Part of the room, not parked in it.
The difference between a built-in and a piece of furniture is how it meets the room. A store-bought bookcase stops short of the ceiling, leaves a gap at the wall, and has baseboard running behind it. A built-in runs into the room's own lines. Its edges get cut to the actual shape of the wall, its height can pick up a door frame or a window, and the baseboard stops against it cleanly. Those small moves are what make a desk or a wall unit look like it came with the house, and they take more time than the box itself.
Floating shelves are the job people underestimate. A shelf with no visible bracket is a lever, and every pound on the front edge pulls at the wall. It needs a real connection to the framing before any finish goes on, and the studs are rarely where the shelf wants them. Decide what is going on it first, since a row of books weighs far more than a few picture frames. Wall units have their own list. If one holds a TV, the screen size, the cable path and the air around any equipment all need answers before the first cut.
In Detroit, the wall itself is often the first question. Nearly four in five homes here were built before 1960, according to the Census, and plaster was the usual wall finish for much of that time. Plaster can crack around a fastener, and old walls are seldom flat, so fitting a long unit takes patience. Wood also moves with the seasons here, swelling a little through humid summers and shrinking in dry heated winters, so a tight fit has to allow for it. Tell us which wall you have in mind and what will live on it. Call (313) 858-6000.
What we build into a room
- Built-in desks
- Wall units
- Floating shelves
- Media walls with open shelving
- Lit glass display cabinets
