Our brownstone is spot on with the usual measurements of 19’x 40’. In our duplex we have a living/kitchen/dining floor and then a bedroom floor. We chose to build 3 good size bedrooms rather than have one that is only big enough for a desk or a single bed. The compromise we made is that we don’t have a walk-in closet in the master. Anyone familiar with NYC/Brooklyn real-estate might be able to back us up when we say closets are a very touchy subject and sometime you just don’t have any closet.
We built 2 reach-in closets side by side. They are shallow closets, just the minimum for hanging clothes, so they leave lots of space for bedrooms. This made closet organization very important. We really had to maximize the space that we had or we would never had fit everything. We found out that adding the right organization could basically make our two reach-in closets feel like a walk-in with over 12 feet of hanging space and room for shelves! We also have other closets that would serve as overflow for clothes as well as other storage.
We are both people who need to feel organized to keep out heads clear, but we both have different philosophies on organizing a closet when it comes to hanging vs shelves for folding. We needed a little of each but it was also going to make a difference for us when it comes to how happy and organized we would feel about our closets. We looked at a few different closet systems that do some version of all of the above, but decided that California Closets was the right choice for us. One of the things we really liked is that they send out a professional closet organizer (Debbie!) for a consultation! We needed it!
Here’s some tips to getting it right!
1. Purge – Use this an opportunity to get rid of anything you don’t want junking up your new organized closet. If we didn’t wear something in over a year we put it in the donation pile.
2. Plan it out – Think about how much hanging space you need, how much shelf space, do you want drawers, do you need show storage, are you a hat person like Jordan…etc. Debbie was amazing at helping us think about everything that we needed.
3. Visualize it – After Debbie took the measurements of our closets she popped them into a computer program so that we can visualize the space in 3D and pop in/out different features.
4. Lose the wire – If you send your laundry out for dry cleaning or laundering you probably get it back on wire hangers. Those found themselves permanently in my closet. Wooden hangers are relatively inexpensive and go a long way in making you feel good about your closet space.
5. Keep it neat – Give yourself a fighting chance by thinking ahead to how you can keep your closet organized for the long term. Will you keep your folded sweaters neat on shelves or do you need drawers? Do you have enough hanging space so that you aren’t jamming clothes in?
We are feeling organized and happy about your new closets! We feel like we turned our small reach-in closets into a huge walk-in with the amount of space and organization we have. Do you have any great closet organizations tips? Comment below!
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