The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
The Practical Built In Funiture
Desks
Top height varies from 28 to 30 inches.
Clothes Closets
Clothes hangers plus clothes re- quire 24 inches depth. Clothes can be stored without hangers in a 16-inch-deep closet. Clothes hooks should be 12 inches apart. Children's hangers should be 48 inches above floor. Adults' angers should be 60 inches above floor. Coveralls need hangers 72 inches above the floor.
A shelf in clothes closet should be 4 inches above hooks or 21/2 inches above the hanger rail. On an average, each person needs 8 inches of rail space.
Cleaning Closet
Minimum size, 16 inches deep, 36 inches wide.
Reorganizing Existing Storage
In many cases lack of space is brought about by the family out -growing the house. This often calls for reallocating space, regrouping of resent storage facilities and doing things to make some furniture pieces take up less space or look a lot less bulky. It is astounding what you can do for a room by making such simple changes as bleaching a piano bench to reduce its importance; by turning the piano end-on to the wall and decorating its back so that it acts as a partition and sets off a group of furniture pieces. Floor space is saved by substituting folding, sliding or concertina-type doors. These are but a few of the things you should think about in planning built-in furniture. The important thing is the plan.
In the succeeding chapters you will find a wide variety of suggestions for built-in pieces. Plans for any of these units can be modified or changed to suit your special requirements as to space occupied, capacity and detail design. The most important thing is to select a design that not only will serve your purpose but also will fit into your present furnishing scheme.
Most built-ins should serve as backgrounds rather than objects for display in themselves. Some, however, such as storage walls incorporating radio, TV, phonograph, or writing-desk units, may be prominently featured in a room. In such cases, they need to follow the general style of the room and its furnishings. This may mean, on occasion, the selection of a design of unit that serves your purposes, then modifying its style to conform. As you will see, the major difference between traditional styles of built-ins and modern styles is largely a matter of decoration, and you can often adapt decorative ideas for the built-ins from your existing furniture and room details. In doing this you have the help of modern materials and devices, many of which are described and illustrated in the pages that follow.
