A custom-designed daybed makes room for sewing and crafts by day and rolls out to provide a queen-size bed by night. The above photo shows the bed closed

The under-sized entry into the attic space was moved and incorporated as a cabinet door (far left) into the entertainment center, which now commits the room to a new statement and purpose.

The pull-out work surface in the sewing room’s bookshelf lends an area for cutting fabrics and other tasks, without imposing on the graciousness of this occasional guestroom.

Customized built-ins allow a nursery to grow with the child. The wardrobe has shelves that hold a myriad of baby clothes but can later be removed to make way for hanging clothes.

A bathroom gets and gives the spa treatment with toiletry nooks built into the tile shower and a bench for a quick pedicure or extra towels. A lower drawer front conceals a laundry chute.

“Grow where you’re planted.” Good advice, but how does a homeowner follow it when the house feels like it’s bursting at the seams with clutter, or languishing from underuse, or both? Without changing a home’s footprint or adding an additional floor, built-ins, from furniture like bookshelves to features like cutting boards, can offer enhanced storage, greater function, and more.

Take, for example, a recently remodeled 1916 bungalow in which the rooms had been poorly designed and scaled, diminishing their utility and charm. Some rooms felt vacant; others, cramped. The clients wanted to get greater function and storage from their rooms while conferring distinct identities upon them.

Key to this whole house remodel, designed and executed by Craftsman Design and Renovation, are the many built-ins that add client-specific functionality and historical detail. Working within the existing footprint, the designers saved the clients money by giving them additional storage in the form of built-ins that capitalize on underutilized space.

We’re not talking about just your usual bookcases here. In the home’s kitchen, the remodel added storage, seating, and period character with built-in furniture. A bench and wine rack allow space for entertaining guests, who can peruse the wines within arm’s reach and find a place for a glass on the oversized armrest. Storage is maximized with drawers for linens and shelves for cookbooks integrated into the bench. A built-in buffet with custom leaded glass provides additional storage in period-appropriate style. In the range work area, a customized knife holder in the butcher block cutting board ensures the right blade is always at hand.

Built-ins can work their wonders on virtually every room in your home. From basement to attic, custom-designed installations like benches and seating areas can add space where you least thought possible and carve out character from nondescript rooms. Even if you have ample space, say a large boxy basement or kitchen, built-ins can “commit” specific areas to a purpose — for study or work here or lounging and entertaining area there.

For example, in the aforementioned bungalow, a large, drafty, and charmless sunroom belied its name and dared the designers to assign it a purpose other than housing three cat boxes. Eliminating most of a wall of windows allowed space for built-ins that give the room clear purpose. With a variety of installations — an extra-deep “sofa” bench, cabinetry, and a “boot bench” — the room now serves equally varied functions: mudroom, entertaining space, and reading nook, all while discreetly accommodating the felines with an under-bench built-in litter box (complete with remote fan and venting).

Likewise, the upstairs landing assumed a definite identity as a family room with customized bookcases built into previously unaccessed space flanking the stairwell and a matching entertainment center adding a pervasive craftsman statement. The adjacent sewing room gained storage and an additional function as a guest room, with a daybed that rolls out for a night’s stay. When visitors are gone, the resident quilter can pull out a work surface from the built-in bookshelf and resume her projects.

You don’t need large, empty space for a built-in to have impact. Even in the smallest, unlikeliest places, a built-in may be the answer to what ails a room. A tight bathroom, for instance, expands its function with the addition of a built-in seat with storage or laundry chute underneath, or even just a niche built into the shower surround for toiletries.

While built-ins do commit a space to a certain purpose, they can also be flexible in their function. For their client, Craftsman Design created a nursery to meet the evolving needs of childhood. When the couple’s new baby arrived, a single bookshelf did double duty as a changing table, built to the right height and to accommodate a padded cushion on top. As the child grows older, a pullout in the bookshelf with grommet for cables can serve as a laptop desk. A clever, customized wardrobe also exhibits growth potential, as its shelves can be removed to hang increasingly longer clothes.

Keep in mind that built-ins deliver that something extra that furniture can’t: They add to the character and value of your home. Whether in a vintage ranch or an early-century Foursquare, well-designed and -constructed built-ins lend authenticity to their surroundings by adding period detail.

Finally, nothing makes a house feel as personalized as customized built-ins, be it a shoe shelf niche built into the footwear fanatic’s closet, or a media center that transforms a no-man’s land into a family room. For a room, or an entire house, with an unclaimed identity or lacking needed storage, built-ins can be a multi-purpose solution. Visit www.craftsmandesign.com to view their portfolio or call 503-239-6200 for more information.

Stacy Green is the writer behind Green Ink, and writes about home improvement, small businesses, the environment, and travel. Contact her at sgreentag@aol.com. All photos by Pete Eckert/Eckert & Eckert Photography