Builders Can Benefit From Other-Room Cabinetry Beyond Kitchens and Baths

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The popularity of open floor plans also is inspiring builders and designers to incorporate cabinetry into the living room that matches the style or color of the kitchen cabinets. "Close to the kitchen, that's where the concept of having the cabinets match or coordinate comes into play," Radoy says. "It provides some consistency of décor throughout the house."

Kitchen and bath designers have been adapting cabinetry to the living room and home office for years, but homeowners are asking for it in other rooms, as well. While Radoy acknowledges many builders won't spare the floor space for a large laundry and multipurpose room, manufacturers agree that larger laundry rooms with versatile storage are a growing trend.

Transforming an ordinary room into something more functional and multi-purpose is limited only by the depth of the imagination. For example, the laundry or mud room can become a secondary serving room with an oven and refrigerator, envisions Timberlake's Edwards. "If you're having a big party or family reunion, you can spread out those tasks to somewhere less popular than the kitchen," she says. Stacked washers and dryers can be concealed behind cabinetry or elevated with drawers underneath to make them easier to access. Even relatively small additions, like a craft or giftwrap station, can turn the laundry room into a hobby or pet center, manufacturers say.

Built-in cabinetry also can turn a spare bedroom into more than just a makeshift home office. Radoy suggests creating a double desk with a flat-screen TV in the middle that can be used as a monitor for work during the day and allow the space to transform into an entertainment room at night. Schoenfeld imagines turning the bedroom into a play room for children, with storage for games, toys, and electronics, and perhaps a desk for homework.

More elaborate cabinetry means a higher price tag, of course, so custom designs will likely remain in the realm of high-end homes. But designers point out that homeowners can create some simple storage in other rooms with less-expensive stock cabinetry.