot below the ceiling and extended along all the walls in the room. This type of solution provides you a great display area for all those collectibles you just never seem to have plenty of room to show off.
• Fireplaces – Aside from our example, there are several different options for built-ins you can have installed along the sides of fireplaces, even when it is a corner fireplace.
• Entertainment Centers – A built-in entertainment center can be added to any other room of the home than the living room. In bedrooms, you could have a combination built-in wardrobe/entertainment center installed.
• Man Caves – You can free up floor space and have more room for your favorite electronics, video game systems, sports memorabilia, and more with built-in storage shelves.
• Dining Room – Most people have some sort of china hutch or cupboard that takes up precious floor space. Convert this storage into a built-in with closable glass doors and expand the amount of space you have to entertain.
• Kitchen – Everyone wants more storage in their kitchens and built-in solutions enable them to get that space. Plus, they work great in “dead corners” when you add a lazy susan for easy access.
• Bathrooms – From built-in storage for towels to a connected built-in/walk-in closet, you can maximize the unused spaces inside the walls.
• Laundry Room – You can utilize various built-in solutions to have room to store laundry products, the iron and ironing board, and more.
• Bedrooms – Tired of stubbing your toes on dressers when you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom? A built-in will mean no more stubbed toes while providing the storage you require.
• Home Office/Guest Room – If you use one room in your home for a home office and a guest room when relatives come to visit, you know how valuable floor space can be. You have to have room for your desk, guest bed, and other types of storage. Built-ins can help open up the room and provide an easy way to reclaim floor space when you also incorporate a built-in wall bed into your built-in design.
• Garage – There is plenty of valuable wall space in your garage that can be converted into built-in storage cabinets, shelves, and more. For example, you could have a built-in workbench/hobby craft table installed, along with cabinets and shelving for all of your tools and/or hobby and crafting materials.

As you can see, there really is no limit to the types of custom built-in solutions you can explore to add more storage and value to your home. Even if you are not currently planning on selling your home, you surely could benefit from more storage!

What Are the Benefits of Built-Ins vs. DIY and Store Bought Solutions?

When exploring different storage solutions for your home, you will probably consider DIY and store-bought solutions. Yet, the thing you need to consider is whether the DIY or store-bought solution you are looking at will truly add value to your home.

To illustrate, you have available wall space in the entryway of your home. You could buy and assemble a free-standing wardrobe/closet solution to have somewhere to hang coats and jackets and place umbrellas, shoes, and boots. While it could meet your storage needs, it is just another piece of furniture. To maximize the entire wall space, you could require two or three separate free-standing pieces.

On the other hand, with a built-in solution, it could be designed to go from the floor to the ceiling. You could even have separate doors for each family member for their coats, jackets, backpacks, shoes, and so on. Along the upper section, you could have cabinet doors installed and use this for seasonal storage or left open to display various collectibles and other such items.

Honestly ask yourself what sounds more appealing: a store-bought solution or a built-in storage closet solution? We hope you agree and said “built-in,” of course, simply because it allows you to customize your design to suit your needs.

Additionally, it becomes a permanent fixture in the home that increases the value of your home. Plus, built-ins last longer than store-bought pieces. To see how built-in storage units and other solutions could transform your home , we invite you to contact us, here at Bay Home & Window, and request a free consultation.

We would enjoy discussing your needs and working with you to develop your own unique and one-of-a-kind built-in solutions for your home. We offer wholesale pricing that is open to the public and free in-home consultations so you can show our expert designers exactly what you want! Please feel free to call us at 888.766.5919 today to get started on transforming the rooms in your home and getting the storage spaces you require!