If there is one thing I love, it’s a good built-in. It can completely transform a room and give a builder-grade home the character it’s missing. I knew I wanted to take the existing cabinets in my office all the way to the ceiling, but three small windows directly above them made this built-in a little less straightforward. Instead of working around the windows, I decided to make them part of the design.

I knew I wanted built-ins in my entry/office area, but I had a bit of a conundrum with windows that were seemingly in the way.

So far, I had made some progress in my office space. I assembled cabinets from Lowe’s and built a custom counter to build it into the wall. But I knew I wanted to do more and take the built-ins to the top. I searched high and low for inspiration on these types of windows included in built-ins, but couldn’t find them. I then decided to attempt to make the windows a feature of the built-in.

Planning Out the Built-ins

I decided I would do three distinct sections designed around the windows with shelving underneath. One thing I think is really important with built-ins is to allow plenty of space for the shelves to breathe and also room for trimwork near the wall and ceiling. Sometimes I see so many shelves that don’t effectively take up the space or go all the way to the wall or ceiling and it doesn’t feel quite custom.

I set up the different sections visually before I actually screwed anything in to make sure it was what I had in mind. For this project, I finally bought a table saw! I went with this saw from Milwaukee and I love it. It made ripping down all the 3/4 in. plywood I used for this project so easy.

Creating the shelving

Next, I began to create the shelves. Even though there is all this space, I ultimately went with two shelves under each window. Again, I think it is really important to give built-ins space to breath with shelving.

I used my Kreg Foreman to easily create pocket holes to attach the shelves the way I wanted. It made it a breeze.

Then, I placed the shelves under each of the windows to make sure it all fit and was coming together the way I wanted, and began to attach the boards together.

Now it was time to add the top of the shelves, and also to add in pieces that would attach the unit to the studs in the walls and allow for the front pieces of wood to attach to.

Finishing the built-in structure

I then attached the face frames to each side of the built-ins, and began to build them the rest of the way up. I wanted the windows to feel like a planned part of the built-in, so I put 2x4s in between each to both support the top structure and create some interest around each window.

I also began framing out the top to attach into the ceiling joists and also for the face frames to attach. I opted not to go with any shelving on top to allow space for decorative molding and not go overboard with the shelves.

The built-ins are built!

Finally, I attached the plywood to the front of the top section, and also added 1x2s around all of the shelving to give it a nice finish. I’m so happy with how these are coming together, and be sure to tune in to Part 2 where I add all of the trim and paint!

As a reminder, this is how this room started. It’s fun to see how much of a difference this wall is making.