It’s cute, customised but not for commitment phobes.

Show me a person who isn’t charmed by an upholstered seat in a bay window and I’ll show you a liar. There’s just something about built-in furniture that lays on the charm.

Be it a reading nook, recessed dressing table, under-stair display unit or banquette dining area – built-in pieces are a delightful combination of cute and functional.

So if you’ve got collections to display, items to organise, or simply want a bespoke piece of furniture where you can curl up with a book, maybe a built-in is right for you.

Vic Bibby of interior design firm Bibby & Brady is a big fan of the built-in. Followers of theirs will know already that the pair regularly feature builtin banquette dining areas in their designs.

‘‘Built-in furniture pieces are fantastic if done well,’’ said Bibby. ‘‘I love built-ins.’’

‘‘Obviously they’re tailor made to fit a space perfectly, as well as your specific needs and your style. They help to create a clean, minimal and cohesive look and are perfect for making the most of small or awkward spaces.

‘‘Not to mention they’re brilliant for creating extra storage, and you can integrate lighting into certain pieces.’’

‘‘I think the main benefit is just customisation. You can get exactly what you want. You know, you’re not limited by materials or sizes, it can be everything that you want,’’ said Pete Simons, director of Form design.

‘‘You can customise right down to every little detail. You don’t have to go into a shop and think, ‘I really like this but if it was a different colour it would be better,’ or ‘I wanted it in walnut rather than oak.’ We can just do that exactly.’’

For example, Form design is just finishing ‘‘a massive island unit’’ for a kitchen-dining space with turned legs and a marble top. ‘‘It’s designed to act as a table as well,’’ said Simons.

‘‘If space is tight you should definitely consider built-in furniture. A built-in bench seat in the corner of a dining room frees up a large amount of space; and awkward, normally unusable spaces or nooks can have storage cupboards built into them,’’ Bibby said.

Vic Bibby, left, with business partner Dael Brady

A built-in bench seat in the corner of a dining room frees up a large amount of space; and awkward, normally unusable spaces or nooks can have storage cupboards built into them.

The element Bibby & Brady are most regularly asked for is customised living room shelving, either to sit around fireplaces in character homes or in all-wood finishes to complete the mid-century aesthetic that’s enjoying a resurgence at present.

Dave Fitzgerald, cabinet maker at Fitz Furniture confirmed that living room shelves were in hot demand, especially around fireplaces in old villas.

Those his company produces are all made ‘‘with