You can never have too much closet space

As part of the ever-creeping scope of the master bath project, we bought a closet system.
We talked to almost every company out there. The space is odd, with the low ceilings and the fact that this is really a hallway. We ended up going with California Closets. Since we walk through this hall several times a day, I realized these closets would be more like furniture and I wanted something nice that would stand the test of time. We chose the dark wood finish b/c 1) it matches the bathroom vanity and 2) it was on sale!

It was installed yesterday, and I wanted to post pictures before it was cluttered up by our clothes.

 

Above is my new set of shelving and drawers,

hanging space,

And Jeff's set of drawers and hanging space. I still need to order handles for the drawers, but now the master bathroom renovation is finally complete!

The paint color in the hall is Benjamin Moore November rain, #2142-60.

Mostly completed

Here are the "After" photos of my closet. 

 

I went with 1 long bar across the back of the closet and a set of 12" shelves along one wall. I splurged on a new 8' bar, rather than trying to glue 2 shorter bars together. 

 

All of the shelving was the Lowes-brand (not Closetmaid or Rubbermaid, which they also sell) of closet organization, which was cheaper and also it was the size I needed.

The yellow/green linoleum floor drove me nuts, but it wasn't really an option at this time to pull up the linoleum since the wood underneath is unfinished. When we renovate the Master Bath, we'll remove this relic. Until then, I am looking for a rug.

My friends are probably wondering where I stored all my shoes for this photo shoot. I am in the processing of making them a nice home in the former linen closet, I'll post photos on that too.

Ready! Fire-Fire-Fire! ...Aim?

I'm sick of being the responsible one in the family. The one that makes people eat a green vegetable. The one who says "Where are your safety goggles?" and "What are you going to do to support the house once you pry off that moldy support beam?".

So I removed everything from my closet.

This is the closet that I've been thinking about for months, nay! Years! I stared at the gross linoleum on the floor and decided to ignore that.

I did some measurements by holding out my arms.

I found the mis-tint section at Lowes. Its cold here. I went with Mediterrean Blue to feel warm and I painted.

Jeff filled the hole in the floor - the chimney from the old gas fireplace in the kitchen ran through here before it was removed. Then he said "What are you going to do about the hole in the ceiling?".

I did some prying. I found some nice old wallpaper under that metal rectangle.

I now need to make a trip to the hardware store to find something to replace that metal rectangle, the clothes will have to remain piled up in the bedroom for a few more days.

Living on the edge requires patience. Now I remember why I usually make a project plan first.

Her Closet Remodel - Planning

I looked often at my inspiration picture to make a plan for renovating my closet. Photo from Domino Magazine. I'm really going to miss it.
Sadly this is the reality of the space I have to work with:

It is built under the eaves of the roof, so the head clearance is pretty low. I'd love to knock out the front and right side walls and make it an open L-shaped closet. What I didn't show in the sketch is a hole in the floor and the ceiling that need to be patched from the old gas-stove chimney that was removed in the kitchen remodel.

I decided this was too small of a project for a gantt chart and a simple list would suffice.
Paint:
Paint colors for Brunettes from House Beautiful was my starting point. I like either this off-white

or this blue:


The walls of the hall will be painted Benjamin Moore's Bleeker Beige (aka light brown), so I want a pop of color to make me excited to look at my clothes.

Doors:
I want bi-fold doors to make the room seem finished. We used to have sliding mirrored doors, but we pulled those off right after moving in, since it hid 1/2 my clothes at all times. I don't want louvered doors, nicer paneled doors are what's talking to me. I'm not sure I'll find them short enough.

Hanging vs Shelving/Drawers:
I have barely used my dresser in the adjoining bedroom, since I almost always get dressed in front of the closet. I know I need some drawers for socks and unmentionables, but wanted to have most of my clothes hanging where I could see them. Maybe a cube shelf system with some baskets.

Lighting:
I desperately need bright lights in this space. Under the lights we have now, its impossible to tell navy blue from black which is an inconvenience when getting ready in the morning. Maybe a fluorescent, but with one of those daylight tubes.

I'm playing around with the design and scouring other blogs to get ideas. I'll post later once I start the actual work.

His closet remodel

The hall between our bedroom and the master bathroom houses our closets. The ceiling in this area is low, and its has sloped walls. The closets have great square footage from the floor, but its all lost being under the eaves. I'd love to turn this into a glam dressing room, complete with shoe-display area. Something like this:



Since that would involve raising the roof, which is in no way in any budget we would ever hope to have, we have to settle for some creative thinking and being a little more strict on donating clothes that we don't need/wear/fit.

Jeff didn't have patience for planning so he jumped in. This is the before picture. The doors used to be sliding mirrored doors, which we removed shortly after we moved in so we could see the all the clothes at once. I'd like to add bi-fold doors, but Jeff doesn't agree that we need doors.


What you can't see in this photo is that the closet is about 4 feet deep, with a second hanging bar behind the first. Which enables one to hide the clothes he can't bear to part with.

Here is the after photo:


Jeff rotated the hanging bar to run along one of the walls, with a shelf above for sweaters. The other wall sports a tie rack and hooks for holding dirty jeans and hoodies.

A cube system was added to the back wall for storing t-shirts, jeans, and he might add a few baskets for socks. The raised section of floor hides the chase for the plumbing from the master bath.

Looking at these photos, we realize it would have been a good idea to paint the walls and deal with the linoleum/carpet flooring combination. But there's always another day.

Now I have to figure out what I want for my closet. Look, already a few weeks into the new year and we're already straying from the resolutions.