12 Ways to Get More Out of Your Closet This Year

Christina Giorgi Way to not show examples for the masses, most peoples closets are NOT this big. If my closet were this spacious I would not "cringe" every time I walked in. Sigh

Kirsty Yes, it would be nice to see beautiful closets for the average person. As it is my closet is tiny with an even skinnier door. It's nearly impossible to get stuff out without removing all the other clothes. I would love to see how to improve it with a realistic budget in mind.

scarbowcow Change the title to, '12 ways to use your guest room between guests.'

jenson Excellent ideabook with great advice! No matter the size or budget, IMO, EVERYONE can benefit from many of your tips. (clear out closet, improve lighting, hang mirror, install hooks...)

fondue I loved this quote: "You spend a lot of time in your closet, so make it aesthetically pleasing." A lot of time? Really??! How much time does the average person spend in their closet?

maryn This is a really helpful ideabook. I am planning a new closet and although it will not be as luxurious is those above the reminders like lots of light, mirror, all on view etc, will make it work for me. Get it right from the start!

Lori Johnson I just laughed, why do you need so many dang clothes! So wasteful. Most people living in the US do NOT have a closet they can actually walk into. As a real estate photographer who saw over 4000 closets last year I can tell you this... The best way to get the most usable space out of your closet it to remove it. Literally cut the drywall all the way to the ceiling and all the way out on both sides so you have just a wide alcove. Then have the whole thing built-in with drawers and cabinets. Like a built-in wardrobe or oversized kitchen cabinets. Measure the depth of a hanger. Then measure the depth of your closet. The space from the door to the hanger is all waste. That is why closets in homes have to stagger or the rooms are farther apart. If the closets were all just huge wall units you would actually get more storage AND room space. Take a look at the pictures above... There is way more open air space then actual "storage" space in those closets. :) laugh!

Each bedroom should be built with a full wall unit and built in desk.

framie Some of these closets are bigger than bedrooms! It's ok to feature large scale closets, but balance this article with a few examples of average-sized to small closets also for the rest of us.

momof2cuties The tips are are great and can be flexed to what ever size space you may have. The images.. pure eye candy!! Love it! Thanks for the post

Shawn Gauthier Hi everyone! So glad you've checked out the post. In hindsight, I probably should have included a few shots of smaller closets. However, the idea was to offer ideas that were applicable to any size closet; the images simply offer a visual. Believe me - my own closet is nowhere NEAR these luxury examples, so I know that these are beyond the reality of most. Thanks again for giving it a read!

abbyann Would love to see lots of pictures of closets that have been redone with a desk in them. We want to do that to half of our closet and leave the other half as a guest closet.

Cora Torres_Patek Shawn, you did a great job. I am getting ideas for building my home right now and i am taking a couple of your ideas to my builder. I love the idea of using the space all the way to the ceiling (with a ladder in the second picture) and the idea about hooks everywhere is great as well. I spend a lot of time in my closet every morning getting ready for work, so having the space to step back and take a good look at my wardrobe is important to me.

Shubila Ruth yeah definitely Cora, i like the idea of using space up to the ceiling..also like the idea of putting a ladder in there..

Kimberly Niesz While it would be great to have a walk-in, there just wasn't the room for one in our standard 3 Br ranch. But I think we made the most of our closet area by removing the sliding doors and surrounding wall and installing affordable Ikea closet units.
Here are pictures before, during and after the renovations.

Shawn Gauthier abbyann, check out this great ideabook by Becky:
. Hopefully it will help your endeavor! Thank you for the compliment, Cora! And niesvintage, both the closet and bedroom are huge improvements from the original... I'd die for that much organization in my own closet... well done! :)

mongerrocks Nice post. It's the little details and numerous examples that usually give me something I can work with. My closets are not as big and posh as some of these examples, but thoughtful organization can make any size space feel more harmonious. Thanks for taking the time to make this compilation.

denverglamgal Check out the glamourous and novel wall hooks at Anthropologie and Pier 1 Imports. They are nice enough to go outside of the closet, too!



Marie Newton, Closets Redefined The comment above is why I have all real photos on my website....

June love these little closets. The big ones are nice just to look at but being realistic we need help with everyday items too. Just did my guest bedroom closet like the second one down. Thanks for the pictures.

wendyrut Shawn- As a closet designer, I appreciate your article and tips as many of them can be used for any size closet. In your defense, using larger closets for photos makes sense because the smaller ones are harder to photograph! The larger ones also offer the "wow" factor.
Lori - Although removing the closet and creating a built in can be useful in "some" applications, there are many more benefits to using a custom closet solution...even in a simple reach in. Custom closets are a fraction of the cost compared to the built ins... they can also be adjusted later on to meet the homeowners changing needs, or the needs of the "new" homeowner.

bettyboogie I think it's important to recognize that they are examples of how a certain design element really works, I like the closets here and some of them are bigger than my bedroom, The last one is closest to what I have although still bigger than mine by quite a bit. Still having some eye candy is motivating, even if I'll never have a 300 sf closet. :-) Nice Idea book!

Niesz Vintage Fabric & Design - I really like what you did with the closet and OH how I Love that chair!!!

missyhobeeeb Most of these closets are the size of my bedroom.

AlexisAnne Oh how we all dream of closets like those! But I agree, they are ideas that anyone could use in any space- and I am 100% in favor of loving your closet. My 4 easy steps to a closet you love are....
http://cleansmartsimple.blogspot.com/2012/01/4-steps-to-closet-that-you-love.html

Honey & Fitz We converted a sitting room off our master bedroom into a dressing room and LOVE the result. Yay for elfa!

The Well Coiffed Closet I think these are great tips for any size closet. I use these ideas in my business with clients all of the time and they can be done with any size closet, big or small. The key to space saving is to use matching slim line hangers for your clothes too. You can see more examples on my website. www.wellcoiffedcloset.com

tewy Shawn, thanks for the ideas. We are building a new house and the organisation of closet space is the key rather than the size. I loved the post:-))

Denise Butchko/Butchko and Company One of my favorites is an island on wheels and a three way mirror with storage behind the doors. Great way to maximize space.

msears3 I would like to see some examples of odd shaped closets. As part of a remodel on my house, I ended up with a w/i closet with an angled wall with one corner at 105 degrees and the companion corner on the same wall at 75 degress. Really awkward and tricky to use all of the space. Standard modular pieces from any of the mfrs, even elfa, don't really work. I'm in the process of designing my own closet to have it custom built. I'm considering using slatwall on the odd angle wall, cubbies on one sidewall and triple hang on the other sidewall. Its an extra tall ceiling. Any comments on using slatwall - I'm keen on the idea so I can have a lot of flexibility on hanging my clothes and seeing them displayed. I want to keep that wall shallow and mix in some shallow cubbies up to about 36 inches. Thoughts on slatwall?

mvandesteene Give the author a break, guys. Some people DO have closets that are larger, so it is helpful to have organizing tips for us as well. And most of these closets are NOT as big as you're making them out to be. Yes there are a couple huge ones, but many of them are average walk in closet sizes- 8x8. Your bedroom isn't that small.

That you Shawn! You gave a lot of really helpful information- the lighting, hooks, shelf sizes, and baskets are all great, helpful ideas :)