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Closet Designs

lindybarts
16 years ago

I thought I was winding down on all the decisions when my builder hits me up with "How do you want your closets layed out?" Cue Cricket sounds and a blank stare from me.

Anyone have any words of wisdom on a layout they did and really like? Do you like more hanging space or more shelf space? Any other fun ideas?

I did stumble upon a really cool website that lets you custom design a closet for FREE. You put in your closet dimensions and it lets you choose what kind of unit goes on each wall. Website linked below.

Anyone brave enough to share photos of their closets?

Here is a link that might be useful: Easy Closets

Comments (8)

  • niff
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I built these for our walk-in.

    http://www.pbase.com/98niff/mbr_closet

    Here is a link that might be useful: MBR Closet

  • luckymom23
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Niff, Looks great!

    Lindybarts,
    I would start with some 1/4" graph paper and your measurements. Keep in mind the type of doors on your closets and what you want to see when you open your door...or just leave your door open. Also the things that you need to access most. From there the amount of space and how you like to store things will determine the layout.

    Things to think about for women: 3 -4 heights of hanging. Long - 60" (Long Dresses, Full Length Coats, One piece items like ski suits), Mid 42-48" (Pants & Capris if you hang them long, long skirts etc.), 'Standard' 36" (for most tops & Jackets) and if you have alot of shorter skirts, shorter length tops and shorts you might want a 24-30" hanging area.

    The more space you have the more you can 'divide and organize' it. Actually look at your current closet and measure how much of each you need and plan a little extra if you have the space.
    For shelves if you can't do adjustable so that you can figure it out when you move in then measure how many lineal feet you will need for various things. Actually measure how wide your shoes are so that you can get 'pairs' of them on the shelf, there is nothing worse than being able to get 2 1/2 pairs on or wasting that extra space! 12" deep works fine for shoes and most folded clothes, if you have any large items you want to keep on shelves you might want to do some 15" deep with 12" deep on the upper portion. Unless you have a specific need for a certain width 24" to a max of 36" works best for shelves. Generally speaking it works better to have shelves above hanging as the clothes project out about 22" and will block your view of anything under them.

    Depending on the size of your closet keep in mind that if space is tight it works better to have shelving across from hanging in a closet with and open 'aisle' in the middle so you don't feel as hemmed in by the clothes. Another idea is to start the longest hang towards the back and work forward with progressively shorter hanging and more shelves. If you have a really spacious closet think about an 'off season' area.

    For men, if he is taller than average then 42" is better for standard double hang if you have the height. My husband has a row of hooks to put clothes on that he will wear again. He won't hang them back up so this saves me having them laying all over the bedroom.

    If you want to add any drawer units now or later they have a depth of 22"-24" so plan for that in your design.

    For adults a fixed system is usually fine, you figure it out and it works forever. For kids adjustable is great because their clothes are small allowing for more toy storage and then as they get older less toys and shelves and longer hanging sections. I like a deeper shelf section on the bottom of the kids' closest for bins of toys or a laundry basket as a hamper.

    For the rest of the house think about your coat closet and perhaps dividing it in half if there is space -half for long coats and half with shorter jackets on the bottom and shelves above. For linens you might even want a hanging rod if you like to hang your tablecloths. I would prefer having some 'vertically divided' space in a linen closet to keep certain things in their place and not falling onto other items.
    I hope all this makes sense and that something helps!

  • home_nw
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We like the white wire-type hanging racks in our closets, since our drawer space is in our bedroom furniture. We've used the same layout in two houses now and have found it works great for us.

    Master Walk-In Closet (shaped like two "U's" back-to-back)
    - DH's side: Shelves at 42", 84", and 96". The bottom two shelves have "SuperSlide" rods for hanging; the top shelf does not.
    - My side: Along one wall, one long run at 68" (for dresses, etc.) and shelves at 84" and 96". On two shorter walls, same layout as DH's.

    Here's a photo:

    For secondary closets, we do half like DH's layout above and half like mine. The layouts are for 9' ceilings. When we had 8' ceilings, we did the same thing, except did not have the shelf at 96". Seems to work well!

    We got our closets from Gale Contractor Services (the local name for the Masco group). Couldn't beat the pricing (about $6 LF installed), and we're very happy with the end result. Good luck!

  • lindybarts
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Niff, those are fantastic! You built them yourself? I'm in awe!

    LuckyMom, THANK YOU! That's exactly the type of information I was looking for. I can just throw any type of unit up there but I wanted to really think this through so I'm not wasting space.

    home_nw, those are great. They don't scratch up as much as the white painted rods and shelves. Ufortunately, I think we are getting paint, but I'll check. Love how your closet is divided up too.

    Anyone else have any pearls of wisdom?

    Lindy

  • kats
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You know we got hit with this same question last week. But, we decided to have someone come in and do a more professional job on it after we live in it for a month or so and know more where things need to go. At this time the only thing I know for sure is, in all the bedrooms I want an 18" (or so) wide floor to ceiling open shelf with at least 4 "cubbies" in it. I want to put sheets, blankets, pillows, etc., for each rooms decor in that rooms closet. That way it's easy for any quest that might want an extra pillow or blanket during a stay to find whatever they need. And, it should make it easier for me to find coordinating sheets and cases when change the bedding. I can't wait because in my current home I have the bedding abyss from he!!

  • mcbird
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    lindy,
    I don't have pictures but what we are doing is above our hanging clothes, near the ceiling we are installing a rod that is spring loaded that pulls down. The high rod is for storing off season clothes. I don't even know the brand name the builder is using. Trim carpenters can build your custom closets for a fraction of what the california closet type places can do. Many of those websites have a design function so you can play around with what you'd like and then plan it yourself. Good luck.

  • lindybarts
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks mcbird! That sounds like a great feature. It is our trim guy who is building all the closets. But I think he will be more basic shelves and rods and not so much of the fancy stuff like you are describing. I really loved that website from Easy closets. If anyone is still in the planning stages, I recommend checking it out. It made everything so much easier for me to visualize. They even had a 3D function. Nice!

    Thanks all
    Lindy

  • jeffreyfrog
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello, if you want your closet will be so nice visit this website they tell you what closet you need. My friend's and my family using this site also.

    Here is a link that might be useful: closet designs

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