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A dream closet from nearly scratch

Sihaya

Veteran

Hello everyone - I am in the very lucky position of currently having the chance to design a closet from scratch. Well not completely from scratch - we have the room - it's square and a decent size. I will be sharing it with my husband. We are going to buy Elfa shelving for it (love Elfa and if anyone's interested they have a 30% off sale through early Feb I believe at the Container Store). The closet also has a large glass window - yay for natural light.

So my question to you is:
- What are the things that are must have's for you in your closet?
- What do you LOVE about your closet that I should consider?
- What do you dislike about your closet that I should avoid?
- If you could design your dream closet, what else would you have in it?

In addition to clothes, I will have my shoes, handbags, and jewellery here too. I am also looking for good jewellery solutions for my many earrings, necklaces, etc. Some of which need to be in airtight containers so they don't get tarnished too fast.

Thanks in advance!

General

17 replies

Latest reply was from Lena

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Psst ... I designed my closet with an Elfa system 2 years ago ... email me if you have questions! One tip: make sure to get belt rack attachments for the ends of the shelving - great for hanging necklaces. Good luck!!

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I saw a walk in closet room once that had a drawer unit in the center of it. There was still plenty of room to walk around all side, but this gave the woman a place to put hosiery, scarves, jewelery, etc. I thought that was very clever.

Maya

Veteran

I have an over-the-door shoe rack that holds about 30 pairs of shoes. It saved a lot of space for me. Previously I had no idea what to do with all those shoes. Now I only keep tall boots on the floor of my closet. I don't have a great closet system at all, but it's not my house so I'm unable to really change it. The shoe rack is one of the few additions I could make and it helped me out a lot.

shana

Veteran

I really like these jewelry safe keeper for costume/fun jewelry:

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp......-by-Lori-G

The best part is that it also functions as a mirror and is supposed to keep silver tarnish free.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Ooh! How fun, Sihaya! My toes are tickled thinking about it! Tomorrow’s post is about closet editing so stay tuned!

o I love everything about our small walk-in wardrobe and there is nothing that I would change about it. Keeping it small is a very good idea. Too much room and you accumulate too much stuff. Less is more in so many ways.

o You must have enough hanging space. We love frocks!

o You must be able to store ALL seasons in one place. Make sure your shoes are there too. Coats are fine in the coat closet though.

o You must display your accessories. If you pack them away, you will forget about them. Keep them in glass boxes dust free.

Our wardrobe is like a little heavenly shrine. It’s peaceful and pretty. Tidy and organized. Warm and cozy. I like to treat it like a work of art, because its contents makes me feel special. *big happy sigh*

taylor

Veteran

We did this 3 yrs ago and I must say I fell in love with my husband all over again when he suggested taking my daughters upstairs bedroom next to ours and making it a closet!!

Can't live without my full size steamer in there
my full length mirror.. and.sewing machine
ceder chest for my husbands sweaters...and a place to sit on

The best thing was making the closet a *shoe* closet....we added shelves and now I have 6 shelves full of perfectly organized shoes..I won't even tell you how many...but it is full

Also it gave me shelves around the room to put my purses...I have photos if you are interested......I am very excited for you!!!!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Taylor, you are the cutest thing. We share a sublime passion for our walk-in wardrobes. I would LOVE to see pictures :0)

taylor

Veteran

I'll send them to you:)

Sihaya

Veteran

Thanks to everyone who has provided suggestions so far. Taylor, I'd love to see photos. Khris, not sure we'll have room for an island though that sounds tempting. Elfa has great pull out bins that will work great for scarves and undies - or so I hope.

I'm curious if people have sitting space like Taylor and what you think of it. We have that option and since I've never had that, I haven't thought of a good use for it.

taylor

Veteran

I have not heard of the Elfa system...i will have to check it out...my closet is not quite CRIBS....more like Lowes home improvement:)

I used to have a small ottoman in there and I loved in in the center of the room...but I kept tripping over it.

I do have a small stool in it to reach my handbags.

Kari

Veteran

Oh, goodness Sihaya, I am so envious.

My closet is just about as basic as it gets due to lack of space, but I've drooled over photos of lovely, organized wardrobes like this - partly because they are just so pretty.

I'm sure you will probably have a better way to organize your shoes than this, but because I want to protect my shoes in their shoe boxes but still know what is inside, I've been taping photographs of the shoes on the outside of the box so I can immediately tell which box I need to grab.

Again, this is on the cheaper end of solutions, but for my mom's many earrings, she buys those small, divided plastic organizer boxes/trays and sticks a pair of earrings in each compartment. Her necklaces are hung on wooden hooks, like the kind you would hang a coat from, that are screwed to the wall.
My jewelry collection is a bit smaller than my mom's, so I have my earrings displayed on an earring tree I got from Urban Outfitters.

AJ

Veteran

I love Elfa! My hubby and I each have our own small walk-in closets that we designed with the Elfa system. I really like those diamond shape drawer organizers for socks and underwear.
One thing I enjoyed making room for is a little outfit display area. I save a 2 foot section of wall space and I bought one of those hanging half body shapes that stores display outfits on. (The front has the body shape from the neck to the upper thigh but the back of the form is flat so it rests against the wall.) I got it for $13 at a shop that sells store fixtures. On the clothes rod next to the display area, I have a hanging jewelry organizer that has small clear pockets. I have my earrings in there. I use squares of cotton batting to organize my earrings by color. All my reds go on the same square of batting, etc. and each color goes in it's own pocket.
I have a rotating necklace case for my short necklaces and the longer necklaces get hung on hooks next to the display area.
So when I'm getting my outfit set out for the next day, I play stylist and dress up my hanging form and since the jewelry is right there, I add the accessories I want and even set out the shoes on the floor under the form. You could also make just use hangers and have two hooks for the top and skirt and still have the same display effect without the form. Just a little fun way to get yourself organized for the next day!

Sihaya

Veteran

These are so helpful and specific. Thanks Kari for the lovely pictures on the closet post. That opens up a ton of ideas. AJ - love the idea of the form, will look into it if we end up having room. I'm also glad to hear that you and Laura are both happy with Elfa. Taylor - love the idea of having a small stool handy. Thank you all.

Anonymous

A friend who got a closet system says the most valuable thing was a pull out rod at the end of a shelf that she uses to hang the next day's outfit or one she'll change into for evening or for organizing what will be packed for a trip.
I second the idea of a hanging jewelry organizer with clear pockets. Mine hangs on the inside of the closet door. Small pockets hold jewelry and the bigger pockets at the bottom work well for narrow to medium belts rolled. Mine has pockets on both sides, so I put spring/summer on one side and fall/winter on the other as much as possible.

yublocka

(website)

Veteran

Mmm please post pics here!!! I love seeing the different ways in which people organise things. So inspiring! I miss my walk-in closet - let me live vicariously through yours!

Sihaya

Veteran

I will do so Tam. Though it is a few months out. Remodels never seem to go at the pace you'd like them to follow I can't wait of course and it will be so nice to have a full length mirror, shoes, accessories, and clothes all in one place.

Lena

Good luck, Sihaya! Building a walk-in closet sounds both exciting and satisfying.