"Some people dream of having a big swimming pool. With me, it's closets." - Audrey Hep

Does anyone else feel a euphoric joy once something in their home is organized/reorganized? Or is this just my own twisted sickness? I know there are others out there. C'mon guys...the first step is admitting you have a problem. When my belongings are in disarray, I truly feel anxious. Similarly, I also loathe any unused/wasted space. And my home had a ton of it when we moved in. Especially in the closets. So in order for me to sleep at night, I knew I had to address the closet organization - or lack thereof - that existed in my home.

Apparently, in the 1920s, closets were not a priority. The ONLY closet in my bedroom resembled something out of a horror movie. It is less than four feet wide and has a depth of...ready?? A depth of 14 inches.. Yes, I said 14 inches. Let's not forget that the standard rule with closets, is that they need to have a minimum depth of at least 24 inches. So when I went to hang the four pairs of pants (since that's all that would fit) on the useless bar that ran across its width, I quickly learned that the hangers had to go on an angle so that I could close the closet door. So after some screaming and thrashing (along with my husband trying to calm me down), I knew the closet needed to be redone. I realized that the only solution was to just build some shelves, as the depth of the closet could not be fixed at this time. So with a little pant folding, and a spot now to store some linens, I made it work.

I apologize for not having any "before" pictures. I feel that, subconsciously, I could not bear the thought of taking pictures of what it used to look like. So here is the closet after completion...

As you can see, I love fabric storage bins. I have this weird thing where I don't like being able to see "stuff" exposed when you open a closet. It make me twitch. Which brings me to my next closet hack. Our den downstairs had a closet that also needed a redo. You'll see this in the following "before" photos:

Are you wondering what the previous owners were thinking at this point? Well I was too. It's actually a nice cedar closet. However, the bar that hung across the width of the closet was hideous. Along with the slab of wood above it posing as a shelf. And take note of the cedar not covering the entire wall in the back. Oy! So our pal, Cesar, came to our rescue yet again, and built some custom shelving.

Here are some pics before my husband stained it:

Here it is after the staining:

The purpose for this closet was to hold throw blankets, some storage bins, Murphy's various dog items, our Swiffer/mop/broom, vacuum, and Roomba. Because of this, I chose to have Cesar build shelves on one side of the closet, and leave an open space on the other side for the tall cleaning supplies.

Here is a more lived-in look:

By the way, that outlet is key! It's perfect for charging our lovely Roomba as it sits on its dock. ;) And did you notice my labeled bins? That's the teacher in me. ;)

The last closet I'd like to share was actually custom built from scratch. There are no "before" closet photos to show, as this is the room that was gutted and became our dining room. Being that we don't have a pantry in the kitchen, I thought this would be a good place for one. I drafted and spec'd out the space, giving Cesar dimensions for all of the shelves. I knew this would be a closet mainly for food items and kitchen appliances. Here is our gem (lived-in):

Right now I have some glasses stored in here. Our bar area has yet to be completed, so there will soon be a more appropriate spot for glass and stemware (rather than the pantry!).

So there you have my closet journey. Although, there is still more to do, I'm fairly proud of the start. Be on the lookout for my next blog - you'll get to see my newly-painted kitchen cabinets!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

xo, Claudine