How do I make best use of the deepest linen closet ever?

13 years ago

Above the stairwell in my condo I have a linen closet that is 3' deep with a doorway that is 15" x 67" tall. The interior of the closet is a bit wider than this, but access is limited by the narrower opening for the door. What's the best way to make use of this deep storage space?

One of my thoughts was to purchase a Narrow 7-Runner Elfa Drawer Frame with mesh drawers and use that on the bottom of the closet and wooden shelves above that. I'd "lose out" on about a foot of storage space at the back of the closet with the Elfa using this method.

Another thought was to buy two cabinet-sized narrow 7-runner Elfa drawer frames (exactly the same as above, but not as deep) and place them back-to-back. Then I could slide front drawers out to get to back drawers. Again, I'd have wood shelves above the Elfa unts.

As for making best use of the deep wooden shelves, I'm at a loss there, too. Maybe pullout shelves? Still, I'd be losing about a foot of space with the deepest pullout shelves I've seen.

What other options can you think of for this interesting space?

Featured Answer

talley_sue_nyc

13 years ago

ShelvesThatSlide.com might be able to help you make shelves taht will be really deep, since they make custom sizes. You'd have to build a frame to attach the slides to.

Shove the Elfa unit all the way to the back, thereby moving that 1 foot of space to the front, just inside the door. And call it a "step-in closet."

Then attach shelves to the back of the door to jut into the air space. (put a lip on the front edge, so stuff won't fall out of the front. (8 inches deep or so; whatever works, and you can vary them if you like)

Hang brooms, ironing board w/ iron, a plastic-bag organizer, the cordless vacuum cleaner, and maybe a pantry-door organizer--whatever--on the walls just inside the door. Maybe even set the vacuum in front of the Elfa shelves.

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Comments (6)

msmarieh
13 years ago
Do you have shelves in there right now and if so how much space is available vertically between then?

What about storing your linens in narrow underbed storage boxes? I see some on Amazon that are 13" wide (though of course, some are wider so choose carefully. You wouldn't necessarily need to have the lids on them, unless you had enough room between shelves to stack two. They would slide out completely for you to put stuff away and pull out partially when you are just grabbing stuff out of there.

Another option might be the slide out pantry shelf sets they sell in the kitchen cabinet areas.
schwibs281
Original Author
13 years ago
Yeah, there are shelves in there now - probably 12-14 inches between the shelves. I'll post a picture soon.

Thanks for the suggestion about the under-bed boxes, but what would I use the closet for, then?
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lazy_gardens
13 years ago
You aren't "losing" any space behind the Elfa unit, because it's not usable now unless you crawl into the closet.

Could you make a shelf for a second Elfa full-depth unit so you have one over another?

Or have some drawer units on the bottom and the Elfa pull-out on the top?

I have a similar unit in this house and I HATE IT! My solution was to use the back of it for boxed off-season storage and the front for real linens.
msmarieh
13 years ago
I think you might have misunderstood me. I meant to use the underbed boxes IN the closet. :)
mommabird
13 years ago
I have a very deep closet, too. I use plastic shoe boxes to store toiletries and like stuff. I can put the least used items in the plastic boxes, slide them in, then put items I use more often in plastic boxes in front.

I store table clothes and beach towels that I don't use often in the back of the lower shelves in bigger plastic boxes. They slide in easily.

Good luck!