Keep in mind that some of those choices will lock you into one furniture placement.

Are you sure you want all those built-ins? It definitely locks you into furniture placement and, to some extent, certain decorating schemes. I purposefully am not putting any in our bedrooms because I like change too much. I like your lighting ideas though, especially making sure you have high outlets for table lamps (I hate it when I can see cords all over the place) and think the board and batten walls will be lovely as long as you don't mind being locked into a decorating scheme.

I too would rethink the built ins. Not only does it "lock you in" it may make your house harder to sell (if that is even an issue).

A built in bookcase may be nice but dressers - I wouldn't do it. Not to mention the expense. Even the built in bookcases will leave you little flexibility down the road unless it is a larger room.

As far as light switches next to beds - I always think they look funny floating in the wall like that but that is obviously a personal preference. I would think the reading light next to the bed could be switched off and any other lights probably would be off before you got in bed.

I would also check into the ductwork layout of the house. depending on your room and windows and furniture, you may not want the heating duct in the middle of the window, maybe closer to one side or the other, or maybe 2 instead of one. I know it is dependent on the whole house heating/cooling design and obviously code restrictions, but it may be flexible.

Also make sure that you specify 3-way switches if you want them by your bed wall and the door

I would also add 3 wire for ceiling fans and then 4-way switches of course.

So the built in dresser will be on the same wall as and flush with the closet, similar to this, but actually a dresser and with shelves above http://pinterest.com/pin/56787645273750317/

The built in shelves will be similar to this: http://pinterest.com/pin/56787645273590995/

The bedrooms are not huge, and we plan to have queen beds in there, so there aren't that many ways to configure the rooms. My husband and I have always wished we had light switches next to our beds. Especially a reading light is used once you are all comfy in bed and don't want to get up again. It's a little game every night.

My grandmother's house had built-in dressers, and they were not an asset. The drawers were sized for whatever the original owners wanted to store in drawers, and didn't work well for any of the people I knew who lived in the room.

I would be much more inclined to build a niche to hold a dresser, and then have the dresser be free-standing, so it could be replaced if you or a future owner wanted to change the look of the room or storage needs changed.

We had planned to use measurements from dressers we have. Normal sized drawers, nothing weird for special items.

I don't think these dressers were weird at the time the house was built. It was about 50 years old when I was little. People change.

The most important issue is for you to have clearly worked out the design for each bedroom, including circulation, major furniture placement, views and natural light. Thereafter, the building systems and controls (HVAC, electrical, TV/internet, etc.) can be planned logically.

As others have pointed out, the more you fix and build-in more and more of these items, the more fixed the layout becomes forever and ever.

I'd realistically consider how long I expected to remain in this house and how important it may really be to spend all of the extra money that these "customizations" will cost.

Whatever works best for you and your family for the time you will spend in the house is the best plan.

Good luck with your project.

I would price out the built ins also. They are expensive. You will spend thousands and thousands on them. I would expect a custom chest of drawers, painted, to run a couple thousand based on the prices of simple custom vanities we did. Frankly, I would spend my money somewhere else particularly in a child's room. . . .

I would price out the built ins also. They are expensive. You will spend thousands and thousands on them. I would expect a custom chest of drawers, painted, to run a couple thousand based on the prices of simple custom vanities we did. Frankly, I would spend my money somewhere else particularly in a child's room. . . .

Board & batten walls seems like an odd choice to me. Is it a vacation house?

I love built-ins, and we are planning quite a few. But then we are trying to build a smallish house and we are not people who tend to re-arrange furniture. Just wanted to speak up for what might be a minority here! I'd rather have a niche with a built-in dresser than try to find one to fit efficiently any day...

We did put in a three way switch so that our bedroom up-lights can be turned on from the top of the stairs as we enter and turned off without getting out of bed. It's a great feature.

lotsofkids,

We are also putting in three way switches so lights can be furned on/off when entering room and from bed. Have you worked out your lighting plan for the bedrooms yet. Are you doing any accent lighting?

Carol

Here are some ideas:
Tray ceiling
reading niche
fireplace

What about a master switch (kill switch) somewhere on the bedroom level that allows you to turn off all of your lower level switches with one switch. We are doing a kill switch on our bedroom level and also on our main level so we can turn out all the lights when we go to bed or leave for work from one central area.

Carol

I had no idea that built ins could be so expensive! I will be sure and ask about that. We recently did built in bookcases/drawers/cabinets in our family room, and the cost came out to be about what we would have paid for nice ones from a furniture store, if not less. Plus these are on either side of a stone fireplace they they look like the grew out of the side of the rocks bc the wood was cut around each piece. Maybe on a dresser the price won't be comparable, but I will definitely check. Thanks.

These are basement bedrooms for the kids. I love the idea of tray ceilings. Will that work well with 8-foot ceilings or make it feel too low? The bedrooms aren't huge but a reading niche would be great if it fits.

I like the idea of a kill switch. That would be so convenient. I had never thought of that.

As for a lighting plan, we are doing a main light in the middle and sconces on either side of the bed for reading. Since the rooms aren't huge, there really aren't that many configurations for furniture anyway with a queen bed.

Do you need speakers or intercom? Wall vac system? Internal hardwire networking? We had planned on wireless, but our son has joined us here, and he insisted we do the internal network. He uses streaming, has a gaming system, etc. Have you planned on television placement? Hate to say it, but most people like a TV in the bedroom. We have some sleep issues so we don't have one in the BR, but we did make one of the bedrooms a study/computer center, and made a sort of den upstairs so the son can have his own TV but not actually in the BR.
The main thing is that the house suit you. Building just
for resale (which we have done a few times, planned or not), is a sure way to be disappointed when you live there and surprised when the folks looking at your home want something else. That said, there are some lengths of personalization that ought to be considered pretty well if you aren't sure this is a forever home.

How large are these bedrooms? One light in the centre, might not be ideal as it leaves shadows in the corners (or so I have been reading in the lighting design books I have been studying). What about pots spread throughout the room, with the reading lights all on dimmers. Definitely don't forget about the low voltage stuff for internet, cable, phone etc as wireless is not always that reliable. If you know where you are placing the computers in the room (if there are to be computers in the rooms), you can consider a four gang plug to allow more things on the desk to be plugged in (lamp, computer, printer, chargers, etc.).

Carol

We did built-ins throughout our entire bedroom. I love them. The cost for all of them was around $8000 I think, not counting the fireplace of course.

This post was edited by beaglesdoitbetter on Sun, Mar 31, 13 at 17:24

Holy Cow Beagles! That is gorgeous! And that is a lot of built ins. I see that as an asset in selling a house. Really stunning and useful.

Carol, do you mean adding canned lights in addition to a light fixture? These bedrooms are not huge. 12x12, 12x 13.5 and 15x15 (this bedroom will be shared).

lotsofkids,

The advice we were giving from a lighting interior designer (books I have been reading seemed to agree with the designer re center bedroom fixtures) was to put pot lights in the bedrooms and not a fixture. We will have a few wall sconces in a few of the bedrooms, not all, in addition to the pots. Reading lamps are also good. However, I am only passing along what I learned, based on our electrical plan so I don't want to steer you wrong. FWIW our bedroom sizes are similar to yours.

What do others think about center fixtures in bedrooms versus pots in bedroom. Is my designer steering me wrong to suggest pots?

Carol

By pots do you mean canned light? What config and how many?

We are going with center fixtures in bedrooms because I have always been happy with center fixtures in bedrooms, and a single center fixture is considerably cheaper than multiple pots.

If more light is needed for a reading nook or desk we'll add lamps, but I don't mind shadows in the corners of bedrooms, because they are primarily places for sleeping.

I think the fixture vs. can recessed lights is something everyone has to decide based on their aesthetic. I personally cannot stand any type of recessed light, I think they look like swiss cheese ceilings, but that is just me. We did center fixtures and sconces in the bedrooms and chandeliers everywhere, even in walk-in closets since we had a no-can lights rule in our house.

I do not find we have shadows but I also have lamps in all the rooms where there aren't wall sconces.

lotsofkids,

Yes, by pots I mean canned lights or recessed lights. Beagle is correct, personal preference plays an important role. LOL at the swiss cheese analogy; my whole house will be swiss cheese as I will not have very many fixtures at all with lots of recessed lights. I personally don't like the simple dome fixtures often seen in builder special bedrooms as they collect dust or sometimes dead flies. With sconces or lamps together with the centered fixture, you can avoid the shadow issue created by only having a center fixture. We have only firmed up the electric plan for one of our bedrooms. It is 11 X 15 and it will have four canned lights and two wall sconces.. We meet again with the lighting designer next week to plan lighting for the other bedrooms. I suspect she will suggest at least 4 canned lights per room (most rooms are around 10 X 12 or a little bigger). She did tell me she wanted a sparkly fixture in my daughter's room in addition to some pots, but was not favoring fixtures for the other rooms (master or sons' rooms). Choose what pleases you.

Carol

It is interesting to me how much people differ in their preferences. I have what I have to admit is an unnatural disklike of flush mount ceiling fixtures in the middle of a room. I will walk across a room in the dark to turn on a lamp instead! I don't mind recessed lights, but not so wild about them everywhere, either. We will have some in the hallway and in the kitchen, elsewhere there are some monopoints to wash the walls. Good thing there's something for everyone!

So true! We all like different things. The spaces I'm talking about are in the basement, and the ceiling is only 8 feet high. I personally hate the booby lights (that's what those dome fixtures look like to me). And our ceilings are too low to do anything that comes much lower. I'm looking for some that are pretty without hanging too low. I like cans bc it's a clean look, but they aren't for every space. I've never had them in a bedroom before. I do like my spaces well lit. That is important to us. So much to think about! I appreciate all the ideas and comments.

Beagles - your built-ins are fantastic!
In regards to canned lighting, we are limiting their use in our new home because we are so tired of changing the bulbs in those suckers. They go out all of the time in our current home and you need so many of them to make a lighting impact. Just something to think about.
I think, especially in the bedroom, a central light can make a great decorative impact while providing enough light for the entire room (with the addition of bedside lamps). We are doing a simple chandelier in our new master.
Another thought it you don't want it to hang down is a semi-flush mount. I'm "anti-boob light" as well but the semi-flush mounts look a lot nicer (using in our master bath and parlor). They are a great clean look and some of them are super cute - esp the drum shade options.
Good luck!

We have two canned lights over either side of the bed that are used for reading. I find most table lamps are not tall enough for reading and a lot of sconces don't direct the light where you would need it for reading in bed.

This post was edited by dekeoboe on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 13:42

Beagles - WOW that is gorgeous! After the craziness of building calms down with our house I may have to add something like that. Our neighborhood is one of those "everyone is tearing down and rebuilding" ones and we are already playing with fire on our price per square foot for the neighborhood. If I do built-ins like that now I'll completely blow it.

Those of you who hate cans - I am also not a fan of the "swiss cheese" look, but my husband is ceiling-fan obsessed (deep South) and I tend to think that the cans + fan is better than lighted ceiling fans. Do those of you who don't have cans have any ceiling fans, or did you forego those as well? I realize in a cold climate it's probably a non-issue, but figured I may as well ask.

We had originally said cans for reading lights but our electrician said the light gets blocked by the head.

We had originally said cans for reading lights but our electrician said the light gets blocked by the head.

That's because he doesn't know how to place them properly.

I think ceiling height should be considered when choosing pot lights vs fixtures. Lotsofkids, you mentioned the bedrooms in the basement had 8 foot high ceilings, do any of those ceilings have dropped furnace ducts? Obviously, if there are ducts anywhere over the bedrooms you will not be able place pots there. Our whole house has 8 foot ceilings (standard around here is 8 foot). Maybe that is why pots have been suggested by more than one designer looking at our house (perhaps the designers might have recommended fixtures in more spots if our ceilings had been higher)?

Beagle, what is the height of your ceilings? You house is gorgeous and I always enjoy seeing your photos.

Carol

I think we'll be ok on the ducts, but I will double check!

Thanks for the nice comments on the built-ins :) I am a little built-in obsessed, there are almost no walls in my house that don't have cabinets, fireplaces or windows!

OntarioMom, our ceilings are 9ft. throughout but we used lots of treys and double height rooms to give a feeling of more spaciousness I have more pics on my blog.

A money-saving idea:

Built-ins as you're suggesting are quite expensive. A less-expensive alternative would be increasing the size of the closet and -- instead of furniture-type built-in dresser drawers -- install moderately-priced closet organizers. Wire drawers and their ilk.

Benefits:
If one drawer breaks (and with kids using them, someone's going to use them as stepping stools, overstuff them, draw on them), a wire drawer is easily replaced.
You still have the concept of built-in dressers; they're just hidden behind doors.
Much less expensive than "real" built-in dressers.

Negatives:
You'll need larger, more prominant closet doors; this will "shrink" the room, but the built-in dressers were going to do that anyway.
Still more expensive than a separate dresser.

I'd be interested to know: What is the goal in building in dressers?

And about the reading lights:

Any light on the ceiling, whether it's a boobie light or a can, isn't going to be a cozy reading light. If you're determined to build these in, I'd consider a swing lamp installed on the wall next to the bed area.

re built-ins and storage: IKEA is your friend :) Especially for the closets!

Mrs. Pete, that was our original idea, just do some kind of simple drawer system in the closet, but the contractor I was speaking with at the time suggested the built ins and made it sound like it would cost the same. I will definitely ask for details.

carsonheim I will check out the Ikea catalog. I actually hate Ikea. I once went in there to get a VERY specific item and nothing more. Once I found it (it wasn't in the aisles with the other items, it was on the showroom floor), it took me 30 MINUTES just to make it back to the registers. And then I had to wait in line to pay. And those crazy carts with the wheels that go sideways are horrible. I can never find anything. And I have no imagination for Ikea hacking. I have to want something pretty badly to go there. I haven't been in nearly 2 years and I live really close to one. The idea makes me want to cry. But to save money on the basement, I would do it.

Hi,

How high on the wall will your bedside switches be. lotsofkids? Our electrician mounted this switch in the first bedroom at the same height as the other house switches (ours are all 42 inches off the ground). I had wanted it lower and nearer to the night table so wondered if I should have it lowered.

Do hotels not have these switches near the bedside tables? Does anyone know if these switches are typically lower than other light switches?

Thanks,

Carol

After all the suggestions here and from friends who have built, we are probably going to ditch the bedside lights and reading lights and stick with side tables and lamps. It leaves lots of options open for kids who want to rearrange their furniture, etc. But answering your question, Carol, I would put them lower where you can reach from lying down. In one of the rooms we are doing a tray ceiling in one room for two reasons: one is bc a duct runs along one side of the ceiling and doing a tray ceiling all around will make it look intentional instead of functional. Two because it looks nice, hopefully. I will do board and batten in another room, and am trying to think of a special feature for the third room. Something different than the other two.

Renovator, when they say board and batten they are really talking about craftsman style paneling. Not what I would consider normal board and batten that is used on an exterior.

LotsOfKids, I'm sure the contractor did make it sound as if the two options would cost about the same amount. They're in the business of building things, not necessarily in the business of making things affordable.

Think this through: The built-in dressers you're proposing are essentially cabinets, right? Consider the cost of kitchen cabinets vs. the cost of an in-closet organizer. The costs are nowhere close.

Lyfia and Renovator, I thought the OP meant beadboard paneling, which isn't extremely expensive but is more pricey than drywall.