cramped closet turned walk-in!

Submitted by mamma_joy on Wed, 10/27/2010 - 20:12
I just took some time to do something for ME! I have a deep and angled closet that has been a headache to find/store/retrieve and I thought I just had to live with it. BUT NO–with the skills I've learned from Ana, I knew I could come up with something more functional and would make me smile when I opened the door–my new walk-in closet! (P.S. I know I have too many clothes, I'm working on that, too, but I've changed sizes so many times with having three kids that I don't know what fits anymore until I try it on and I wanted to build, not try on clothes!)

Here is a before picture. You'll notice the two bars–one behind the other. How do you get to that bar? I guess I'll answer that, you don't. I never wore anything from that bar b/c I couldn't get to it. Granted, sometimes I switched seasonal clothing from bar to bar but I even gave up on that a few years ago b/c it was too much work. I also have a hanging bar below the front bar to hold my pants…though it was often too dark to see which was which until I crawled out and had the wrong color and realized I had to go back digging again–fwmmp! And all those blue tubs? My son's clothes (borrowed from my sister) waiting for him to grow into them, but in order to add or subtract anything from the tubs, I'd have to drag them all out from under the racks, usually knocking several pieces off of the rods. What a pain!

    

Deep breath…now for the new closet! I switched the layout so that the hanging racks go toward the back. This limited my hanging space a little, but the accessibility is worth it! I added a shelf along the top (the center is out of plexiglass to hold some hangers but not block the light to the clothes below). For now the tubs are all stacked on the more narrow right side, but I plan to build a variation of the parson's shelf to hold the rest of my folded clothes so my hubby can have some more space in his closet (hopefully my son will have his own closet next year when we add on so I'll have the WHOLE closet :). I've already added a shelf (and filled it) in the back (all from leftover shelves–yeah!)  The plan is to paint the whole closet white (and cover the water stains from when the chimney had a leak) but alas, we had to go to sleep so the clothes had to get off the bed!  Maybe I will paint it when I install the shelves!

      
 
All in all, a great transformation and so worth the crumbling plaster in my hair! Thank you Ana for the confidence and inspiration to give my closet a makeover!!!
P.S.  This is my no. 1 fan–he enjoyed exploring…and trying to pull the clothes off those hangers!

tnslb

Thu, 10/28/2010 - 03:01

Wow!  It's like a whole new closet, seriously!  I love it, well done!  (and well done on the fan!  he's a cute one!)

mairanellis

Thu, 10/28/2010 - 03:12

What a huge transformation!  You did a great job.  I just have to say I love those hardwood floors as well.

maman

Thu, 10/28/2010 - 04:01

Wow!  You make me want to do something about my useless coat closet!  This looks fantastic.

hammertime

Fri, 10/29/2010 - 09:36

Nicely done!  I used to have a closet just like that (like the before pic) and it never occurred to me to switch the direction of the rods.  Very clever.  Nice job!

mamma_joy

Sat, 11/13/2010 - 21:54

Yipee!  I have finally finished!  I ended up building the Parson's shelves (a little wider and taller and a separate smaller shelf on top to work with the angle) on the right side.  They are so sturdy and perfect for stacking sweaters and sweatshirts.  (The almost 90 pocket holes were a little much, but did I mention sturdy?)  My clothes have never been this organized (though my sister would probably gasp that I didn't put all the like colors together and in rainbow order :P )  Originally I left the spot in the far back to fit a large suitcase, but I decided to give it back to my MIL and make a hanging rack and shelf there instead.  Can I say I love the brackets that let the hangers slide past them on the lower left?  So clever!  And the little white drawers on the top are from Menards and are holding socks and my son's towels/blankets/burp cloths (it will be nice when we add on next year and he can have his own room for his goodies!).  It was quite a project with all the planning and measuring but so worth the outcome!