I know you're trying to avoid a wardrobe in your beautiful cottage, but I think some sort of Ikea setup would work well for now.

Rowhouse · More Info

Walnut IKEA Closet · More Info

So sorry to hear about your sister, and unexpected living situation. We have a summer house that I live in all summer with my two daughters and they share a very small bedroom with almost no closet space. I have those white IKEA cube shelves (is that what you have?) with square bins made to fit perfectly inside, and I use them for the things that can be easily "jumbled" like underwear, socks, shoes and bathing suits. The cubes are too big for stacks of clothing (for my girls to manage, anyway) so I have hanging sweater bags, which I bought at Container Store or Bed Bath and Beyond - you can google to see what I mean. These hanging bags have reduced vertical dimensions so I can fold and organize their clothes in a more attractive way. Their room is too small to accommodate a closet door so I had to find a way to manage the clutter. Good luck!

I think you may have to cut to the chase and do something built in, like this. I might even go to the ceiling and pop the vent out through it.

It's actually more minimal to hide everything rather than hanging it exposed:

I agree with palimpsest and errant gw. I think it would be worth doing an ikea PAX system. BTW, I like your lights by the bed. Errant gw, that ikea walnut closet is beautiful. I think that would work in my current master bedroom.

Have you looked into under bed storage? Maybe like a captain's bed with drawers built in? Very practical but takes up no more visual space.

Sochi, I am so sorry to hear of your sister's illness. I'll lift her in my prayers.

I like the idea of the walnut IKEA closet.

So sorry to hear about your sister. I have to agree with pal, one storage system with your stuff behind doors will fit in much better then 8 baskets and things hanging from your branch.

ML

Thanks for the kind wishes about my sister.

Agree that everything will be better out of sight, Pal's rendering is great, good idea about pulling the vent further out. Not convinced it will give us much more storage and I don't like having that short wall to the right as you enter the room. But this is likely the only good option.

I will try uniform baskets for now. I like the branch idea, but the better application for that would be for hanging a few pretty things, not daily outfits.

Annie, we did look for a storage bed, but didn't find the perfect one. I can still have baskets under the bed however.

Marina, great suggestions, thank you.

That walnut closet system is gorgeous. Not sure about using walnut in that room.

Thanks everyone.

I think the branch is not functional for a year, or really for any kind of serious clothing storage. It is display, and clothing on display is very visually distracting. If you are going to use it almost as an art installation I would move it away from the bins and use nicer supports than the closet maid ones.

I second Pal and Errant. The advantage of Ikea systems is that they are modular and easy to fit into a space. Unlike conventional built-in closets they're easy to remove or re-arrange as your needs change. The key to keep the storage minimalist-looking is to set it up along a single wall, so it looks like a wall of cabinets with plain doors. Pieces that are dispersed around the room make it look more cluttered.

I think the branch would be a very cool idea for hanging your coats in the entryway. Like a link between the woodsy outdoors and modernist interiors without going "rustic cabin" all the way. But if I wanted to have one in a bedroom, I'd probably go for a shorter branch (like a towel bar size) to hang my pretty silk scarves and/or cashmere pashmina on it.

I am terribly sorry to hear about your sister. That must be so difficult.

I agree an inexpensive built suck as Pal's suggestion would be fab.

Sochi, I am so sorry to hear your sister is ill!

I do love seeing more pics of your amazing cottage. I just love it.

Your cottage is marvelous! I love the subtle connection between the house and nature through the materials used. It's awesome how the minimalist design emphasizes the beauty of the outdoors. Unfortunately, many "rustic" cabins utterly fail at this.

Hope your sister will get the best care available and improves soon.

Sochi, I hope your sister recovers soon! I love your cabin. It's good to see pics of it. Your architect did a marvelous job!

Sorry to hear about your sister, hope things go well for her! You could also consider putting in a wall system and installing the sliding panels from IKEA in front of it instead of a series of doors (they are like a curtain, but made of sliding panels). I love your cabin, but I'm sorry to hear you are leaving your gorgeous walnut kitchen behind for a bit, I know I'd miss it if it were mine!

Sorry to hear about your sister. This must be very stressful for you all. Thanks for posting more photos of your beautiful home.

If you have the depth in your room, you could also hide the closet behind the bed as a room divider. Not sure if this is an option for you but would help keep the main bedroom clear albeit tiny.

I love your branch btw. If you were really wedded to the branch maybe you could do floor to ceiling track curtains around the closet area.

Finally, an offbeat idea that likely doesn't make sense for you but could possibly give you more storage - could the adults take over the entire basement with kids in the 2 bedrooms upstairs?

Sochi, (((hugs))) to your family during your sister's illness. Hoping for the best outcome. How nice of you to offer your home! I have to tell you that we installed a Pax closet system in our Florida condo and fit our entire wardrobe in the double hanging system and drawers. It is very unobtrusive yet spacious inside.

Thanks Robo, Voila, rockybird, Lana and williamsem. Robo, hiding the closet behind a divider would be a fab choice. The room is probably too small. Track curtains could work too, good thought.

We we could move downstairs, there is more storage. I've also suggested to DH that the small guest room on the main floor has the potential to be a super walk in closet. Problem is we have guests! Need to build a bunkie or pull out the house enough to enlarge the master. Both options considerably more expensive than Pal's built in closet. ;)

Can you add tall bookcases on either side of the bed which can be used for storage? Baskets for easy access for sweaters and t shirts and things. You can attach the light fixtures to the bookcases.