For a customized closet to be used for two years (college at 18), move the clothes rod to the convenient lower height, then add a shelf above the rod. Buy a step stool to keep inside the closet. The budget would be for one shelf and one step stool, plus labor.

To find the custom height, have her stand in front of the closet and put her hand out with a hanger. That's the right height.

2-Step Utility Stool · More Info

I would rip it out go to Ikea and get the Pax system for that space so much better storage and decently priced . Ikea will even help you with which pieces . 16 yr old girls need a ton of storage. If that does not work for you Jan had some great ideas.

If she has a good dresser with drawers, I would not add more drawers in the hanging-clothes closet. A shelf/two/three for shoes is a good idea as long as the opening height is not too tall:
the shelves should be spaced for flat shoes, heels, and boots (if any)…without wasted space above. Adjustable shelving (with small metal brackets) for shoes and purses should work No drapes: actual doors keep dust out better and make accessing shoes easier. Use bi-fold doors or hinged doors.

What Jan said. Demo the existing cabinets and frame out a reach-in closet. If you have a Container Store near you, they have great closet systems and they will design it for you when you bring them your measurements. They also have an installation service, which I highly recommend vs. doing it yourself. I have them in all of the closets in my home and they are really great. They usually have two big sales per year: one usually give you 25% off the cost of the system pieces, and the other gives you free installation with purchase. If you can hit one of those promos, it's a big savings.

This is amazing. In all of my years of reading these questuons and following houzz, I have never asked a thing. All of your answers are helpful...SO helpful. I will def send it the update so you all can see "our" results. Ikea is out of almost everything in CA but do have the shorter bifolds, so for now I guess I leave those 1950's upper cabinets and lower drawers. That has been my stuck point.

Get pull down closet rods - they are the greatest thing! This way you can use all the way up in the closet and do hanging clothes across the top and all drawers and shoe storage n the bottom.

Goo luck!

A drawing because Houzz wouldn’t let me access my photos of my closet in my old house. The key to maximum flexibility here is using a rod that can be removed and not centering the shelving unit. The shelving unit was about 15” wide, I think. I like to use plywood sides so that I can move the shelves up or down if wanted. I have very little tall hanging so had about 20” of long hanging (removed bottom rod but left the brackets in place). Then had the double rod for short stuff. I installed them at the same height for both because that left me space at the bottom of the tall hanging for a dirty laundry basket. You could install extra brackets at a lower height for the tall hanging stuff for your shorter daughter. I would remove the drawers on the bottom in your closet because it looks like they would interfere with being able to reach into the closet easily. And they certainly increase the height of the rods. If you remove the drawers what would the flooring situation be?

Found the photo of a closet I did years ago with the pull down rod!

How handy or how ambitious are you? My version would be similar to the drawing from above but I would leave the bottom drawers in position just for avoiding flooring/trim issues.

I would use a plywood divider and shelves on one side instead of splitting the hanging space as it looks easier to me. I would take take the plywood divider and mark holes for adjustable shelf pegs (use a piece of pegboard for quick marking). Then push the divider against the right wall and drill through the plywood into the closet side. Now you have matching holes. You could also do three lines of holes so you could do shallow or deep shelves. You can buy solid shelves or white wire shelving and cut to size.

I am 5’ exactly, so use of the upper space is important. I have a small step stool that slides into the closet which makes it much easier to reach the top shelf, which holds seasonal and seldom used items. I als wear dresses frequently so have a section with a rod with space for dresses. My dirty clothes hamper fits neatly beneath them. I keep tall boots in their original boxes either stacked on the closet floor or slid under the bed. Big purses on the top shelf.

wow. I'm obviously not the only one who loves figuring out and doing this stuff. Today will be my first actually day ever using a circular saw (my pax is too tall) (ha...youtube phd has prepared me). ShadyWillow...do you have a drawing or a photo of yours. I love what you are saying because you have actually adapted details to your height. Lyndee, the floor is good beneath...would you still leave the drawers? And you are saying to plywood instead of Pax? photos? These seems I canonly get it if I have visual aids! Debbie, wow...I did not know such a thing existed....This is perfect for dresses and wintery stuff ( say hopefully from a 90 degree day in March in LA) Thank you all so much for this. I am blown away-*

Also Debbie...would you take the bottom drawers out as others are suggesting?

I take it back....wood floor does NOT extend under those drawers....now that is going to bother me.

She's 16! Honestly, I'd lower/ mount a rod, add a shelf above with baskets ,hang grommet curtain panels she likes. and call it a day. I see a big " no art, no decor wall" . in her room .. Having been in hundreds of teen spaces? Very UN usual for a 16 year old. She may not be as invested in the project as you are ??.. Show the entire room, from a couple angles.

You're not in there with her daily- try not to let a little imperfection drive you nuts. Unless you are truly in NEED of a project.

Tearing it out to frame a closet means flooring fix, or deep enough to disguise with some carpet remnant. ......what's the foam thing on the floor? A yoga mat or a dog bed? Just curious.....

she just recently took everything down and is working on the new design. Granted, the walls art and photos were mostly (not all) picked by me. Also, she is truly a minimalist. I don't get it either but she took away the rug and loves the bare floors. And she has been enjoying the walls with not much on them. Its her form rebellion perhaps.oh yeah, dog bed which looks pretty bad in the photo but get attended to often....its her dog so they must share, And you are correct...this is not the project to get all perfectionist about. I'm going to finish hopefully this weekend...but with doors.

What type of doors are you using and how will they be attached? The doors are going to be a challenge, so I might start with them if you are trying to get this finished quickly. Or, concentrate on the interior function and consider using a curtain instead of solid doors.

I don't understand exactly what you will be cutting but I will say that learning to use a new tool is a challenge. For me, keeping the saw going straight and level isn't as easy as it looks. I have to use a clamp or fence to guide the saw and still sometimes manage to wander away from the fence or tilt the saw.

I don't know if you can leave the drawers behind. You can't really tell from the pictures. Obviously you are going to find out as you pull things apart. Personally - I would gut it all . You can put a remnant piece of carpet on the floor or a really nice self stick tile or some luxury vinyl tile.

I would not cut or do anything until you have a specific , drawn out plan. Measure 3 times and cut once! You can get vertical pieces of melamine with holes in it so you can get shelves and pins and set them anywhere you want. It will really let you customize the space without going overboard.

Just don't rush it! Have a plan

well, Jan said something about my daughter's personality just from seeing her room....boy, you were right on. I shoulda coulda just lowered the bar and hung a curtain. But, the problem was/is I am so into doing this (another asute observation). I pulled out the bottom drawers for all of the obvious reasons. I was able to keep the top of that section for the floor of the closet..a perfect fit. Boy, they really like loooonnnngggg nails back ijn the 50's. It took me all day to destruct and then upcycle the floor (is that the proper use of upcycle?). Daughter freaked out....I mean like I've never seen before. Today, she's on board and can't wait for it. I think she needed to get really mad at me...mainly for not asking her permission. She is right of course however, she never wanted to talk about it,. Anyway, I appreciate the ongoing support and you will soon see the result...I call it Pax Patched...I'm putting cork on the floor and painting the back wall. I have a gorgeous plan for the doors. I love doing this sort of thing way too much. I have plenty of real work to catch up on too so TTFN. mj

Lesson learned. Don't make a problem where NO problem exists. Finish it and move on!

Side note? You don't do this business for decades and not know........that people reveal (almost) everything about themselves, with one look at a house. So yes, the blank wall suggested quite a bit, relative to a 16 year old : ) Finish it and leave her alone until she asks for more than that.