Built-ins - opinions?

As a follow-up, any recommendations for a carpenter? I have someone who did the kitchen & LR but he excels at more modern pieces.

I think a well-done built-in is far more stream-lined than free-standing furniture. If done well, they really blend into the wall. Trick is to keep then as shallow as possible and make them the same color as the wall.

streamlined, not stream-lined ^^^ Looks like I've gotten hyphen-happy...

10023,
I love costum built ins. Have them designed and built so they match your exact needs. They can also maximise space b/c you can go right to the ceiling. Don't forget that every thing can have a door so if you want easy access to your collection but, don't want to look at them all the time...
Keep in mind that going foward there is a good chance that the books you buy may be electronic and your collection might be putting in an appearence at Manhattan mini storage.

by the way Wolf, on the UES does great work. They have built many things for myself and my extended family. They don't do design of finish just construction.

I used Little Wolf on First Ave UES for both bookcases in the living room, and enclosed cabinets for storage in the foyer. They did a great job, and both pieces enhance the space that they are in. You do need to go to them with an idea of exactly what you want.

yes, built-ins can be very nice for the right space, BUT may not be ideal for resale. If you don't want books in a room then they just use up wall and floor space and can make the space awkward. Though, they're easy enough to remove....

Is this just for books? Is it a room designated as a library-ish room? How about high shelving on the wall for the books freeing up some wall and floor space? may feel less cluttered if its not floor to ceiling.

I consider book spines unattractive in the extreme, so ideally they'd have a place in a storage closet somewhere. However, have you considered some or all of them on shallow shelves in the hallway outside the bedrooms, with or without doors to hide them except when you're perusing them?

Also, you might want to have yourself a few massive book purges, and consider what reference info is now available online, and what fiction you can get from a library, or in a cheap enough paperback that you can buy & toss whenever you next want to read it. Keep list of what you toss for future "spine browsing".

think of how much less dust you will have if you toss some of the books. I would need to toss my husband in order to toss our book load, but so tempting. I tried to get him to agree to closeting them, but he refuses, so i'm shifting them all to overhead shelving in our hallway.

Why Stalin? Why Lenin? still sits on my shelves. along with the other scintillating tomes that the husband will never part with.

my solution was to buy a house in the country with lots of shelves, but i realize that wouldn't be everyone's alternative.

I have about 1000 online titles :) There is a romance about having paper books on shelves, so I will never get rid of all of them - though they are subject to heavy pruning. Also, it's nice to have them around so (hopefully) my kids will have lots of random books to pick from on a rainy day. I'm also a believer in having a set of paper encyclopedia around for this reason - I learned so much in a random fun way by picking up a volume and starting in the middle.

Alan: my hallways are on the verge of narrow.

It's a library/playroom area. There's also a big old fireplace in the middle which reduces available wall sapce.

Built-ins can enhance value BUT: they need to be top-quality, thoughtfully designed and detailed, and seamlessly integrated. Awkward nooks that are otherwise useless and odd can be great locations for built-ins. But a keen aesthetic is critical. So is workmanship. Seams are ugly. Veneers and badly done edges can look atrocious. Wood grain showing through bad paint is dreadful. Bad installation at the ceiling and where it meets the floor and walls is bad. I like it when they match and blend into the walls with possibly a different color for wall behind the shelves. Some integrated electrical work is very nice touch to avoid having to run wires anywhere in sight. The less "specialized" to an individual's needs the better, too for resale purposes. And some types are just much better. Built-in dressers, for example, are likely to have little appeal on resale. Same with 70's looking built-in seating. I'd stick to shelving/cabinetry/HVAC covers.

"It's a library/playroom area" - ah, you see, imo, all the more reason to put the books up high and free up floor space for kids/toys/storage/seating, etc... Though you'd have to guarantee that the shelving was very very very secure.

ar - at least you got yours out of your main house. Hubby works 80 hrs a week yet still insists that his entire library be available for leisurely perusing! Meanwhile, I'm stuck dusting the crap. Now I'm making him climb for them. Not the best payback, but it's a start.

uwsmom, i still have 40 boxes of books in storage, a living room here full of books, bedrooms here full of books and a living room AND an office full of books upstate. one day i'll get around to retrieving the books from storage and taking them upstate to be stored in the basement. at least the hubby doesn't insist on ready access, but he can't bear to part with a book or a ratty t-shirt. he makes few demands, so i give in here.

i feel your pain. both my daughter and i are allergic to dust.

>I consider book spines unattractive in the extreme

Wow. Just ... wow. I think you must be the anti-me.

I like the look of a well-organized book shelf. As long as the books are in good condition, neatly lined up and not piled in willy-nilly, I think a floor-to-ceiling wall of books can make a room cozy and add visual interest. I'm a fanatical neatnik and absolutely hate clutter but do like a streamlined bookshelf, preferably built-in.

But yes, a purge every few months or so is definitely a good thing...

Yeah, my kids are totally able to drag a chair and hang themselves off free-floating shelving :)

I have a lot of smart friends. They don't tend to surround themselves with objects -- fancy cars, showy fur coats, and the like -- that make them feel good about who they are and how other people see them. Or at least they think they don't. They surround themselves with things -- books, books, books -- that make them feel good about who they are and how other people see them. Thus, their books are not simply accessible and usable -- as are the things in their kitchens, bathrooms, and wardrobes. They are front and center, and usually not even in extra bedroom space. They're in the living room, where their friends can see them and understand how the owner wants himself to be seen.

But having lots of books (let alone having them on conspicuous display) doesn't mean reading or understanding lots of books; not having lots of books doesn't mean you don't read and enjoy quality books. Was it "Play It Again Sam" in which Woody Allen prepares for the start of a blind date at his house by carefully arranging open, face-down books all over his apartment?

nyc10023, standard paperbacks are six inches deep. If you find that you have a lot of those, and can segregate them, I can't imagine that you can't take six inches of depth away from your bedroom hallway to put cheap, functional Ikea Billy bookshelves there.

aboutready, storage is evil.

I'm also afraid that floating shelves will make the room "junky" looking - has a nice mantel.

I hate having books in the living room. I don't really want people to know what I'm reading.

ah, i know storage is evil. and unnecessarily expensive. i shouldn't blame the hubby solely. i enjoy my books also, but i could purge most of the books from the college survey courses. and i could definitely get rid of the 1965 bestseller "The Constitution and what it means today." but he just can't. your comments about owning books are funny. a marketing expert would have a very hard time figuring us out by our bookshelves (other than some obvious liberal leanings).

i've been thinking about turning half the walk-in closet upstate into a walk-in library.

Stephen at crownedwoodworks.com has done lots of custom carpentry for us.

He's highly skilled and a pleasure to work with.

Two words: public library. I hate all those damn books, in their ugly cubby-holes, covering the walls, showing everyone how intellectual you are, how smart you are, how much you are willing to forsake aesthetics in pursuit of knowledge. I hate that apartment, every thing and everyone in it. I'd rather you simply wear your tweed jacket, argyle scarf around your neck, thick-framed glasses squarely framing your bearded face, paperback edition of Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werner half falling out of your coat pocket, and just leave the friggin' walls alone.

Really, other peoples' interests make you feel that insecure?

Boss, I think there's been some sarcasm here. I rarely have anyone over, only my closest friends and I don't need to prove anything there. They know me. I love books and I proudly show off my signed first edition dickens books (2) that I received as gifts from an ex-boyfriend. Actually you'd have to search for them. They're just somewhere on the shelf

IT'S ALL JUST STUFF....

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it....
Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore.

Riverside...
Your hit it on the head. The beauty of the city is that the most valuable commodity is space. Every time you bring any object into that space it reduces the value of the space (relitive value). This is the fundamental building block of anti-consumerism and, a behavior that most of us (NYC folks) have aquired without even considering our behavioral change. Now, all we have to do is convince the rest of the country to adopt this behavior and the world would be a better place. The economy would suck longer but, the payoff would be worth it. These days it's 'use it up b4 someone else does'.

Sorry, I apologize for my anti-social rant. I try to keep my insecurities buried deep down from now on.

Kidding aside, I actually like a mahogany old-school wood paneled library where one would drink scotch and smoke a pipe while glancing over a leather-bound Dickens first-edition (were they leather-bound back then???). I really dislike the look of the painted built-in, and if there's going to be a library, it needs to be part of a 10-room apartment, not your living room or anywhere else intended for mixed use. Just my personal thoughts on the aesthetics of it all. From a form perspective, I'd rather not see it. From a function perspective, I prefer electronic formats and boxes. Not to mention the added bonus of being able to tell everyone how much greener you're being...

CAN'T FIGHT THE URGE....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac

Since we are on the topic, I have a duplex with a full (not spiral) staircase. I have thought about having a custom built-in under the staircase but was concerned whether it would be money well spent or not. Currently, the stairs take up the bulk of one wall with a closet underneath the portion of the stairs where a full height closet was able to be built. This leaves a large triangular space under the rest of the staircase- that I currently use as storage space but doesn't look great.

I was thinking that the tallest portion might make for a short hanging rod area for clothes and the rest as bookshelves/storage closet space. Since the space is deep, I was also thinking that perhaps I could have a hidden wall safe area behind the bookshelf (think of a hidden swing out shelf) with the safe permanently installed- it's in a cellar space. I would have a use in mind for the wall safe- so this is not a frivolous idea.

As far as resale is concerned- would a built-in be a wise use of the space (excluding costs for the wall safe aspect- which I understand might not be valuable to a potential buyer)?

Architect: "What, you don't want any bookshelves?"
Client: "We already know we know how to read."

I'd like to be like that, and not live in a place that guy from Queer Eye would walk into and say "This is the home of a crazy person." As it is, every wall in three rooms and foyer is 8'-high shelves. My books aren't a problem, because they're mine, but my husband's tens of thousands of CDs and scores are. The CDs are bound in black 3-ring binders. As the old joke goes, when one of us dies they're going in a dumpster and I'll have a clean bare-walled living room.

Wow, a lot of dysfunctional folk out there; happily I'm the picture of mental health.

'Wow, a lot of dysfunctional folk out there; happily I'm the picture of mental health.'

to get well, first you must admit to yourself that you have a problem.

In stating out any situation there is a theoretical mean...
prehaps...that's you!................prehaps

drdrd, but do you read? of course you do.

isn't this the most fascinating thread? that we can be abusing people because they do or don't want books? it seems to me that this need to sanitize our living environments (obviously partly because we don't have enough space) has created this minimalism that, like spending too much for too little space, becomes the norm. Hell, keep your books if you want to, ditch them if you don't, and as 10023 has done look here if you'd like some ideas on how to deal with what you have. nobody's preferred method for dealing with the written word is the right one.

anyone read AJ Jacobs from A-Z? fun stuff.

Agree. If we don't have room for a proper library, then I want them out of sight. Unfortunately, the hallway is my best option since i refuse to have dusty books in living or bedrooms.

10023 - if you must display books and you don't like the look of free standing or free floating bookshelves, I think built-ins is your only other options. Can't really think of any others. When done properly, some can be really lovely.

AR, the thread is titled "Built-ins - opinions". My opinion is that they look like crap, especially when filled with books in a main living area. It seems to me that this need to sanitize our conversations has created this minimalism in opinion that becomes the norm. Oh crap, that's your line. In all seriousness, I have a lot of space and like to keep it uncluttered and relatively empty. Me likes that aesthetic. People come to my place and wonder if it always looks like that or if I just did tidying. It always looks like that. My mom taught me to put my toys away in the closet after I was done playing with them, and I've been the same ever since...

inodada, obviously. you just accentuated my point. opinions are opinions.

i'm glad for you that you like your minimalism. i like my messy life.

my mom, right before she died at the age of 53, confessed to me that she wished that she had been less concerned with neatness.

Inonada, I agree with you. Looks like crap. When you see a wall of books you really have to wonder what they are there for. Looks cluttered, and doubt 90% of them are ever touched.

Back to built-ins...in small spaces, built in cabinetry with beautiful wood grain can be like artwork. Just did built-in closets and entertainment unit in a small bedroom at our shore house and the room feels much more pulled together and warm. Used anigre with expresso mahaganony. Beautiful. I think my cabinet maker has done work in NYC. Give me your e-mail and I'll send you his info.

i'm going to repeat a simple message. only people i love enter my home. they don't give a rat's ass what's on my shelves. really.

Three cheers for the anti-intellectuals!

Me, I think people who display their television sets (so gross, RIGHT in the living room, like they have to PROVE something to everyone who walks in the door) are just plain messy and crass.

No, three cheers for the anti-pseudo-intellectuals who are outwardly directed.

inonada, you need your own opinion ... I already staked out that one.

nyc10023, I mistyped: standard paperbacks are four inches deep, not six ... barely deeper than a Kindle, and not much deeper metaphorically, either.

Or I guess I mean "anti-outwardly-directed-pseudo-intellectuals." With elbow patches ... not on their jackets, but on their elbows ... because they're so REAL.

Someday I'll have a an apartment with a 500 sq ft library. Until then I'll rely on my Kindle. It stores 3,500 books with an amazing reading experience and 0 space.

So alanhart, is everyone who likes to keep a lot of books around the house, maybe even on neatly lined-up shelves in the living room, a pseudo-intellectual?

I just have about a dozen books in my living room right now. Most of my books are in storage. But I read a lot (and - gasp - write books), and I really like the look of a wall of books, in any room. Just as soon as I find my dream home....

Also for the record, I think kindles are even more hideous than granite countertops.

opinion -- bookshelves look great as long as they're not intrusive. The sarcasm here is noted, but maybe it's still worth saying that not everyone who displays their books is posing as an intellectual. I personally like glancing at other people's shelves. Who knows if they've read everything there, probably not. Once in a while it might lead to a conversation. And it tends to be more interesting than discussing the 52-inch flat screen hanging on the wall.

"Someday I'll have a an apartment with a 500 sq ft library. Until then I'll rely on my Kindle. It stores 3,500 books with an amazing reading experience and 0 space."

Until it dies, and you've lost forever those 3,500 books.

Love these: www.alaseast.com

Sorry alanhart for intruding in the territory of your opinion. My official opinion is now that I'm OK with built-ins, so long as they're kept empty.

AR, what did your mother wish she had been more concerned with, I'm curious?

And onto much more important things (sarcasm), I really detest the whole wall-mounted TV thing. It's not a friggin' painting! That, of course, is trumped only by the TV above the fireplace thing. Especially if the wires are hanging off the side.

inonada, I'm in agreement with you about the TV thing.

I don't see how anyone can find viewing a television set mounted at above eye-level as being comfortable to watch without straining your neck.

Growing up in the 1970s with a 25" console television set, I got used to having the screen at eye-level when seated on a low couch, or even on the floor. I had a wall unit in my living room specifically designed so I can have my set no higher than two feet off the floor.

nada, as my mother ironed both underwear and sheets, there was a great deal of time that could have been devoted to other pursuits.

my mother-in-law had one of those tacky little framed phrases in her kitchen (and she wasn't the type, so i think it probably really meant something to her), "clean enough to be healthy, messy enough to be a home." but she had 4 kids. if she had been into that "minimalist" look i doubt she could have maintained it. or her sanity.

our tv isn't wall mounted. it's in an entertainment center, surrounded by books.

just an opinion here, but i think perfection is vastly overrated.

Books are great for reading, but make terrible tchotchkes.

rs, do you have children?

i actually re-read any number of books. right now i'm re-reading killing yourself to live, because i need a decent laugh. and i swear i'll get around to gotham one of these days, because the hubby says it is awesome, even though it looks kind of awkward on the shelf since we lost the cover. i find books beautiful. others don't. live richly, however you choose to do so.

What in the hell are people taking about?!?!?! argyle sweaters, sweaters with elbow pads, pseudo-intellectuals, anti-intellectuals......Who cares ?!?!?! I don't care if you use your books to create argyle sweaters w/ elbow pads (i've always liked elbow padded sweaters btw :). I don't care if you use them to decorate. I don't care if you wipe your ass with them. Some people just like books. My husband has read 99.9% of the books on our shelves, many more than once. He devours books. He loves to read. So what? I wish I read as much. Luckily (for me) he's someone you can always count on for an interesting, truly intellectual conversation. The nerve!!!

I have lots of low-brow paperbacks that I like to re-read.

i have a kid who likes to read. on top of what she reads for school she probably goes through about 70 books a year. we have a portion of the upstate study that houses almost all of her books, we're keeping them for her kids, if she elects to have any.

she goes to one of the best schools in the city, and she tells me that most of the kids read 4 or fewer books each summer in her class. i've been to many of the homes. there are often no books in sight. the academics have a ton of books. guess what, their kids are among the readers.

if you have a kid, reading matters. valuing books matters. if i have to give up an aesthetic goal, so be it. nada, i guess i didn't really answer your question. my mother was confined to her bed for a year prior to her death (reduced lung capacity post lung cancer) and told me something to the effect that gazing at bumblebees pollinating daffodils would have been time better spent than ironing my father's underwear, or making sure that NOTHING was out of place.

uwsmom, sounds like our husbands would have some great conversations.

10023, i'm fond of trash myself.

One thing I do, and would encourage others is to review the library and donate the ones that haven't been looked at in quite some time to charity or a local library. It's also a great way to teach charity in kids.

Local libraries tend not to take paperbacks. If I have time, I'll sell on Amazon (easy, no hassle) or freecycle.
AR: I concur. Readers tend to breed readers.

when i need to prune the collection (only mine, i can't touch the husband's) i donate my paperbacks to the salvation army.

I don't like built-ins, too much commitment, too final. Fine for a purpose-built room, a library I suppose. I like moving stuff around, buying and selling furniture treasures, and books. We have 3 tall well built bookcases that showcase little pieces of our lives, and our books. They are in the dining room right now. I like the feeling I get when I glance over the shoulder of a guest and see Tamata and The Alliance in the dancing candlelight. It creates a warm, almost organic atmosphere, and I swear I can feel the remnants of a gentle Pacific swell passing under our keel.

""when i need to prune the collection (only mine, i can't touch the husband's) i donate my paperbacks to the salvation army.""

I do that too, along with other things as well. Purge, purge purge! Love the fact that the Army is just up the street...

Another idea for your used books is to join PaperBackSwap, which I've only recently started doing. It's a great system (though, of course, for every book you get rid of a new book arrives in its place so it's not exactly clutter control...)

Sorry to throw a match & disappear. I remember that someone was punishing her husband's love of books by making him climb up for them & then someone was advocating hanging bookshelves from the ceiling to give room for a rumpus - sounds like one's aesthetically challenged in-laws.

Books, I love books, but I try to remind myself that buying them is easy, READING them is the goal & after a few big moves with lots of heavy books, I'm using the library even more, although my books remain amongst my greatest treasures. I recall visiting a co-worker at his older apartment in Beverly Hills & he had shelves painted white like the walls, very little in them, & I still recall how I liked that, the grid, the linearity, the potential - & they looked terrif even bare.

oh, that someone is me ;) this thread is getting weird, no? to each his own. good luck 10023. I would love to have a space for nice built-ins.

uwsmom, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Let's get together at AR's place for a gimlet & to kiss & make-up. xox drdrd

Maybe she'll let us work on those bookshelves? ;-)

no worries. confusion abounds. my issue with hubby's books is the dust, not his love for reading.

I know everyone is poo-pooing free floating bookshelves, but i think something like this is totally cute: http://www.grahamandgreen.co.uk/product.aspx/home+accessories/baroque+book+shelves/newfinds/newfinds_newhomeaccessories/-/bshelves.htm

Though, I've seen single or double row wall shelving in spaces that I thought looked nice. I think I'm still in the one-bedroom frame of mind where I think i need to use every square inch of living space. Still getting used to spreading out.

It's only a matter of time before devices like the Kindle make the book as obsolete as the L.P. record. There was a time where every house had a dictionary and a good quality encyclopedia.

I disagree. Just bought an old waterfall dresser today. Some people just really like the warmth and sentimentality of old things. The more obsolete books become, the more those who love them will cling to them.

True, people seek immortality two ways, having kids and collecting old things.

How could any home not have a dictionary??

How could any home not have a dictionary??
you are kidding, right?
http://dictionary.reference.com/

uwsmom, i agree. hold onto those books. your children may inherit some mighty fine antiques.

rs, you're just a sad excuse. i don't seek immortality in the slightest. i seek joy. and i find it in the "new" things such as books that enrich me, and in the child that i adore (although the old thing that i've truly collected is the hubby, and he makes me happier than anything else).

you've offered zero about yourself, really, although your constant recent references to that asshole mankiw tells me quite a bit, as did your earlier disdain of grayson, despite your endless attempts to be cleverly obscure as to your true intentions. perhaps you have nothing to add, only the ability to detract.

drdrd, gimlets all around!!

A.R.
Ever wonder why people have an interest in Old things? Immortality works both ways, looking forward and looking backwards. This is a reason why people collect old wines, antique furniture, etc.
What is sad is leading an unexamined life. What was that Socrates quote again?

is that why you endlessly talk to yourself?

Oh Jesus, it's half the Waldorf & Statler team.

time for a youtube? as noted before, you are a proven liar.

rs, assumptions much? people seek immortality... you don't find that a rude overgeneralization?

i personally have collected new and old things from my travels, because they are lovely. i have a fairly extensive Japanese print collection that i acquired when i lived overseas. i love the art, but have no idea what it is worth, nor do i care. it is evocative of an experience, and the result of a unique opportunity. some people acquire for some reasons, others not so much.

do i adore my two dickens first editions? absofnglutely. but i would be the same person without them.

better yet...start yet another string to talk to yourself.

better yet...start yet another string to talk to yourself.

Actually, your rants remind me more of Bloomcounty..

http://agblog.blogspot.com/bill2.jpg

The builtins won't be in the main living area, and won't be visible to most guests. Getting Billy bookcases isn't a bad suggestion. Our current ones are more standalone and don't stack neatly next to each other I still think floating shelves next to a mantel looks weird. We have an extra flat screen TV that we're thinking of mounting over this mantel (oh the horror!) because we have already pre-wired for cable.

If it's not in the main living area, and it make you happy, go for it!

10023, i went to Ikea. the daughter made me go around to a few places, and then challenged me. said who do you think can tell if you went to ikea or someplace else? she was right, i couldn't really tell the difference, and particularly as i didn't know how long i'd be here, i didn't want to commit to something that might not work elsewhere.

we have our flat screen within the ikea system. whatever works for YOU.

"It's only a matter of time before devices like the Kindle make the book as obsolete as the L.P. record."

Hah, that's funny. I just bought a new vinyl LP last night. I was at Webster Hall to see The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and liked one of the opening acts, The Depreciation Guild, so I bought a copy of their LP they were selling at the show.

More and more bands are issuing vinyl at the same time as CDs. I still have my collection of 70s/80s punk/new wave 7" singles with picture sleeves, will never part with them!

I am, however, parting with most of my 1,000+ piece modern design collection, via donation to a museum.

modern, i lived overseas in the eighties. i have some awesome vinyl releases with overseas jackets that i've kept. my favorite is a joe jackson album with japanese characters. we shall see.

Modern, I'm still clinging to 1000 LP'S myself, but play them less & less and Joe jackson rocks!

AR, dahlink, I was in a multi-million dollar open house in Los Angeles, a gorgeous old rambling Spanish & they had an incredible old bed in one of the BRs & some interesting dressers that were just the thing. Of course, I did a little "detective work" & wasn't there an Ikea tag in one of the dressers?

Since CD'S can't compete with MP3, and vinyl sells on more than the sheer music value, it's a smart idea to issue music this way, but its more of a retro movement.

liar

http://xs116.xs.to/xs116/07231/BillTheCat.jpg

bullshit artist.

cute ikea bookshelves w. glass doors: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/house-tours/house-tour-nicole-and-brandons-oak-park-bungalow-031266

I like the way this looks, although you may not want glass doors in a playroom.

Yes, Mom, those bookshelves are handsome; perhaps they have tempered glass in them? I'm thinking about those new storm doors that are one gorgeous sheet of glass & those must be a very safe glass.

AR, thanks for sharing regarding your mother. Underwear, now that's extreme. I try to wear clothes that don't require ironing but still look decent myself...

Curiously enough, I am a rare breed of academic that doesn't like to read books for pleasure. I read at most one book a year, usually because someone gave it to me as a gift. In school, pretty much didn't read at all during summers, and I only read books as assigned reading for classes (thoroughly, mind you). Obviously, I wasn't a literature major.

Personally, I think reading books is way overrated as an intellectual activity. Do it for pleasure, certainly, or to expand your horizons, but for me it is too passive intellectually. I.e., to me, it's an inferior form of television. Oh boy, that's going to start a fire. To reduce the collateral damage, I'm going to emphasize "to me".

Sorry, nyc10023, for bringing this thread back. I wanted to mention to my fellow booklovers that if you're pruning your collections, Ronald McDonald House on East 73rd. Street between 1st and York accepts all book donations.

I've seen alot of built-in cabinetry, storage, bookcases and occasionally bedroom dressers when I view apartments. I'm a fan of the above except for built-in bedroom dressers which are usually too large for the room. However, I've noticed that many built-ins are rather individual in taste. IMO, for resale purposes, many buyers may not be thrilled with a seller's built-ins, even custom ones. I tend to think of built-ins as something that worked for the seller when he/she lived in an apartment and can be easily removed/replaced if necessary.

Inonada: I missed your comment. You are SO like one of my friends (same line of work too, I think). Reading is over-rated.