Lots of dusting,could look cluttered?

If it were me I wouldn’t do it. I think it would make the space feel/look cluttered and what a pain to dust.

What are you planning to keep in the shelves?

Sophie, that's the thing. My feeling is that shelves of this sort are more decorative than functional... I like the look of them from an aesthetics standpoint but realize they aren't terribly practical. The picture with the white chairs was taken in a house we went through last year. It was stunning in that home. While I think they are neat, I don't feel like they really work in the space we have. My husband and our builder are the one's who are pushing for them to be added. They feel it makes the home look more "custom".

yumelizabeth, I totally agree that it would be a pain to dust. That was my first thought when I saw them in the other home.

Of note, this portion of the wall is the first thing that is seen visually when coming up the stairs. (this room is on the second floor) My husband/builder both feel it will would be a "wow" factor.

These are similar to your inspiration photo but not as busy

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Glo European, I see what you are saying. The walls are 12 feet, which is hard to distinguish in the photos. (The fireplace is 9' wide) Ive been concerned that a hard ending- with the right edge of the shelves not meeting up with a wall might look awkward

turnby, rather than the “wow” factor that your husband and builder see, I think it would be more of a “yikes” factor. 5 zillion teeny tiny cubbies just doesn’t float my boat (obviously, just my taste and opinion.)

i like Audrey’s first picture and then sorta the second, where the individual boxes are larger and don’t extend to the window wall.

My cats, however, would definitely be intrigued by the challenge of the original lotsa-boxes wall.

Well...that sort of cabinetry automatically creates a strong focal point...and from your photos the focal point may be best located in the living room with the fireplace...not in the dining area and competitive with and detracting from the fireplace.

As an alternative, you could install a continuous base cabinet and countertop between kitchen and fireplace. The existing window would have to be replaced.

I love the idea of built-in shelving like you showed (a couple of years ago we filled a wall in our family room with a similar built-in!), but I think it generally looks better within ‘natural’ boundries of the house (between two walls, between a wall and a pillar, inside an alcove, etc). From what I understand, you want to end the shelving at the window, which would not look great, imo.

I kind of like it, if you are going to use them. Glassed in display is extra nice due to not having to dust things, but I would probably find a ton of use for lots of shelving, and it’s nice if that is where ALL tchotchkes go, so the rest of your space is a clear break for the eye and mind.

Love Audrey's first example!

I agree that it’s got a wow factor, but not in a good way. No offense. The tiny little partitions kill it for me. If there were just plain bookshelf-type (horizontal) shelves only, it might be ok.

Your individual cubbies will look like long narrow tubes if you make them 5 1/2 feet deep. None of the inspiration shelves are any deeper than a foot or so. That will look very odd. I dislike the look even in the inspiration pictures. Too busy.

For a "custom home" look that I would be in favor of, put that money and energy instead into something like custom closet built-ins, or custom shelving in the mud room.

I think I would keep it open and put a furniture piece there. But I like to change things up now and then and having something I can move or switch out appeals to me more than a big built in.

Because your builder & husband want the house to look more custom, I assume you are thinking custom touches will add to the resale value. If that's the case, be careful. That style of shelving appeals to a small percent of potential buyers. If I purchased a house with that style of shelving, I'd pull it all out. It looks like a cheap MDF DIY project. If you want that custom shelving look, consider practical book shelves with furniture quality finishes.