Asked on Feb 26, 2015

Which master closet looks best?

Ariel
by Ariel
My hubby and I recently remodeled our master closet. We took off the door and knocked down the walls to fully open it up. And I love it! My drawing in the pictures was my original plan and now we are second guessing it. There's only 1 support stud on the back wall so we were going to attach the poles on the shelves and side walls and just have the shelving unit attach to the back wall. So I like having it in the middle so the weight of the clothes is divided to 3 shorter rods (like in the sketch). This is a very old house (almost 100 years old!) so not much to help it. But anyway, I need some opinions on what would look the best and hold the most stuff (including shirts, pants, skirts, shoes, scarves, sweaters, etc.). So here are the options for placing the shelving unit. We do have built in shelves on the left wall, so that does add space but also limits rod space. Thanks in advance!
  12 answers
  • ..I would use those shelves on the left for my shoe boxes, and shoes....; and I would utilize the dead corner on the right with a corner piece of closet rod, I have put up Closet Maid in every place I lived, and it made a huge difference in useability . I like the large piece in the middle , that way you can still put shelves / drawers underneath and have an area for long hanging clothing ...or use that far right short wall for long hanging clothing.
  • Lindcurt Lindcurt on Feb 26, 2015
    A hundred year old house with a closet that large? I am so envious. I like your sketched design. The only problem I could see is that the shelving unit is pretty flimsy. I will probably need to be reinforced with plywood up the outsides. Full clothes rods can get really heavy.
    • Ariel Ariel on Feb 27, 2015
      @Lindcurt Well the house itself is but some of the rooms were redone in the 50's. You can tell how unlevel the floor and ceiling are! And we did take some of my son's closet space on the other side so it is slightly bigger than originally. The shelves are flimsy by themselves so we plan to mount them against the back wall. Thanks for the advice :)
  • Starr Durrant Starr Durrant on Feb 26, 2015
    If you keep the taller shelf to the right - there is reasonable space on the side wall in front of that shelf to put a vertical row of hooks for belts, scarves and such. Best of luck!
    • Ariel Ariel on Feb 27, 2015
      @Starr Durrant I hadn't even thought of that! I was going to put them in a cute basket on the top shelf. Thanks!
  • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Feb 27, 2015
    Think cubbies are complicating things. Would use them for off season storage. Am not sure what you plan on using the shelving towers for - baskets for scarves, belts, etc? Could these be put on the horizontal and attached to the sides of the closet above any rods for clothes?
    • Ariel Ariel on Feb 27, 2015
      @Marion Nesbitt We have a very large storage closet in another part of the house that we keep off season clothes so this is for the most used and in season. And sadly they are too long to put side by side like that. I thought of maybe putting them at the bottom like that for shoes and a shelf for jeans and sweater but it wouldn't work. Thanks anyway :)
  • Ruth wallace Ruth wallace on Feb 27, 2015
    You would have more space to put it in the middle. That way you have three rods. I would also above put a shelf above the tall shelves to put blankets or those cute boxes for storage.
    • Ariel Ariel on Feb 27, 2015
      @ That's exactly what I was thinking :) I do plan to put a shelf all the way across at the top for extra space, no matter where the shelves go. Thanks!
  • Norma Jones Norma Jones on Feb 27, 2015
    Ariel, I have two shelving units like yours, and I cut 2" off ends of one unit, and they fit perfectly side by side in my closet. That section is slightly smaller than the other, but it works for me. An alternative is stacking them horizontally in the right corner, maybe even adding a third unit to get height/added support for lower rod OR I would consider adding a full width shelf (entire length of back wall) to accommodate storage at bottom rather than top, using bins, baskets or dust ruffle to hide items, because it's easier to place/remove hangers from a higher rod than bulky items. I don't know how many long items (dresses/skirts) you want to hang, but I think a cascading set of alternating hooks on far right wall would accommodate the few dresses I own. Measure 1/2 width of clothes hangers you use and add 2" to place first one closer to rear, then next closer to front, etc. Don't keep in straight line or bulk will be excessive by the 4th hook. Really like having the doors off! If you decide to add a shelf above top full width rod, be sure to provide adequate clearance (3") above rod to access hangers and avoid scraping knuckles.
    • See 3 previous
    • Ariel Ariel on Mar 02, 2015
      Thanks for the idea, Shelby! And Norma, that is what I worried about with cutting, that would chop it all up, but I think that would work! I'll have to look into the scarf idea too. Thanks!
  • Carol Stehling Carol Stehling on Feb 27, 2015
    Personally, I would knock out the shelves on the left, close up the hole in the closet and use the space for drawers fronting in the room. If the shelf unit you have is partical board, it won't be strong enough to hold loaded clothes rods probably. Adding 1/2" plywood to the sides will do the trick. I like using it in the middle with rods on each side. The only problem I see is on the double rod side, you probably won't have room for 2 shoe racks on the bottom under clothes. I would frame in the opening and put double doors with a catch at the top. Then each door will open and you can have hooks on the back of each door. Good luck!
  • Sherri Sherri on Feb 27, 2015
    I think your original design is the best as it looks like the only one that will allow two rods for shorter clothing and one for longer items. I hope you post your finished closet when you're done. Good luck!
  • Nancy Jenkins Nancy Jenkins on Feb 27, 2015
    Mine looks close to #3 except no side built in just cubicles on one side of wall I took door off. Where my armoire is now could have been older closet area. I like your ideas, thanks.
  • Recreate Recreate on Feb 27, 2015
    I haven't read all the posts from above so I apologize if I missed something or repeated what someone else said. Can you take the white shelf you have now in the picture and hang it across the wall at the top(on its side)? You would still have shelves and you may be able to have better luck finding studs against the 2 walls on either side or even the ceiling( you may need brackets to support the shelf). you could do the same on the bare wall. Also do it at the bottom on either wall and maybe put a support between the 2 shelves, 1 at the top and 1 at the bottom and hang rods in between. OH, I HOPE THAT MADE SENSE. You may not be able to go with your original plan but think outside the box. :)
  • Dawn Thompson Dawn Thompson on Feb 27, 2015
    I would stack the shelves like in your drawing but move the stack to the 2/3rd spot to the left. I would hang a short rod for my long dresses (which would allow you to access the shelves to the left) & then hang 2 parallel poles for shorter hanging clothesn one over the other.