What are the Different Types of Built-In Cabinetry?

Kitchen cupboards are popular types of built-in cabinetry, but there are many others. In living rooms with a fireplace in the center of one wall, tall, built-in bookshelves may flank each side. Some manufactured and traditional homes feature built-in cabinetry in the dining room. A built-in entertainment center is popular in a basement or family room because it can be custom designed to store electronics and accessories. For a room turned into a home office, built-in cabinets that may feature an attached desk at the bottom can maximize storage and work space.

Built-in, closed door cabinetry can close off a messy looking collection of office supplies, yet still keep them easy to reach. If the cabinets are built on from about the center of the wall upward, there is plenty of room for a desk attached to the bottom of the built-in cupboards. This type of built-in cabinetry can transform a spare bedroom into a fully functioning office with neat storage options.

Entertainment center built-ins can also keep electronics and accessories such as game systems and DVD and CD collections organized. Whether these are in basements or family rooms, these types of large units often take up an entire wall or more. Along with some open shelving, this type of built-in cabinetry often also has lower or upper door-fronted cupboards.

Dining room built-in cabinetry also typically features both closed and open storage space. Usually, this kind of dining room cabinetry is built across one corner of a wall to the other. The color and style of wood dining built-in storage units range from painted white to natural dark. While many people buying a home, either traditional or manufactured, appreciate the built-in storage, others prefer to use a free-standing cabinet instead.

Built-in bookcases on each side of a fireplace is a traditional look that can help add a sense of completion to a wall. Books as well as plants or art pieces can be added to open shelving to suit each homeowner's taste. More cluttered storage items can be placed in the lower cabinets that many of these types of built-ins have. Many people like the look of this kind of built-in cabinetry if it coordinates well with the fireplace mantel.

In addition to the main types of built-ins, there are also more unique styles of cabinets designed to add storage to oddly shaped corners or the space under windows. For example, a window seat for bay windows may feature cabinets at floor level. A narrow, angled section at the end of a wall may be the ideal place to add built-in cabinets in a vertical, rather than horizontal, row.