Built-In Furniture: A Gallery of Design Ideas (Idea Book) [Paperback]

Jim Tolpin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2001 | Series: Idea Book

Readers will be inspired by this series of visual ideas for some of the most-used rooms in the house. Each book is rich with beautiful color photographs, practical sidebars -- and designs of all kinds that will appeal to a wide range of tastes and budgets.

Best-selling author Jim Tolpin explores new ways to design and construct built-in furniture throughout the home. Includes design ideas for window seats, benches, bookcases, storage cabinets -- even entertainment centers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With Built-In Furniture Jim Tolpin has put together an idea book, a lushly illustrated look at built-in furniture through history and in modern homes, from Shaker attic storage systems to Frank Lloyd Wright room designs to contemporary dream houses. A blending of furniture and architecture, built-ins are known for saving space, but Tolpin takes us to a new level of art and inventive design; for example, he depicts a cleverly designed, secure document-storage area that is completely hidden behind a pivoting bookcase. Even a casual page-through reveals hundreds of useful, creative ideas, such as a revolving entertainment center, hidden storage rooms, and elegant but sturdy built-in shelves. Built-In Furniture will have you walking from room to room, fantasizing about built-in projects that you could construct yourself. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Built-in furnishings offer many advantages over freestanding furniture: They are generally less expensive to build than stand-alone furniture of the same type and size. They give you great latitude in designing the look and function of your interior spaces - you are not limited to designing around existing furniture pieces. And, because of the manner in which built-in furnishings are constructed, you can maximize the use of the most unusual spaces while creating an effective and aesthetically pleasing design solution. In this book, you'll see some of the finest examples of built-in furniture and cabinetry for nearly every room in the house. You'll be treated to a room-by-room survey of unique design solutions and strategies that you can use to add functional and delightful built-ins to your home.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (February 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561583952
• ISBN-13: 978-1561583959
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Furniture

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful resource for someone building a custom home with built-in furniture and storage, March 6, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Built-In Furniture: A Gallery of Design Ideas for the Home (Idea Book) (Hardcover)

This book is useful for anyone building a custom home who wants lots of wooden built-in furniture and storage. The pictures are lush, and the ideas plentiful. I don't know if a woodworker would find it useful, but as someone in the process of planning a customized home, I find Tolpin's work the most helpful way to show my architect what I had in mind.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Neat Stuff !!, January 19, 2003

By 

Edward G. Hurlburt (Lincolnville, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Built-In Furniture: A Gallery of Design Ideas (Idea Book) (Paperback)

Built-In Furniture is a great book for everyone who's ever dreamed of having a secret door to a hidden room or just wants to utilize seamingly wasted space. This book of ideas has been a great launching pad for my own new home design. It's NOT a project book with plans and instructions but if you're in the "looking for ideas" phase this is a good picture book.

70 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So disappointed!, October 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Built-In Furniture: A Gallery of Design Ideas for the Home (Idea Book) (Hardcover)

I can't tell unsuspecting readers and would-be remodelers how disappointed I was in this book. I bought the book for ideas for our major remodelling. In particular, I was looking for great pictures of clever, contemporary ideas for our sons' bedrooms and for our family room. The pictures in the book are very poor quality, grainy and faded, and most appear to have been taken well before the mid-Nineties. This book was published in 1997; it's now 2000. Why would I want to look at a room clearly designed for and in the 70's? What's with the crocheted pillow (p. 149)? I suspect that room has long since been RE-modeled. While I did enjoy the historical background on Gusbav Stickley's Structural Furnishings, I certainly didn't feel inspired by the already-dated examples of "contemporary" interpretations. While I am sure that Jim Tolpin is a competent carpenter, his taste and presentation are NOT for the style-conscious.