A closet is a space designated for storage. There are many varieties of closets. The most common type of closet is a clothes closet. Closets can range in size from a cabinet to a small room and are enclosed spaces that accessible typically through a door or curtain. Does this Spark an idea?
History
The world "closet" comes from the Latin word "clausum" that means "closed." First used in the seventeenth century, closets were not originally created as storage spaces but as small rooms attached to bedrooms that were designed to be personal retreats for individuals. Unlike parlors or salons that were common spaces designed around entertaining company, the closet was a space meant for personal reflection and activity, such as needle point or reading. They often contained favorite pieces of artwork, small libraries, and comfortable sitting areas. Over time they developed into spaces to store items, and then gradually the term closet became synonymous with clothing storage. Since World War II, a closet has referred to a storage unit than is built into the framework of a house.
Features
Clothing closets may be freestanding structures or cabinets built into the framework of the room. Armoires and wardrobes have been commonly used in Europe as closets, and are large cabinet units placed in bedrooms that are usually just slightly shorter than the room itself and contain an assortment of hanging racks and drawers.
Identification
In America, where room space is highly valued, these pieces of furniture are socially considered too bulky and are replaced with the built-in closet. Built-in closets may be shallow in depth and only large enough for a single rack of clothes, or very deep. The latter variety are called "walk-in closets" because they are large enough for a person to walk into them and move around slightly without discomfort.
Considerations
In addition to storing clothes, closet is the technical term for many other storage areas in a home, though some of their colloquial names have changed. A food closet, for example, is now referred to as a pantry, and a water closet is now called a toilet or bathroom. However, several home storage spaces retain their closet identities, such as linen closets, broom closets and coat closets.
Potential
In popular culture, the closet has metaphorical meaning as the place where you hide secrets. The phrase, "skeletons in my closet" is well known, referring to past indiscretions or shameful acts that are kept hidden. Closets have also figuratively been associated with a secret identifying trait of someone, ranging from serious to trivial, like a "closet alcoholic" or "closet Jimmy Buffet fan." The term has also been closely tied to homosexuals, who depending on their status of public ownership of their sexuality are considered either in the closet (denying publicly they are gay) or out of the closet (open about their sexuality).
Tags: bedrooms that, built into, built into framework, closet space, clothes closet
