Closet Reveal
It's time.
One of the things we didn't love about this house was the number of mirrors in the bathroom. We each have a large one above our sink (with mine being directly across from the toilet) and we had double, mirrored sliding doors to the closet (directly beside the toilet).
No one wants/needs a side view of themselves on the toilet.
So we knew we would need a solution someday. I considered maybe wallpapering the door closest to the toilet as a temporary fix until we could think of a more permanent solution but I never got around to it...partly because one day I had an epiphany.
To paraphrase Smee: lightning - just struck my brain.
Since we only ever used one door, why not have a wall put up and a pocket door added - thereby giving us more usable space inside the closet.
My original idea was to try to build the pocket to accommodate one of the mirrored doors...I don't hate full length mirrors, I just didn't like the placement of them. Alas, using the door was not possible.
I wish I had taken a before photo with all of our stuff in it but you will just have to trust me that it was crammed full and just generally not being utilized to it's best capacity. I know on the surface it looks like a great closet, but I always knew it could be so much more.
Now the fun starts...
We had the mirrored doors removed; wall and pocket door added. I didn't take a pic with the door to the closet shut because I haven't painted it yet (actually I am 98% sure I'm going to do a wallpaper of some sort).
I decided to paint the inside of the closet the same color as the bedroom, rather than the bathroom. Mostly because I had a lot of that paint leftover but mostly because I do love a dark, dramatic closet.
Yes I know I said mostly twice.
...they mostly come out at night...mostly.
So I'm about to go into a lot of detail about my closet so if you want to skip ahead and just look at the pictures, I wouldn't blame you. But I also know a lot of you...okay some of you...ok maybe just a few...alright, fine.
ONE of you might be interested in how it is organized. So this is mostly for you.
Entering the closet to the left and straight ahead is Rob's portion. I let him organize it how he wants. I just designed it all.
I should pause a moment here to thank Rob for his assistance in painting and installing the closet. I did design it myself without really seeking his input. Because of this, I also intended to pay for the entire re-do myself...it was my idea, my plan, I just felt like it should be my expense since I didn't give him an opportunity to veto. I also fully expected to do all of the work myself. But he insisted on 50/50. Not only in splitting the cost, but in the work too.
Ok - back to the closet. I was pretty excited about the pull out shoe shelves I got for him. He's recently discovered the joys of DSW and therefore most of the shoes you see pictured were purchased within the last 6 months. As you can see, he has room to grow. The bottom hang space is where he put all his t-shirts...and he has a LOT. I have finally gotten him to see the light and we will be migrating his hangers from a combo of wire and fat plastic to the space saving thin plastic hangers like these. I promise, if you haven't converted yet, they really do make a difference.
Directly above the shoes is his pull out tie rack - he just hasn't put his ties on it yet. Followed by suits and dress shirts. Other assorted shirts above the t-shirts straight ahead when entering the closet.
Also yes, he does need that many suits - in pre-Covid times he actually wore suits to work.
It's hard to get everything in the photo, but of note, there is empty shelf space on the top row of both his suit side and most of this wall.
This center section was designed a little differently as I had intended a couple more shelves here for his baseball cap and flat cap collection. I envisioned them more spread out. He preferred it this way so I removed a couple of shelves so I could fit my jewelry box in the closet...along with my jewelry drawers.
Can we pause just a moment to appreciate the organization here? I have rings and bracelets in the top drawer, assorted necklaces in the second, and my sunglasses collection in the third.
Worth noting is this freed up a drawer in my dresser as that's where most of that stuff was before.
Below the sunglasses are 3 deeper drawers. I am currently using the top one as a catchall until I decide where those things go. Or maybe it will stay that way. The next one is for dry cleaning.
Note to self: take your clothes to the cleaners.
The third drawer is for Rob's dress shirts. Since he does a lot of zoom calls for work, he still wears at least a dress shirt every day (suit and tie when required). By keeping them separated, it makes doing that part of the laundry easier.
OK here's where my crazy comes out.
In my long hang section, I have my pashmina shawls followed obviously by my gorgeous red peignoir. I then have my maxi dresses, short dresses, and sundresses. A few kimonos - including one actually from Japan from Julie - and then my empty hangers.
So yes, I am that neurotic. I hang my clothes according to style. But wait, it gets better (...or is it worse?).
So we are standing in the closet now facing the wall to the right when you walk in.
The bottom section has all of my long sleeve tops sorted by color. Yes, I do sort my clothes by color and it is my understanding not everyone does that. For that matter, it has come to my understanding that not everyone sorts their clothes like I do which is almost as mind-blowing to me as finding out last year that some people don't actually have an inner monologue.
2020 really was a year of horrors wasn't it?
But seriously - how do you know where anything is? Doesn't it just make sense to organize like this?
I also have my one pair of tall boots hanging there because I don't have many long sleeve shirts and there is plenty of room. And I might add my jeans there...I thought they would all fit in my drawer but they are bulkier than I thought. Still figuring that out.
The second half of that section has my purses. At least for now. That's how it was designed but I have so much open shelving in other parts of the closet I might just move my purses and use these shelves for jeans. To be continued...
But Suzanne, none of this sounds crazy. You are just being silly.
Take a look at the top hanging section. From left to right, tank tops (sorted by colors), sleeveless tops (sorted by colors), graphic tees (yep, sorted by colors), workout shirts (still sorted by colors, nicer tees (again, sorted by colors) and not really pictured but trust me on this: nice tops sorted by color.
I don't group the colors in any particular order which I actually find a little odd. But yeah. That's how I hang my clothes. Also, I prefer the velvet or flocked skinny hangers like these. Definitely worth it and my clothes actually stay on the hanger.
When I wear something I always put the empty hangers in a designated spot. In this closet, that's at the end of the long hang. That way when I do laundry I can just grab all my empty hangers and I don't have to go searching for them.
And finally we come to my new shoe wall. Due to lack of space I had previously been forced to downsize but as you can see I have plenty of room to grow.
In case you were wondering, shoes are sorted by style and color as well. Bottom row is for ankle boots and booties, the next shelf is wedges, then heels, then athletic shoes (I have a lot for someone who's idea of exercise tends to be walking from the kitchen to the couch), sneakers (I am obsessed with Roxy's and definitely need more) are next. Then I have slip ons, flats, two shelves of sandals, and my fancier dress shoes.
So that's our closet. I know it is new but I can promise it will stay this way.
Because here's the thing: when everything is organized and has a clear place in which it belongs, it is easy to keep it that way. And the best part of this closet is there is room for both of us to grow. I have plenty of clothing space and definitely shoe space. Rob has room for several more pairs of shoes...his hang space is a little tight but switching hangers really will help (I'll post an after pic when he finishes). I mean, I think I could successfully argue that no one needs that many t-shirts - especially because he tends to wear the same ones over and over again - but I'll pick my battles.
And as long as he can fit everything in his space, he's good.
If you are wondering, the closet is by elfa. I used their online design tool and then spoke with one of their designers via face time to add some other elements - like the drawer inserts and tie rack. Also the website wouldn't let me add the shoe shelves but there is plenty of space.
Elfa usually goes on sale in January and it is currently 30% off. I'd been waiting for this sale since we moved in which is the only reason the closet wasn't done sooner. I like the flexibility of elfa but you can mostly achieve the same results with closetmaid. Closetmaid isn't as easy to install either and I definitely don't think the quality is as good, but it is more affordable. There are also a lot of closet systems you can find on sites like wayfair. I used wayfair for the boys' rooms in the Hutto and Cedar Park houses and the guest room closet in Hutto was closetmaid. But I'll have my master closet be elfa every time.
If anyone ever wants help organizing I'm happy to help. I really love organizing and helping other people get organized. I work pretty cheap too...just buy me food and I'm all yours. ;)
#stilllucky #infinitelybetter #closetredo #beforeandafter #elfa #containerstore #mastercloset #pocketdoor #storage
PS I don't get paid for any of the links or products mentioned, I'm just a fan.