My Cheap Closet Make-over
by
Paula T.
2 Materials
The walk-in in the master bedroom is 5X7, and we were both using it. It was so crowded and felt dark, cramped and unorganized. We were replacing all the carpets with hardwood anyway, so we decided to give the closet a make-over as well. Turned out pretty good.
(edit: when we finished, both of our clothes do fit in here, with room to spare. We did a Goodwill purge, then sorted everything into seasonal wear. The off season stuff went into storage, then I asked Hubby to kindly move his stuff into another closet. In the after shots, I have spread my clothes out on the bars, so it looks like there is minimal room, however, there is plenty of room for both of us to enjoy the closet. I also hang a lot of stuff that can be folded, like jeans and tops, sweats, and workout clothes... You can see, on the right side in the before shots, there are a lot of empty hangers already.... those have been moved to the laundry room. Opens up more space once you get rid of them... LOL)
Dark, crowded and unorganized. Dress clothes, work clothes, summer and winter clothes all mixed in. Plus bedding just put where we can find a flat spot.
There is no storage at all in here. This is Hubby's side of the closet.. work clothes, dress clothes and hallowe'en costumes all mixed in.
Started with taking everything off the floor, it's all stored on the other side of the bedroom for sorting and purging. The tiny shelf on the back wall was only useful for holding sheet sets for the master and guest beds.
Floor is in, deciding where to put this $20 ClosetMaid storage unit from Canadian Tire. This is going to hold all my purses for now.
Decided to put the small CloestMaid shelving in the middle of the wall. Hubby cut one of the hanger bars and anchored it on the shelves. Now we have space for my dresses to hang straight. He also dropped the lower bar about 3 inches so my longer tops don't get caught in the pant hangers.
Some massive purging happening as we put clothes back in...
Hubby built this IKEA storage unit for me. $150. It fits perfectly! And, just enough space at the end to store skis or crutches when not in use... This will hold bedding, shoes, and our running/race gear when everything is done.
Other than designing the new look, and staying out of the way, my contribution to the make-over was putting this 2 drawer unit together. $10 at IKEA, it's actually an "add-on" specifically for this storage unit. for what I wanted it for, it's useless, the drawers are tiny, but I didn't want to try to return it, so it now holds my crochet hooks, knitting needles, and some scarves that I don't want our 4 cats to play with.
The mirror on the back wall was also from IKEA. $70! Saw the same mirror at Lowes, $120! Love IKEA! The drawer has been moved and placed in different spots about 5 times... sigh I think a Student would probably make better use of that drawer set...
The tiny shelf that was in the middle of the back wall is gone, Hubby put a longer shelf up top to line up with the existing shelves that were already there. Suitcases store up there perfectly! Added a full length mirror, now I don't have to use the vanity mirror in the bathroom to try to see how my clothes look before going out... LOL
As a bonus, since the door is set back so far, Hubby used some scrap lumber, (ply wood and 1x2's) and built some extra over the door storage. Now I have somewhere for the out of season clothes to go! I found those canvas bins at a Hart store. they have zippered lids!! I had been storing summer/beach clothes in them. I can fit 4 of these bins on that shelf! The bins are 12X10X10.
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2 of 28 comments
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Just take your time. I planned the reno for a couple months. Measure, and do comparison shopping.
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Great this looks just like mine. Thanks for suggestions!
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Does your new closet house both you and your husband's clothes? It doesn't look like enough space for his and hers.