Closet redesign

11 years ago

We are planning to remodel our master bedroom soon. One of the issues to tackle is the walk-through closet area. Currently you walk through the closet to get to the bathroom. There is a door on the bathroom (robes hanging on it in photos) that partly covers one closet when open, which is most of the time. The doorway is very narrow, about 23 inches. There is no door between the bedroom and closet. There is no framing - it's a ceiling-height entry. There is one small light fixture in the "hall," and that's all for lighting. We are thinking of tearing out the framing around both closets and putting in floor-to-ceiling shelving/rod units to make it more like a walk-in. Comments on that thought are welcome. First dilemma: doors. Keep the bathroom one? Add one between bedroom and closet? One or both? The contractor that did the bathroom over a year ago said pocket doors are possible. If the bathroom door is changed to a pocket, you can see in the photo looking out from the bathroom that there is a light switch on the left by the linen closet. He said there are low-profile switches and the wire would then run up the wall instead of inside due to the pocket. Even if the wire "blends in" with slim conduit, I'm not a fan of conduit, but you sometimes do what you have to. Second dilemma: lighting. We have LED recessed lights in the bathroom and another hallway that we like but are open to ideas.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

suzanne_m
11 years ago
Maybe you can replace the light switch by a motion sensor?
emilyam819
11 years ago
I have a similar set-up to yours, but I have doors on the closets. Can you put sliding or bi- fold closet doors? I also have a pocket door to the bathroom which I despise and can't wait to get rid of when we remodel the bath. It's annoying to open and close, and the wall that houses it is so flimsy. I'll change it so it's a regular door that swings into the bathroom. If you do the same, you'll keep your spot for robes and create easier access to the closet.
Related Professionals
Terre Haute Interior Designers & Decorators · Cape Girardeau Interior Designers & Decorators · Utica Interior Designers & Decorators · Glenwood Springs Interior Designers & Decorators · Sterling Interior Designers & Decorators · Killeen Architects & Building Designers · Westerly Architects & Building Designers · Sioux Falls Architects & Building Designers · Oxnard Architects & Building Designers · Yuba City Architects & Building Designers · Martinsburg Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Youngstown Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Wheeling Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Liberal Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · La Grande Kitchen & Bathroom Designers
suzanne_m
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I think I would put a door between the bedroom and the walk-in and remove the bathroom door. Because of the proximity of the tub to the closet, I would make sure you have a good ventilation.
Martha Cobo de Naranjo
11 years ago
Que son hermosos
suzanne_m
11 years ago
Another option but I don't know if it is legal. It is to put the light switch on the outside of the bathroom place right inside the wall where the tub is and have a pocket door sliding inside the wall where the linen closet is.
drbarb03
Original Author
11 years ago
@suzanne_m, I'd have to talk to the contractor, but moving the switch to the other side might be an option. At any rate, I'd probably be better with conduit in a closet than in the bathroom if wiring couldn't go in the wall. The limitations for moving the switch to the other side include (a) the plumbing in that wall, and (b) that area is an addition and they vaulted the adjacent livingroom ceiling, so we discovered when we did the bathroom that we can't access the attic space above the bathroom. Anything that would need to be done in the ceiling could be more labor than it's worth. He also mentioned the motion sensor option. I'm reluctant because we have them at work and I hate them. They don't turn on when you need them to and then go off when you're not ready. But I appreciate the idea.
drbarb03
Original Author
11 years ago
@suzanne_m, the door into the closet and removing the one on the bathroom is kind of what I'm leaning towards (not sure about DH). For ventilation, we do have a fan by the shower and a window in the bathroom. I wanted a better fan but due to the problems in my previous comment, we're rather stuck with the one we have unless we want to pay a lot of $$$ due to the unusual amount of labor involved to change it out. However if there are no guests and it's just us, we tend to leave the door open anyhow, so it might not be as big of an issue. I don't know. One more question for the contractor!

@emilyam819, we've decided we don't want doors on the closets. It limits a lot more what can be done with the space, and DH is unlikely to ever close them even if they are there. I would not want the door to swing into the bathroom due to how narrow things are in there. If we kept the swinging door, we'd keep it as it is now, swinging into the closet. Definitely I will ask about the construction of the slider and if we go that route, make sure it's a high-quality one. We have a sliding door between our office and laundry room and it works very well. I don't know much about them but imagine, like anything, there are variations in the quality, so it's good to know that's something we need to be careful about. Thanks for the advice!
suzanne_m
11 years ago
If you go with the option of placing the switch outside the bathroom and on the left of the door, you could keep a little bit of wall at the end of the closet to have your light switch mounted on that tiny wall.