Closet Case; Making the most of closet storage

closet organization

We recently re-designed a bedroom closet. At first glance it appeared too small for the needs of the client, but further investigation revealed it was simply poorly laid out. Our solution was to make every inch count by following our mantra for good closet design: you should be able to reach for the clothes you use 80 percent of the time without moving anything else out of the way, and you should be able to access the top shelf.

It’s a fact that we use only about 20 percent of our clothes during any given season. If you are a diligent season changer and you use an attic or other storage for your off-season clothing, you have no problem at all. But for the rest of us, who are either too lazy or do not have the space for a double closet system, our bedroom closet is it. So we have to be creative and diligent with our use of space.

One of the myths we constantly battle is the appeal of the long rack for hanging. It may sound better to have 180 inches of closet space for hanging than three areas of 60 inches each, but in the end it is still the same amount of space. According to the Association of Closet and Storage Professionals, the traditional 6-by-8 foot walk-in closet has an average of 20 linear feet of hanging space. A well-designed closet can double that while also making room for valuable features such as small cubbies for shoes and bags that can be tucked into tight corners.

So what makes for great closet storage?

closet storageIdeally you want to be able to reach every part of your closet without having to push past a section of hanging clothes. Have a section of shelves – not too deep – for folded clothes at arms’ reach, be it sweaters, shirts or jeans. Place those shelves in the center of the closet for maximum accessibility.

For the reach-in closet which is the subject of this e-zine, we removed the doors completely and maximized the opening to a height that was only 4 inches from the ceiling. We also gained more usable space on the side walls by expanding the storage area to just 4 inches from the adjacent walls, leaving enough room for casings. The original closet had double doors that were the standard 80 inches high and 36 inches wide, which apart from making the top shelf unusable also made for a tight and difficult lay-out for the rest of the room. Sliding doors were not an option because the client wanted to see everything in one swoop of the eye. Our solution was to have an eye-catching curtain on a control loop instead. Then we built a center drawer unit to replace the dresser in the room – the closet was more than 26 inches deep so a standard 24-inch drawer section fit fine. Above the drawer we created a shelf unit 12 inches deep and set back, so the top of the deep dresser drawer unit serves as a knick-knack shelf. In essence, we took the traditional tall-boy configuration and re-created it inside the closet. On either side we used double hanging rods, and the top shelf, which sits 12 inches from the ceiling, can easily be reached and used for cubbies and bins.

This project actually increased the usable area of two spaces: the re-designed closet can now hold more than the original one and the bedroom it is attached to seems bigger and offers more furniture placement options since we removed two doors and a dresser.

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