I would go with something else once you move in. Have them put nothing in and then get a custom closet system that suits your needs perfectly. Well worth it

Thanks A S, I can design exactly what I want with Closetmaid, I was just wondering about the quality of the drawers, etc. as compared to others. Do you have experience with this brand?

It would be nice to have this done when we move in, but don't want to make a rash decision.

It’s not custom. It’s sold at any big box store. It’s not comparable to custom at all. They are doing install for you and then likely marking up the cost of a product anyone can easily purchase and install themselves. We had them in our old house. You can’t actually fully customize. There are lots of options but they are still limited

That's good to know A S. Which companies do you recommend?

I’m in Canada and we have used both California Closets which was expensive but good and Stor-X which was affordable and we loved.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm not sure I need custom, but I really hate that wire. I will need a turnkey solution as I'm not handy and my husband is disabled in a wheelchair.

Hmm, it looks like Stor-X is only in Canada.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have something your husband could access? A custom closet could be that. Jose w thought.

Closetmaid is better than wire for sure. So if those are the two choices then yes choose closetmaid

Closetmaid all the way. Waiting til later, usually never comes and the customized systems are NOT cheap.

Thanks Flo. I'm going to meet with the Closetmaid guy next week.

Closetmaid is perfectly acceptable. They have a lot of option that look great. Opt for the shaker style drawers fronts or a paneled drawer front instead of the flat faced. It will look very custom. I think they drawer pulls and knobs are limited but You can completely dress them up to look great with lucite hardware or gold or whatever you choice purchased later.

I agree that Closetmaid is plenty good. It's a closet, not a living space, and -- for the price -- if you want to change it later, it's reasonable to rip it out. Right, it's not custom, but why would you want to pay custom prices for a storage space? Closetmaid will allow you the flexibility to opt for more hanging space or more shelves, depending upon your needs; beyond that, are our clothing needs all that different?

Just price it out and see. We got sticker shock when we did ours (had quotes from California closets and closet factory). We ended up going with closet factory. For our 7x10 closet, it was $4500. BUT. We love it. We were able to get rid of a dresser in our bedroom since we added dressers in the closet, and had so much more space for everything including shoes. We don't regret the cost at all. The nice thing about custom is that they'll design it based on your actual clothes - they actually measure them - but if you can get something for less that will meet your needs, do it.

People pay for custom so they get a closet that meets their needs and hangs their belongings well. We have a small master closet and the custom company was able to account for all our clothing plus storage needs and plan the shelves and drawers and hanging areas to fit what we have. Same with our mudroom and entry closet. Perfect for our needs. Custom is just that. Of course there are always other options that do a good job but they will never replace a job done for the specific person and their belongings.

We were not unhappy with craft maid in the least but did find for our reach in closets their offerings were limited. I’m still happy we went with them at the old house 100%

I'll say that I love my custom closet and find that it was absolutely worth it. I'd also say that the amount of stuff I can fit in it doubled by doing custom. But it all depends on the price. If you're telling me I can get closet system for $500 that will drastically improve my life and storage capability, but my custom closet costs me $4500, I'd probably agree that it's not worth it to do custom. But at some point the cost/benefit becomes worth it. And yes, closet needs are different for everyone. My husband has two parallel rods for all of his work shirts and pants and a few shelves. That would be a ton of wasted rod space for me. I have pull out shelves for sweaters, a tall rod for dresses, and two smaller parallel rods for shirts & pants, and a LOT of space for folded items/shelves for sweatshirts/jeans/purses and a laundry drawer for delicates. I'm also not fashionable at all and still wear stuff I bought 20 years ago, so a lot of women might look at my closet and find it doesn't work for them.

About what kind of price differential should I expect between closet made and custom? Two large closets, Master will be about 7 x 13 and reach in 10 x 2.

Our master closet with shelving, drawers, short and long hanging along two walls was $2500 (9x5 space)

Kids reach ins were $600 each.

That was with stor-x which is a cheaper choice than California Closets. You said it isn’t available where you are but a similar one would be.

See what the closetmaid costs come in at and the options. Worth having more than one quote.

A S, that is less than what I would have expected. Thank you for sharing.

I'm wrong . . . I've found stor x franchises in my area.

We don’t have many of the fancy pull outs another poster mentioned. Our big issue was the shape of our master and needing good bang for buck so custom it was. Stor-x also did our mudroom and laundry and really knocked it out of the park.

If your spaces are fairly standard and needs more generic then closetmaid will be cheaper and easier. It’s all about what you need really.