custom fit

Fill awkward spaces with tailored built-ins. While this family loves their open floor plan, they had to sacrifice a fair amount of upper cupboard space to get it. To make up for the lost storage, they installed a custom-made wall unit along one wall. Smartly positioned away from the action, it doubles as a kid play zone. A recessed corkboard in the middle is the perfect place to display their artwork, and the cupboards below hide the girls’ plastic dishes and cups, allowing them to help mom out by getting their own. Valuable and sharp items are kept up high and only kid-friendly items and food go in the cupboards below. The bonus with a cabinet like this is that it can be converted into something else—a mini office, gift-wrap station or telephone and organization centre—once the kids are older.

Pencils, $4 each, pencil cup, $30, tin of French stamps, $25, and ceramic pitcher (as vase), $25, Putti Fine Furnishings. Turquoise ornamental ball, $6, Home Outfitters. White box, $10, HomeSense. Fly corkboard tacks, $25 for pack of 24, Rolo.