These 5 Custom Built-Ins Let You Have it Your Way

English designer Kathryn Tyler built a 2,150-square-foot house that doubles as a showcase for her collection of vintage treasures, with built-in spaces like under-stair shelves. “I like to have lots of objects on display, so I treated storage as integral to the actual structure of the building,” she says, noting that she began the design process by imaging where each piece of furniture would go.

Open shelving between the living room and dining area maximizes light and air flow and showcases eclectic objects, which include old printing blocks found at a garage sale and bowls homeowner Kathryn Tyler’s mother bought in South Africa. For Tyler, storage is critical. "It's something that always gets overlooked but it's actually the most important thing. I calculated the linear footage of the books I own to make sure everything would fit."