Clear the Clutter with Built-ins! Seating & Storage Solutions

Book shelves, banquette, coat closet, room divider, custom seating & storage combination that makes clutter vanish!

I thought that was the coolest thing in the world: how I wished that I could do it. After awhile, even though I got the nose twitch down,…. that all-is-gone stuff never happened. Still as far as this project was concerned, I did come up with the next best thing – a storage solution

My First Visit

Jeanette needed some assistance with the lighting in her 1949 Ravenna bungalow. After all, it was December, when daylight is fleeting and nighttime is at 4 in the afternoon in Seattle. The front door opened right into the living room. It was Christmas and there were things everywhere, all over the place. Free-flowing and unattached .. as if there was no gravity, Endora, Samantha’s mother, was seen floating on the ceiling. In order to begin again with a clean slate, I thought of twitching my nose to make the clutter disappear. Well .. of course not being a witch, I knew for me that wouldn’t work, so I had another idea, not fast, but efficient.
And so….with an appropriately applied potion….voila!… this is what I conjured up. *The rocking horse was the toddler’s idea. And all
.. was stored in this ↓
I designed a multifunctional, Craftsman style built-in that included a room partition with storage space inside, a banquette and a floor to ceiling bookshelf. Jeanette and her family liked my proposal, so we took measurements and it seemed meant-to-be.
I contacted Cabinetpak with this idea, and Bob and Pete’s cost estimate revealed this project as totally doable, and with their know-how, we set to work.

The Storage Hatch

.. abracadabra…down the hatch!

“The Book Shelf”

.. books of shelves a 3 year-old can manage.

“The Banquette”

We re routed the heating vent to face inside the space we were creating; and built the banquette, two long and low window seats, below the two picture windows at the front of the house. There were five deep and sturdy drawers, so that all of the toys could easily be moved out of sight….poof!

“Closet Interior”

The entry partition included much needed closet space, shelving and cubbies, with doors that would close.

“A Place to Be”

This new room became a place to be, to pause, to gather thought, to play with toys, and to paint, and read together…. (window seat cushions to come).

The remaining 20% of the problem was solved by installing an antique Craftsman lantern as an entry light, and a Pembrook ceiling flush mount by Rejuvenation, centered in the big room. Perfect for the era! (Item # A2141 OB, B4984 Etched)

My client-family is thrilled with the results and that is a good thing….or the kid (a.k.a the sorcerer’s apprentice) might have turned me into a pumpkin!

Happy Halloween!

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