Built-ins create character in any room of the house, but living room built-ins particularly in combination with fireplaces have the highest impact and create an inordinately strong impression on buyers.  The reason for this has to do with the psychological phenomenon related to first and last impressions -- they create our mindset and our most lasting memories.   The fireplace built-in in a living room is often the first and last thing a visitor or buyer will see.  In the case of friends, the site of your fireplace is linked to the special moments of saying hello and saying good-bye.  These positive feelings become associated with the space they take place in.  If you don't thing so, do this mind experiment.   Imagine some place from your personal past where something good happened to you.  Walk through the space in your mind and afterwards see how you feel.

There's a lot of psychology at the heart of good interior design because one of the three main goals of excellent interior design is creating a space that makes you feel great.   A really sharp interior designer will make the process of designing equally positive.  Under these circumstances, the second goal can be achieved: making your space an expression of yourself whatever you want that expression to be.   We see an optimal process as one where the clients feel entirely comfortable expressing their likes and dislikes.  A good interior designer should be able to give you any look you want, from Art's and Crafts to Mid-Century Modern to an Eclectic contemporary design and make a space look like it came right out of design magazine, but the challenge is to create a space that carries the client in it.  

We have two interior design clients in the south loop who have merged their love of design and their individual styles to create some magnificent finishes in their newly acquired town home, one being a fireplace built-in combination.   The interior design and construction work are being done by us giving us excellent flexibility.  To keep with in budget we have designed the fireplace with a unique tile surround.  The question is whether to spend $4000 more for the same surround in miter cut stone.  There’s no doubt the design in a large piece of stone will be magnificent and jaw-dropping.   Our advice is to spend the money if it all fits with in the client’s design budget.   The residence is about a million dollars meaning it comprises about .4% of the total cost.   From a sales perspective alone it will achieve that .4% back and possibly much more.   Some buyer will find it absolutely unforgettable and not be able to live without it.

In the mean time, the clients can enjoy it along with their friends, family and other guests.   Clients who have had us doing designer fireplace built-ins in their living rooms have given us more positive feed back than for any other built-ins we’ve done and the reason is that all their guests see it and positively respond to it.