Transforming an extra room into a closet reduces clutter.
If you have a spare bedroom in your apartment or house and find yourself low on closet space, consider transforming the extra room into a personal wardrobe or walk-in closet. Using the extra space to store and display your clothes, shoes, accessories and other items reduces the clutter created in your bedroom and helps keep the rest of the house in order. Instead of hiring a professional to transform the room for you, draw up a list of the items you need to provide you with hanging, storage and display space. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure the length and width of each wall in the spare bedroom. Scale the room on graph paper, using two squares to represent 1 ft. of space. Also include the locations of doors and windows on the sketch.
2. Flip through design magazines for inspiring ideas on wardrobe layout. Sketch the new wardrobe on graph paper, creating a design that works for you. For example, you can assign a wall to a season and split the clothes accordingly, or you can focus on adding shelves to create more space for shoes, bags and accessories. Work out all design possibilities until you are satisfied with the result.
3. Install clothing rods on the desired walls by attaching brackets to the wall studs. Locate and mark the stud locations using a magnetic or electronic stud finder. Drill screws through the brackets before securing the rods into the provided slots. Although the standard height for a single rod in a closet is 82 inches, consider placing a second rod 40 to 42 inches high along at least one wall to provide room for pants and, for women, skirts.
4. Place shoe racks under the clothing rods to provide room for shoes and boots and keep them off the floor.
5. Mount shelving units or shelves above the clothing rods to use the vertical space for storage. Mount the shelves to the wall studs at various heights around the room. Where you cannot mount a wall shelving unit, consider placing a freestanding shelf on the floor that provides a storage place for wardrobe accessories or household items.
6. Set a dresser or chest of drawers against a wall or corner of the room to free space in your bedroom or provide increased storage. Or, position two chests of drawers back-to-back in the center or on a side of the room to serve as a closet island for small accessories such as undergarments, watches or jewelry.
7. Place a full-length mirror in a corner of the room to finish the dressing area. Or, hang the mirror on the back side of a door if there is no other free space.
Tags: clothing rods, consider placing, corner room, extra room, extra room into, free space, graph paper