The best place for a built-in bookcase

People may be reading less nowadays, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need shelf space for books, decor, knickknacks, and other accessories they like to store and display. And that’s where a custom, built-in bookcase or open cabinet can help: It can ser ve the practical purpose of organizing and exhibiting your hardcover and softcovers tomes, adornments, collectibles and curios — plus it provides a handsome focal point for any room.

“Bookcases are used for a lot more than just books these days. They provide space to showcase your most treasured collections of things,” said Lindsey Putzier, owner and principal designer of Lindsey’s Eclectic Interiors in Hudson, Ohio. “They also function as another form of decorative woodwork, like crown molding or wainscoting. Nice woodwork is a sign of a well-built home, and a decorative wooden bookcase can increase your home’s resale value.”

Joseph Dangaran, AIA LEED AP and a par tner with Los Angeles-based architectural firm Woods + Dangaran, noted that a custom bookcase or open-faced cabinet built into or onto a wall has plenty of advantages over freestanding shelving units.

“They can be designed to complement any decor or architectural style and size, material, and configuration and can be added to the home exactly where storage is needed — without compromising convenience,” Dangaran said. “Also, they’re durable and secure, unlike flimsy, tipprone portable shelving, and they can be subtle or statementmaking if you desire.”

Putzier explains that “built-in” is the operative concept here: It means something lasting and anchored that you can’t remove from the house without creating damage.

“Sometimes built-ins are actually recessed within the wall, but oftentimes they stick out from the wall if necessar y,” she said.

Nearly any room in the house can benefit from a handsome bookcase built from scratch.

“In family rooms, homeowners use built-ins to showcase ar t, treasures picked up during travels, family heirlooms, or fun collections of potter y or sculpture. In kids’ bedrooms, children will often display toys, games, school art projects, and stuffed animals. And basement bookshelves often house more adult-oriented items like glass collections, spor ts memorabilia, and liquor bottles,” Putzier said.

The downside of building a custom bookcase is that it may be dif ficult to modify it (unless you implement adaptable shelving) or remove it entirely later on, cautioned Mark Ham, a construction business owner and a Protip Pro in Cedar Park, Texas.

“Before you commit to this project, a bookcase should make sense for the space you intend to place it in. The nice thing about doing a custom build is that you can size it to fit per fectly in your available space versus purchasing something prebuilt online or in a store, which may have inflexible dimensions,” Ham said.