Base the size of your new walk-in closet on your storage habits.
A walk-in closet is like an extra room for storing clothes. They can range from narrow and utilitarian to spacious and sumptuous. If you are planning a new walk-in closet, keep your tape measure and yardstick close by. You will need to measure for depth, height and width at the very least. Does this Spark an idea?
Minimum Width
A typical walk-in closet has space for hanging clothes and room to walk in and access the clothing. This walking space is what sets a walk-in apart from a front-access closet. Because most people need 2 to 3 feet to walk in and out, and clothing requires a full 2 feet of hanging width, your minimum in terms of width is 4 to 5 feet. That's if you have a closet rod on only one wall. If you have two walls with rods and an aisle down the center, you'll need 6 to 7 feet of width.
Lengths
The length of the walk-in closet depends largely on your needs and the layout of the closet. For a closet with two sets of rods, one on each side, a length of 6 to 8 feet is typical. But if you plan to add shelving, you may need an extra 2 to 3 feet of length. You can put the shelves anywhere along the walls.
Mixing Shelving and Closet Rod Layouts
If the closet has only one set of closet rods, the other wall can be used for shelves exclusively. Typical shelves are a foot deep, so the closet would be 5 to 6 feet wide. With one side devoted to clothing, and the other to shelving, your closet space is fairly and neatly organized.
Heights and Shelves
If you have double rods -- one lower and the other higher -- the top rod is typically 80 inches from the floor. Most shelves, meanwhile, start 16 or 20 inches from the floor, and the top shelf in a column is usually 72 inches from the floor. The space between each shelf in one column is 12 to 15 inches. So shelving columns generally have four or five shelves.
Drawer Storage
Drawer storage is another factor in sizing a walk-in closet. Drawers are typically 2 to 3 feet wide but deeper than shelves. Drawers in the average bureau are anywhere from 15 to 24 inches deep. Account for this space when you design the closet. Shoe storage is another issue. Most shoe storage units fit neatly under a shelf and take up about 15 inches of depth and up to 2 to 3 feet in length. Each cubby in a shoe storage unit is typically 8 inches high.
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