Closet Design Ideas

Cluttered closets can really start to weigh on you. With all the options available today, there is bound to be a closet design that will work for you. Whether you have a walk-in or a reach-in closet, you can use your imagination to create the closet of your dreams. Custom closets are all the rage. With a little creativity, you can create your own custom closet design that meets your needs.

Walk-in closets are really the easiest to tackle. You have the space that you need to utilize drawers, shelves, bars and racks. Take advantage of the space that you have by designing a usable closet that accommodates your specific needs.

Start with your most basic need. Would you like your dress clothes, work wardrobe, and casual clothes separated? Or would you rather have a his and hers set-up? You can actually combine these options and organize each side of the closet separately. You can use the back wall of a walk-in closet for shoes, shelves, cabinets, laundry or basic storage.

A reach-in closet is more challenging, but can actually offer as much space as a walk-in closet. You’ll need to utilize the vertical space and the depth that you have available. Too many reach-in closets have shelves and bars positioned in the center of the closet. If you move them back, you can reveal a lot of space towards the front of the closet. Many people choose to install shelving or side bars in these areas. You can give yourself a lot of storage space in an area that you didn’t even consider a possibility before.

Vertical space is also often ignored. Moving the top shelf up higher will allow you to add extra shelves or even extra bars underneath. You can divide bars of clothes with a shelf containing shallow drawers. They only take up inches of space, but give you tons of storage for smaller items like jewelry, socks, underwear, stockings, ties and belts.

Whichever type of closet you have, you can always add hooks, bins and baskets to help keep things organized. If you’re still low on space, consider clothes hangers that have special purposes. Skirt hangers, cascading hangers, and scarf hangers can save you tons of room. You can further upgrade your closet by selecting a nice wood hanger that comes in a lot of different styles to accommodate your wardrobe. A sturdy coat hanger can be used for suits, coats, robes, or any other heavy items that need to be hung. You’ll be surprised how much space you can make by simply rearranging shelves and updating your hangers!

About the Author: Joe Granville is on the staff of Only Hangers, a leading online resource for wood hangers, coat hangers and all types of clothes hangers which is recognized for the excellent quality and value of its wood hanger and coat hanger offerings. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyhangers.com.

Design a Coat Closet that Works

A coat closet can become a storage space or your organizational paradise. You may not feel like you have much to work with, because most coat closets are very small. But, you can use these tips to make the most use out of absolutely every inch of that coat closet and get your house in order.

The coat closet is really used for more than just coats. Most families need to store backpacks, their laptops, sports equipment and more in this tiny space, just to keep it from piling up in the living room. The more people you have in the house, the more important it is to organize this space. You can create an easy-to-use system that works for your family.

Everyone has individual needs and habits. The goal here is to work with those habits so that using an organization system in your coat closet comes easy. If someone in your house comes in and kicks off their shoes by the front door every day, then put a bench or cedar box that closes there. The shoes will have a place to go, no more than a couple of feet away from where this person is going to take them off, anyway.

This is the idea that you want to have in your head when you start debating how to organize this little closet. If no one takes off their shoes there, then make another place for shoes by the door. That just frees up more space in the coat closet. You can put bins, boxes, baskets or shelves down there for each family member. They can put their laptop, book bag, sports bag, or other belongings on their own shelf.

It is also a good idea to put hooks, if possible, on the inside walls of the closet. Here you can hang tote bags, purses, scarves and more. If you have about six inches of horizontal space on a wall, you can hang a small basket for each family member down the wall. Hang each one at a descending height congruent with their age, or whatever determining factor you come up with. You can label each basket with their names. They can throw their keys, wallets, phones and change in their own basket, reducing house clutter and time spent searching for things when it’s time to leave the house.

Another great way to organize the closet is to utilize the door space. There are a lot of over-the-door organizers that are perfect for holding things like gloves, hats and scarves in the winter. You may look at pantry door organizers to find one that would most benefit your family. For example, let’s say you get a pantry organizer that has different sized movable baskets. You can have deep baskets for hats, medium ones for scarves, and shallow ones for gloves. You can hang multiple baskets for each family member so that no one has to dig when looking for their other mitten.

Store coats that you don’t use a lot in other closets. Try to keep the coat closet reserved for your everyday items. Use sturdy hangers to hang coats so that they do not break and result in your coats on the floor. Many clothes hangers work great, but a wood hanger or specially designed coat hanger works best.

About the Author: Joe Granville is on the staff of Only Hangers, a leading online resource for wood hangers, coat hangers and all types of clothes hangers which is recognized for the excellent quality and value of its wood hanger and coat hanger offerings. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyhangers.com.

Creative Closet Ideas: DIY

Designing your dream closet can be a lot of fun. You can create space, storage, organization and make it beautiful at the same time. Turning your boring, cluttered closet into a space that you’re proud of can be easier and cheaper than you may have expected.

Start with a little prep work. Remove everything from the closet. A lot of homes have closets with white insides. Chances are your closet interior has dust, scuffs from shoes hitting the wall, and maybe even some cobwebs. Clean the baseboards and any shelves that you plan on saving. Paint the inside with either the same color of the surrounding room or with a contrasting, or accent, color. Some people prefer the inside of the closet to be lighter than the surrounding area to not only draw the eye, but also to create light in an enclosed space.

The biggest problem in most closets is the misuse of available space. If there is a full foot or more of space between your hanging clothes and your shoes, then that is a lot of actual square footage. Imagine what you would do with your closet if you took out the bar and raised the top shelf? You probably do not stack that top shelf to the ceiling. So, if it is only used for storing things like blankets and suitcases, then you can move it up higher and make more space for your everyday use.

Draw some designs that fit your closet and your needs. First, give clothing and shoes to charity if they are the wrong size, just never looked right or that are out of date. Separate winter and summer wardrobes and store out of season clothes in a large container with a lid to keep out dust. Now decide how much space you will need. Shelves are great for folded t-shirts, shorts and pajamas. You can more than double the space in your closet by exchanging that eight foot bar for two four foot ones and adding deep shelves to the empty side of the closet.

Adding a hutch or drawer system to the closet is really popular right now. This will cost a little more money, but can eliminate the need for bulky, dust gathering bedroom furniture. Remember that deep drawers tend to bury clothes and they generally get unfolded when they are rummaged through daily. Try to keep drawers shallow. Use them for things like socks, underwear, ties and belts. Folded t-shirts and jeans on shelves are easy to sort through without unfolding the stack. You can also buy wire baskets that hang from the shelf to store smaller items without investing in drawers.

White or stained shelves will ensure a stark contrast with your wall paint and make your closet look clean and neat. Top it all off with wood hangers, nice baskets for storage and decorative hooks. You will not only love the way that your closet looks, but enjoy the organization and ease of use that you have created to fit your specific needs and tastes.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Manager of Only Hangers, a leading online resource for wood hangers, coat hangers and all types of clothes hangers which is recognized for the excellent quality and value of its wood hanger and coat hanger offerings. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyhangers.com .