Custom Built-Ins in Northern Virginia
Shelving, cabinets, and storage built into the house instead of set against it. Some pieces we build in the shop and bring in finished, others come together in the room. Either way we measure, install, and finish the work, and Leo signs off on it.
- Leo runs every job
- Free in-home estimate
- One written estimate
Tell us about your project
Takes about a minute. Leo replies within one business day.
Built for the houses around here
A lot of the housing in Loudoun County and the surrounding counties went up between the late nineties and the late two thousands. Those houses are solid. They also came with the same builder-grade trim package as every other house on the street, and the rooms that were supposed to be flexible ended up being the ones nobody uses.
Built-ins are usually what fixes that. A blank living room wall becomes shelving with closed storage underneath. The bonus room over the garage becomes an office because there is finally somewhere to put things. The fireplace stops floating in the middle of a wall and gets a surround that makes the room read as finished.
It is also the least disruptive way to change how a room feels. No walls come down, no permits, no kitchen out of service for six weeks.
Room by room
Living Room Built-Ins
Shelving and cabinets built into the wall, sized to the room instead of to a box store shelf. The most common call we get.
Fireplace Surrounds
Cabinets and shelves flanking the firebox, with a mantel that lines up with the room. Hides the media gear and gives the wall a center.
Home Office Built-Ins
Desk, drawers, and shelving built in as one piece. Works in a spare bedroom that has to stay a spare bedroom.
Mudroom Lockers
Benches, hooks, cubbies, and closed storage by the garage door. Takes the daily pile off the floor.
Closets and Storage
Walk-in systems, reach-in upgrades, and under-stair storage. Same construction as the rest, just behind a door.
Window Seats and Nooks
Bench seating with drawers or bins underneath, built into a bay window or a dead corner.
What the job actually looks like
We come out and measure
No pricing over the phone and no online calculator. Walls are rarely square and floors are rarely level, and a number given without seeing the room is a number that changes later. We measure, look at what is behind the drywall, and talk through what you want the space to do.
You get a written estimate
One estimate covering materials, labor, and finish. It lists what is included so you can compare it against anyone else you are talking to.
We build it
Most built-ins take a few days to a couple of weeks depending on size and finish. Some pieces we build in the shop and bring in finished, others come together in the room. Either way Leo runs the job and signs off on the finished work.
Paint, install, clean up
Caulked, filled, sanded, and finished. We haul the debris out and put the room back the way we found it.
What changes the price
Two built-ins on the same wall can be very different jobs. These are the things that move the number, and they are what we are looking at when we walk the room.
We do not put a price range on this page, because the ones you find online are either too low to be real or high enough to scare people off a job they could afford. You get one number, in writing, after somebody has actually seen the room.
Materials and finish
Most built-ins are painted, and painted work is usually built from a mix of poplar and a stable sheet good. Poplar takes paint well and stays straight, and a good sheet good will not telegraph seams the way solid panels can once the heat comes on in January. Painted work is also the easier match when the trim already in the house is painted, which in most of these neighborhoods it is.
Stained work is a different build. Once you can see the grain, every joint has to be cut tighter and the species has to be chosen for the room, so oak, maple, and walnut all behave differently under a finish. It costs more and it takes longer. In a study or a library wall it is usually worth it.
Shelves get sized to what is going on them. A shelf holding books over a long span needs to be thicker or supported in the middle, or it will bow inside a couple of years. That is the kind of thing that does not show up in a rendering and does show up three winters later, so we would rather sort it out before anything gets built.
Where we work
We are based in Leesburg and most of our work is in Loudoun County and the rest of Northern Virginia. We also take jobs across the river in Montgomery County and in Washington DC.
Common questions
How much do custom built-ins cost?
It depends on the wall, the material, and the finish, and we do not quote it sight unseen. A wall of open paint-grade shelving and a stain-grade cabinet run with lighting are very different jobs. We come out, measure, and give you one written number so you are not comparing guesses.
How long does a built-in take to install?
Most run from a few days to about two weeks. Open shelving on a single wall is on the short end. A full fireplace surround with cabinets, lighting, and painted finish is on the longer end.
Do built-ins add value to a house?
They help in two ways. Storage that is actually built into the house shows well, and good trim work reads as a finished home rather than a builder-grade one. They are also one of the cheaper ways to make a room feel custom without moving walls.
Can you match the trim already in my house?
Yes. Matching existing casing, base, and crown is normal finish carpentry work. If the original profile is no longer sold we get as close as possible or build up a profile that reads the same from the room.
Do you build in the shop or in the house?
Both. Larger cabinet runs are often built in the shop where we can work to tighter tolerances, then brought out and installed. Other pieces come together faster in the room, especially when nothing in the house is square. Either way the fitting, scribing, trim, and finish happen on site.
What areas do you serve?
We are based in Leesburg and work across Loudoun County and Northern Virginia, including Ashburn, Reston, Great Falls, McLean, Arlington, Falls Church, and Alexandria, plus Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, and Washington DC.
Thinking about built-ins?
Send us the room and what you want it to do. We will come measure and get you a written estimate.